Patient discomfort and agitation in the ICU: Endotracheal tube tube effects (F31 NR011373; 2009-2013).
PI: Anne Hamilton
Care of the critically ill patient accounts for approximately 20% of hospital costs in the U.S., and approximately one third of these patients require mechanical ventilation (MV). Ventilator associated pneumonia (VAP) and agitation are frequent complications of mechanical ventilation. Nurses routinely and frequently move the endotracheal (ET) tube with the attached ventilator tubing, from side to side and up and down during care activities, procedures, and patient repositioning, but the effect of this frequent ET tube movement is unknown. The movement of the ET tube may contribute to both microaspiration (which increases VAP risk) and agitation, increasing the need for sedative therapy. Both of these complications increase mortality and hospital costs. Therefore, the primary aim of this study is describe ET tube movement and its effect on ET tube cuff leak, agitation and patient comfort. A secondary aim is to describe the effect of nursing care on the amount, frequency, and type of ET tube movement.
