Toward comprehensive nursing care of the total artificial heart patient.
At this time, heart transplantation is the only form of intervention for some end-stage cardiac diseases. The use of the artificial heart has been adopted at the Ottawa Institute as a bridge to transplant when a heart is needed, and there are no suitable donors available. The patient is maintained with this technology until a donor heart can be found and transplanted. This article chronicles the steps that were taken by the nursing staff in preparation for these unique patients. The nursing process was the main framework around which we developed our plan of action, assessed and evaluated our interventions and modified nursing care accordingly. The basic functioning of the system that operates the heart is described, as well as nursing care specific to the Total Artificial Heart patient.
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D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006354:Heart, Artificial / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D009732:Nursing Care / Q000592:standards; D010347:Patient Care Planning; D011182:Postoperative Care; D011300:Preoperative Care