title: Early extubation post-cardiac surgery--implications for nursing practice.
abstract: Early extubation of patients after cardiac surgery is becoming widely accepted as a means of improving patient care. Nurses working in cardiac surgery appear to be one group who are best placed to manage this role as a component of holistic care and to develop their potential. It appears that benefits include short recovery and early discharge as well as reduced health service costs with a larger throughput of patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Patient selection of those suitable for early extubation requires the implementation of multidisciplinary protocols to ensure quality and effectiveness of care. Nurses need to re-examine their current practice in order to identify the changes required to develop evidence-based post-operative care.
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Intensive Care Unit, Bristol Royal Infirmary.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jenkins
mesh_terms: D002985:Clinical Protocols; D003363:Cost Control; D003422:Critical Care / Q000379:methods*; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing; D018579:Patient Selection; D011182:Postoperative Care / Q000191:economics / Q000379:methods*