Nurse Nacole ◂ Nursing Resources

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Tue, 11 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
One common adverse event in the percutaneous tracheostomy postoperative period is accidental cannula displacement. Dislodged tracheal tubes within 7 days of insertion should be replaced with a tube the same size or smaller.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Early percutaneous tracheostomy procedure-related complications include hemorrhage with bleeding controlled by local pressure or exploration or desaturation because of subcutaneous emphysema with or without pneumothorax.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Mon, 10 Aug 2026 00:55:38 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Percutaneous tracheostomy procedure-related complications include oxygen desaturation and difficult cannula placement due to tracheostomy tube occlusion (from blood clot or mucus plug) or tube insertion into the wrong tract.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Sat, 08 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Surgical tracheostomy can be safer when anatomic landmarks are difficult to palpate, the patient presents with a malignancy at the site of insertion, or if emergency tracheostomy placement is required.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Fri, 07 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Surgical tracheostomy remains the method of choice in critically ill patients presenting with distorted neck anatomy, prior neck surgery, cervical irradiation, maxillofacial or neck trauma, morbid obesity, difficult airway or coagulopathy.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Thu, 06 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Surgical tracheostomy complications include minor or major hemorrhage, tracheo-innominate fistula, subglottic stenosis, oxygen desaturation, subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, accidental decannulation and airway loss.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Wed, 05 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Two basic tracheostomy methods are available: Percutaneous tracheostomy and surgical tracheostomy. The choice of whether to use one or the other depends on available resources, operator experience and degree of patient complexity.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Tue, 04 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Use of a tracheostomy tube can aid in weaning from mechanical ventilation, because the direct approach to the trachea (with an internal diameter greater than in the translaryngeal approach) and reduced length all reduce airflow resistance.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Mon, 03 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Tracheostomy offers many clinical benefits for patients with respiratory failure or individuals requiring prolonged mechanical ventilation or airway protection because of neurologic dysfunction.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Sun, 02 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
During general anesthesia or after episodes of acute respiratory failure, patients are usually mechanically ventilated through an orotracheal tube, which can be easily and rapidly inserted as an initial airway device.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Resource management principles important for an efficient airway management team include explicit role assignments, closed loop communication and standardized guidelines for equipment, medication preparation and positioning.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Fourth National Audit Project (NAP4) found that preparation, equipment and communication errors were the most common causes of complications during airway management in ICUs and EDs in the United Kingdom.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Thu, 30 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Awake intubation provides the opportunity to preserve spontaneous respiration and prolong the time for intubation attempts. Upright fiber-optic–assisted intubation through a Williams or Ovassapian airway is a common and effective approach.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Wed, 29 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
During a cricothyroidotomy, passing a bougie through the neck incision to serve as an ETT guide has been reported successful. Major complications include esophageal perforation, subcutaneous emphysema and bleeding.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Tue, 28 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Surgical cricothyroidotomy is reserved for the emergency airway situation when an extraglottic airway cannot be effectively employed because of upper airway abnormalities, blood or secretions that obviate proper placement and function.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Mon, 27 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Intubation through supraglottic device (SGDs) has proven successful after failed direct laryngoscopy. A number of SGDs provide one-step intubation through the device (Ambu Aura-i, Air-Q/ILA, LMA Fastrach and Classic Excel, i-Gel).

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Sun, 26 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Intubating supraglottic devices (SGDs) are appropriate primary or rescue strategy devices. SGDs can be placed into the upper airway to reestablish adequate oxygenation and ventilation without significant technical expertise in many cases.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Sat, 25 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Most algorithms recommended a stepwise approach to difficult airway management, using tracheal intubation, face mask ventilation and supraglottic airway devices, followed by surgical airway if life-threatening situation exists.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Fri, 24 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
In the setting of a predicted difficult airway management, indirect optical devices and videolaryngoscopy provide better glottic visualization and maximize the likelihood of intubation success.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Thu, 23 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
A difficult airway is defined as the presence of clinical factors that complicate ventilation or intubation. The incidence of difficult airways encountered during emergent intubations is reported to be 10%.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Wed, 22 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Direct laryngoscopy failure is frequently associated with the inability to visualize the glottis, whereas failure in videolaryngoscopy is often related to the inability to pass the ETT. Each device has unique technical considerations.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Tue, 21 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Indirect laryngoscopy incorporates angulated blades (i.e., GlideScope, McGrath, C-MAC), whereas others incorporate a channel (i.e., Airtraq, Pentax) to facilitate ETT placement through a more anterior glottis with a neutral positioned head.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Mon, 20 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
Indirect laryngoscopy devices provide video or optical imaging using mirrors and prisms to improve glottic visualization in individuals in whom alignment of the airway axes is difficult.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Sun, 19 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
The broader surface of the Macintosh blade may provide better upward displacement of upper airway soft tissue, and the longer and narrower profile of the Miller blade may assist in the setting of narrow mouth opening or a long epiglottis.

Nursing Tip of the Day! - Critical Care Nursing

noreply@blogger.com (Nurse Nacole) — Sat, 18 Jul 2026 12:00:00 +0000

Category: Critical Care Nursing
The Miller blade is long and straight, with a slightly curved tip. It is generally inserted using a midline approach, and the distal end is used to directly lift the tip of the epiglottis. Blade sizes 3 or 4 are appropriate for most adult procedures.