2008 SAWC/WHS Attendee Registration

212
Informational/Educational Report

Predicting panic: pausing for prevention

Kristell Michael, BSN, RN, ET, CWS, CHRN, United Regional HCS, Wichita Falls, TX

Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) is an adjunctive treatment that is prescribed when routine interventions have failed for the patient with a non-healing wound, as with diabetes or refractory osteomyelitis. Some patients, due to an initial claustrophobic reaction in the chamber, are unable to receive the benefit of this therapy and may face amputation. The failure to adequately anticipate such an event places staff in a position to treat panic, while the patient fails to complete a necessary procedure. This results in wasted resources and less than therapeutic care and may cause the patient to refuse further attempts at hyperbaric treatment. A review of the literature is presented for the purpose of providing an educational report. The research question is posed: ÒCan a claustrophobic reaction be reliably predicted?Ó The medical interventions included for literature review, magnetic resonance imaging and hyperbaric oxygen therapy, were selected to provide a more integrative review of the literature. A patient experiences similarities in confinement in both the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) machine and the monoplace hyperbaric chamber. This link allows conclusions to be drawn and clinical assessment applications to be carried from the MRI to the HBO patient. The research reviewed demonstrates that a panic reaction during MRI can be reliably predicted; however, there is a lack of agreement among researchers regarding the assessment tool which best correlates with a panic reaction. Studies regarding hyperbaric oxygen, though not predictive, focused on the magnitude of anxiety and levels of anxiety before and after hyperbaric treatment. Recommendations are made delineating specific nursing strategies prior to HBO that can impact the magnitude of anxiety during an initial treatment.

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