Nursing management of intracranial hypertension in adults with severe brain injury in a neurosurgery intensive care unit: a best practice implementation project

ABSTRACT Introduction: The nursing management of intracranial hypertension in adult patients with severe brain injury is crucial for maintaining the stability of intracranial pressure, which ultimately improves patient outcomes. Objectives: This project aimed to implement evidence-based practices for the nursing management of intracranial hypertension in adult patients with severe brain injury. Methods: This evidence implementation project was conducted in a neurosurgery intensive care unit in a large tertiary hospital in Guangzhou, China. The project was guided by the JBI Evidence Implementation Framework, which is an audit and feedback model with seven stages. The Ottawa Model of Research Use was used to identify barriers and facilitators to best practices and to develop improvement strategies. Results: Thirty-three nurses and 50 patients with severe brain injury participated in the baseline and follow-up audits. After project implementation, follow-up audits revealed significantly improved compliance with best practices compared with baseline. Nurses’ awareness of best practices increased (41% to 96%); nursing assessment, monitoring, and interventions related to intracranial hypertension rose significantly (from 82%, 75%, and 59% to 98%, 84%, and 87%, respectively); and patients’ optic nerve sheath diameter was notably lower (6.002±0.677 mm to 5.698±0.730 mm). Conclusions: The systematic integration of consistent training and education, together with the refinement of care processes and the creation of relevant tools, led to a significant improvement in awareness and adherence to best practices. Further testing of this program in more hospitals is needed. Spanish abstract: http://links.lww.com/IJEBH/A243