ABSTRACT
TOPIC: Protecting patient safety and preventing modifiable complications after acute ischemic stroke. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in adults. Stroke survivors often experience a variety of deficits related to mobility, nutrition, immunity, mood, and cognition. These post-stroke complications and residual effects can adversely affect safety, placing the patient at risk for further injury. In order to develop a plan of care that protects patient safety, critical care and progressive care nurses must understand the unique needs of this patient population. PURPOSE: To describe selected ischemic stroke-related physiological changes, how these changes contribute to safety risks, and methods of enhancing patient safety. CONTENT COVERED: Stroke physiology and stroke-specific interventions that can enable nurses to reduce the risk of falls, dysphagia, malnutrition, dehydration, altered glucose metabolism, device-related infections, aspiration pneumonia, delirium, and depression.
