Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2013 Aug;39(8):39-51.
doi: 10.3928/00989134-20130530-06. Epub 2013 Jun 10.

Extending the ABCDE bundle to the post-intensive care unit setting

Michele Balas  1 , Rose Buckingham, Tami Braley, Sarah Saldi, Eduard E Vasilevskis
Affiliations

Extending the ABCDE bundle to the post-intensive care unit setting

Michele Balas et al. J Gerontol Nurs. 2013 Aug.

Abstract

A recently proposed interprofessional, evidence-based, multicomponent approach to mitigating the effects of intensive care unit (ICU)-acquired delirium and weakness has the potential to radically transform the way care is delivered to older adults requiring sedation, mechanical ventilation, or both. The Awakening and Breathing Coordination, Delirium Monitoring and Management, and Early Mobility (ABCDE) bundle empowers members of the interdisciplinary ICU team to implement the best available evidence regarding mechanical ventilation, sedation, weakness, and delirium in a safe, effective, and patient-centered manner. Considering that critically ill older adults are cared for in a number of different settings during the course of hospitalization and recovery, the purpose of this article is to explore the rationale and possible benefits of extending the ABCDE bundle into the post-ICU setting. We provide a case study that illustrates how ABCDE bundle adoption could be the key to improving the quality of care provided to seriously ill older adults in the ICU and beyond.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The ABCDE Bundle and its Effect on Patient Outcomes Illustrated
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Agostini JV, Concato John & Inouye, Sharon K. Improving sedative-hypnotic prescribing in older hospitalized patients: Provider-perceived benefits and barriers of a computer-based reminder. Journal of General Internal Medicine. 2007;23((Supplement 1)):32–-36. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Aldemir M, Ozen S, Kara IH, Sir A, Bac B. Predisposing factors for delirium in the surgical intensive care unit. Critical Care. 2001;5(5):265–270. - PMC - PubMed
    1. American Geriatric Society Beers Criteria Update Expert Panel American Geriatrics Society updated Beers criteria for potentially inappropriate medication use in older adults. Journal of the American Geriatric Society. 2012;2012;6060(4, 4):616, 616–631, 631. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balas MC, Vasilevskis EE, Burke WJ, Boehm L, Pun BT, Olsen K, Peitz G, Ely EW. Critical Care Nurses’ Role in Implementing the “ABCDE Bundle” into Practice. Critical Care Nurse. 2012;32:35–47. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Balas MC, Rice M, Smith H, Disbot M, Chaperon C, Fuchs B. Symptom Management of Delirium in the Critically-Ill Older Adult: Restoring PEACE. Critical Care Nurse. in-press. - PubMed

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources