Poster - #CU-21 - Keywords: CTICU CALS

More CALS Bells

Rafael Cervantes & Christopher Smith
CAMPBELL UNIVERSITY Catherine W. School of Nursing

ABSTRACT:
The Cardio Thoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU) at Duke University Hospital is one of the preeminent post surgical cardiac ICUs in the region. This unit predominantly admits patients who have undergone complex cardio-thoracic surgeries such as heart/lung transplant, valve repair, ECMO, VAD, CABG, along with other cardiac and thoracic operations. Due to the nature and acuity of these operations, many patients are admitted ‘open-chest’ meaning the sternotomy closing is delayed (DSC) for a follow-up operation. This is done for a multitude of reasons, however, it presents an interesting and unique challenge to providing nursing care in a cardiopulmonary arrest event. Traditional cardiopulmonary arrest involves ACLS, but due to the unique nature of this patient population, a more refined algorithm is used to provide resuscitation efforts. In this poster we will explore the intricacies which differentiate CALS from ACLS, why it is important, and what the nurse’s role is should an event occur while a patient is on CALS protocol.