In 2008, we conducted a nonexperimental, cross-sectional, descriptive study in the surgical services department of a hospital in Istanbul, Turkey, with the aim of determining how much information was required by perioperative patients and their family members, the extent to which this information was provided, and the role that nurses play in this process. We included a total of 394 outpatients and inpatients and their family members (ie, 197 patients, 197 family members) and 30 nurses in the study. We collected the research data by using one questionnaire for patients, a second for family members of patients, and a third for nurses. We discovered that the patients and their family members wanted to be given more information about the surgical process than they had received. Patients wanted more information about the intraoperative period, whereas their family members wanted more information about the postoperative period. We also found that nurses were aware that they did not play an effective role in providing information to patients and their family members because of a lack of knowledge about what information they were responsible for providing and insufficient staffing. We concluded that nurses should know what education they are responsible for providing, put more effort into understanding patient and family member information needs, and plan a better means of providing information to meet those needs.

Although endotracheal suctioning is a routine nursing intervention, this procedure can lead to an increase in intracranial pressure (ICP). This study was planned to determine the appropriate suctioning technique (open system suctioning [OS] and closed system suctioning [CS]) to minimize variability of ICP and cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) in neurologically impaired patients. The study, which was designed as a crossover, single-blind clinical trial, consisted of 32 neurosurgical patients who underwent ICP monitoring, intra-arterial blood pressure monitoring, and endotracheal intubation in the intensive care unit. According to the need for suctioning, each patient in the experimental and control groups underwent suctioning with both closed and open systems. Recordings were composed of the patients' ICP, mean arterial blood pressure, CPP, heart rate (HR), and arterial blood gases during suctioning. It was observed that both suctioning techniques significantly increased ICP, mean arterial blood pressure, CPP, and HR; ICP was found to be significantly higher in OS compared with CS, whereas there were no significant differences in CPP and HR between the two techniques. The patients suctioned using OS had significantly lower mean PaO(2) than those suctioned using CS; however, the comparison of the two techniques revealed no significant differences in PaCO(2). The data obtained indicate that CS, compared with OS, can be used safely on this patient group.

In this study, despite the patients reporting sleep disturbances in the neurosurgical intensive care unit because of nocturnal patient care interventions that prevented them from sleeping, the patients' satisfaction on the given nursing care was not negatively impacted. To reduce sleep disturbances because of nursing care initiatives and promote uninterrupted sleep in the intensive care unit, it can be useful to develop new protocols regulating night care activities.