Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN)
Academic Term
Summer 2020
Document Type
Project
Course Number
NURS 6810
Course Name
Advanced Pathophysiology for the Advance Practiced Nurse
Professor’s Name
Dr. Butz and Dr. Chovan
Keywords
Infective Endocarditis, Pathophysiology, Nurse Anesthetist, Complications
Subject Categories
Medicine and Health Sciences | Nursing
Abstract
The proposed poster is an overview of the pathophysiology and nursing considerations for infective endocarditis. Infective endocarditis (IE) is an infection that affects the endothelium of the heart. While not a highly prevalent disease in the United States, it does have a significant mortality rate of up to 30% at 30 days after diagnosis despite many medical advancements to attempt to prevent and treat it. IE can cause multisystem organ dysfunction through complication of the disease or embolization of the vegetation.
The poster goes over several complications associated with IE and the evidence-based treatment of those complications. Several articles on pathophysiology, clinical course, and treatment were reviewed and summarized along with a review on best anesthetic strategies for successful surgical intervention.
The overwhelming treatment for IE includes an intravenous antibiotic regimen along with early surgical intervention to remove vegetations for surgical candidates. Specifically for nurse anesthetists, a focus on maintaining adequate cardiac output and decreasing valvular regurgitation is exceedingly important. This can be achieved through a maintaining a heart rate that has minimal diastolic time for regurgitation opportunity, decreasing stroke volume resistance, and increasing contractility lead to best outcomes and thirty day mortality rate in those affected by infective endocarditis.
Overall, understanding the pathophysiology behind both IE and the complications that arise from it prepares the advanced nurse practitioner to take care of a population that may not be large, but is certainly vulnerable to serious life-changing complications. The hope is that being knowledgeable about risk factors related to increased mortality will allow providers to be proactive in preventing them if possible.
Recommended Citation
Friend, Tessa, "Infective Endocarditis" (2020). Nursing Student Class Projects (Formerly MSN). 451.
https://digitalcommons.otterbein.edu/stu_msn/451