Thu18November0253AM 4

The High Dependency Unit (HDU):

True / False

Accepts patients with single organ system failure Correct

Most routinely accept patients requiring invasive ventilation Correct

Is suitable for monitoring the the PiCCO system Correct

Has a nurse to patient ratio of 1:1 Correct

Every patient with a central venous catheter should be transferred to the HDU Correct

Explanation

The High Dependency Unit (HDU) is a critical care environment with a nurse to patient ratio of 1:2, whereas the ITU has a ratio of 1:1.

Patients with single organ failure can be managed or treated on the HDU. However, patients that require ventilation or have more than one organ system that requires support, should be admitted to the ICU (not HDU).

The HDU is not an environment where patients are routinely ventilated, although some centres can ventilate patients for short periods or offer non-invasive ventilation.

Monitoring the pulmonary artery occlusion pressure requires the insertion and use of a pulmonary artery catheter, which is usually reserved for use in critically ill patients. The ideal location for these patients is the ITU, though this can be performed on the HDU and CCU. The PiCCO system can be an invaluable monitoring tool in the optimisation of the circulation in cardiac, medical and surgical patients commonly seen in the CCU and HDU.

Patients have central venous catheters inserted for a variety of clinical reasons but not every patient requires admission to the HDU, e.g. some patients receive parenteral nutrition (TPN) in non-critical care areas.

Answer Statistics

Not enough data to display the statistics

Average score: 85.35%

Times answered: 273