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Choosing Wisely®

American Academy of Nursing

Dysphagia (difficulty swallowing) is a common disorder in patients who have suffered a stroke, occurring in 50–60% of acute stroke patients. It is associated with an increased risk of aspiration, pneumonia, prolonged hospital stay, disability, and death. Swallow screening is critical in the rapid identification of risk of aspiration in patients presenting with acute stroke symptoms. Because formal swallowing evaluation is not warranted in all patients with acute stroke, the purpose of a ...

Choosing Wisely®

American Academy of Nursing

There are many limitations with LP pressure measurement as it varies with patient position and level of the manometer. As a “snapshot in time,” it cannot be correlated with symptoms over time, and anesthetic agents can cause false readings. An intracranial monitor (bolt) measures intracranial pressure (ICP) over time as the patient goes about daily activities. Medical and surgical treatment decisions are based on relieving intracranial pressure. Inaccurate pressure readings can lead to ...

Choosing Wisely®

American Academy of Nursing

Classic spine surgical treatment involves bilateral dissection of paraspinal muscles to expose the involved levels. Spasms of these muscles are common postoperatively. Treatment of these spasms should include both pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic interventions. Age-related changes in adults can affect both metabolism and drug elimination in the body, resulting in a prolonged half-life for medications. Among the benzodiazepines, diazepam is particularly problematic due to its long half-life ...

Choosing Wisely®

American Academy of Nursing

Febrile seizures are the most commonly occurring seizures in the first 60 months of life. Caregiver anxiety can often lead to requests for neurodiagnostic testing. Attention should be directed at finding the cause of fever and treating it. Electroencephalogram (EEG) tests are costly and can increase caregiver and child anxiety without changing the outcome or course of treatment. EEG has not been shown to predict recurrence of febrile seizures or future epilepsy in patients with simple febrile ...

Choosing Wisely®

American Academy of Nursing

Computerized tomography (CT) scans have been used for diagnostic imaging for more than 40 years, but it should not be assumed that a head CT is always needed in an evaluation for shunt failure. Because CT is the usual mode of imaging for children with hydrocephalus, these patients have a much higher cumulative radiation exposure than the average population. Children have an increased risk of cancer with exposure to higher cumulative radiation doses. CT scans should be performed only when ...