Jungquist selected for 2019 Mary Hanna Memorial Journalism Award

Carla Jungquist, PhD, ANP-BC, FAAN, has been selected for the 2019 Mary Hanna Memorial Journalism Award for her co-authored article, “Preventing Opioid-Induced Respiratory Depression in the Hospitalized Patient with Obstructive Sleep Apnea.”

“The purpose of this article was to increase the knowledge of perioperative nurses about the early detection, prevention and management of perioperative opioid-induced respiratory depression in patients with obstructive sleep apnea,” Jungquist says. “Adverse sentinel events secondary to opioid related respiratory depression can cost health care systems on average of $2.5 million per claim and can be very upsetting to the nurse on duty at the time of the event.”

Through a narrative review of the literature, the authors found that postsurgical opioid-induced respiratory depression (OIRD) increases hospital stays by 55 percent, cost of care by 47 percent, 30-day readmission by 36 percent and inpatient mortality 3.4 fold. The authors concluded that nursing intervention is essential to improving outcomes and reducing cost in the management of postsurgical OIRD in patients with obstructive sleep apnea.

To be selected for this award, articles are reviewed by a panel of perianesthesia nurses and independent reviewers from other specialties. Selection criteria include originality, journalistic style, clarity of expression, relevance of content to the specialty and overall contribution to the collection of published nursing knowledge

The award will be presented at the ASPAN’s 38^th National Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on May 6.

“It is a real honor to have my work acknowledged as important to clinical practice by a group of my peers and bedside nurses,” Jungquist says.

The article was published in the October 2018 issue of the Journal of PeriAnesthesia Nursing. Co-authors include Elizabeth Card, MSN, APRN, FNP-BC, CPAN, CCRP; Jean Charchaflieh, MD; Bhargavi Gali, MD; and Meltem Yilmaz, MD.