The Experiences of Intensive Care Nurses in Advocacy of COVID-19 Patients.

The lack of face-to-face interactions with families, the increase in the number of patients admitted to the ICU, nursing staff shortages, and inadequate personal protective equipment has created many challenges for nurses in advocacy of the COVID-19 patient with life-threatening conditions. This study aimed to explore the experiences of intensive care nurses in the advocacy of COVID-19 patients. This study was performed using a qualitative content analysis method with Graneheim and Lundman approach, Iran, 2020. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with eighteen clinical nurses from the intensive care units of three hospitals. Themes extracted from the nurses' statements were promoting patient safety (informing physicians about the complications and consequences of treatment, preventing medical errors, protecting patients from threats), respecting the patients' values (providing comfort at the end of life, providing a comfortable environment, commitment to confidentiality, cultural observance, respect for individualism, fair care), and informing (clarifying clinical conditions, describing available services, and being the patients' voice). ICU nurses in health crises such as COVID-19 as patient advocates should promote patient safety, respect patients' values, and inform them. The results of this study could help enhance the active role of intensive care nurses in the advocacy of COVID-19 patients.

Experiences of Patients With COVID-19 Admitted to the Intensive Care Units: A Qualitative Study.

This study aimed to describe the experiences of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the intensive care units (ICU). The data were analyzed by content analysis on 16 ICU patients with COVID-19. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews. Three categories were identified: (a) captured by a challenging incident with subcategories: perceived sudden and challenging death, fear of carelessness in overcrowding, worry about the family, and frustration with stigmatizing; (b) the flourishing of life with subcategories: spiritual-awakening, resilience in the face of life challenges, promoting health behaviors, and striving for recovery; and (c) honoring the blessings with subcategories: understanding the importance of nurses, realizing the value of family, and realizing the value of altruism. COVID-19 survivors experienced both positive and negative experiences. The results of this study could help health care providers identify the needs of ICU patients with COVID-19, including psychological, social, and spiritual support and design care models.

Clinical Manifestations of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in COVID-19 Patients: An Integrative Review.

After the outbreak of novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan, China, its spread to other countries is rapidly increasing. In this integrative review, we report the prevalence of gastrointestinal symptoms in patients with COVID-19. For this purpose, available articles on gastrointestinal manifestations in patients with COVID-19, which were reported from China, were reviewed. All reviewed articles were searched from December 11, 2019, to June 20, 2020, based on specific key words. Related findings in these articles show that the main target of COVID-19 is lung tissue, as after the virus enters the body, it mainly causes respiratory symptoms in affected patients. But in addition to respiratory symptoms, it is possible that, over time, these patients present with other symptoms, the most obvious of which are gastrointestinal symptoms. It is well documented that diarrhea and vomiting are the most common gastrointestinal symptoms in COVID-19 patients. As part of this report, we also look at the incidence and frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms in COVID-19 patients in Iran. The results can be used by providers as a guideline for better management of gastrointestinal symptoms in these patients.

The COVID-19 Outbreak in Iran; The First Patient with a Definite Diagnosis.

The novel coronavirus, formerly named as 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCov) caused a rapidly spreading epidemic of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Wuhan, China and thereafter, progressed globally to form a pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in numerous countries; and now confirmed cases are reported from several provinces of Iran. Now various medical centers, clinicians and researchers around the world share their data and experiences about COVID-19 in order to participate in the global attempt of controlling the pandemic. The current report investigates the clinical presentations and paraclinical findings of the first confirmed cases and mortalities in the initiation of the outbreak of COVID-19 in Iran.