Impact of a person-centered bowel program on the frequency of nights with bowel movement in dependent elderly people in nursing home: A single-centre randomized controlled trial.

INTRODUCTION: Bowel movements and sleep disturbances in the elderly impact their quality of life and dignity. The management of bowel movements is one of carers' main activities in nursing homes. This activity is under-recognized. It is routinely managed with laxatives or anti-diarrhea treatments, rather than being targeted at each resident's habits. We hypothesized that the implementation of a daytime person-centered bowel program in dependent elderly nursing-home residents could reduce nocturnal bowel movements and sleep disturbance due to night-time care activities. Our study evaluated the impact of a bowel program on the frequency of nights with bowel movement. METHOD: We conducted a single-center randomized controlled trial in two parallel groups: a control group with usual management versus an experimental group with the implementation of the person-centered bowel program. RESULTS: Fifty dependent elderly residents of nursing homes for over one month were included. The implementation of the person-centered bowel program significantly impacted the frequency of nights with bowel movement: 12.0 (7.0; 15.5) in the control group versus 3.7 (2.0; 6.0) in the experimental group (p < 0.000). The strategy had no significant impact on laxative intake (p = 0.470). CONCLUSIONS: The introduction of a daytime person-centered bowel program significantly reduces the frequency of nights with bowel movements for dependent nursing-home residents. This person-centered strategy restores a key role to this basic need care. Further studies could explore the impact of this program on respect, dignity, comfort and night-time rest. It also offers carers new perspectives on care, with respect to the human being. STUDY REGISTRATION: The study was registered in ClinicalTrials N°NCT03118401. TWEETABLE ABSTRACT: A daytime bowel program significantly reduces the number of nights with bowel movements for dependent nursing-home residents.

Corrigendum to Impact of plate shape on the conservation of food praxis in institutionalised elderly adults with severe Alzheimer's disease or mixed dementia: Praxalim an observational before-after non-randomized study.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1016/j.ijnsa.2020.100005.].

Effectiveness of Inhaled Aromatherapy on Chemotherapy-Induced Nausea and Vomiting: A Systematic Review.

Background: Chemotherapy-induced nausea and vomiting (CINV) are among the most common and feared side effects of cancer treatments. Their presence has a negative impact on the quality of life and morbidity associated with the disease. Despite increasingly effective antiemetic treatments, 40% of cancer patients experience CINV during the acute or delayed phase of their treatment. This distressing experience lived through by a large number of people makes it a priority in the improvement of cancer patients and a daily concern for nurses in cancer care units. In an attempt to alleviate this problem, the idea of using aromatherapy as supportive care has led the authors to research the knowledge available on this subject. Objective: The purpose of this systematic review was to examine the existing scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of respiratory aromatherapy on CINV in addition to standard treatment compared with their recommended management in people with cancer. Design: Systematic review. Methods: This review was conducted according to the preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines and queried six databases (PubMed, Scopus, Cochrane Database, Embase, CINAHL, and Google Scholar). An analysis of the risk of bias using the Cochrane "Risks of Bias" tools and a qualitative synthesis of the results of the studies were carried out. Results: Eleven studies were included, nine in adults and two in children. Seven out of nine studies showed statistically significant results in adults with either direct or dry inhalation. Four out of seven alleviated both nausea and vomiting thanks to peppermint, ginger essential oil; three decreased nausea only with chamomilla, ginger or cardamom essential oil. Atmospheric diffusion and the use of inhaled aromatherapy in children did not show any benefit. Conclusions: Results appear promising for the use of direct inhaled aromatherapy in the management of CINV. However, most of the studies found the women concerned suffered from gynecologic cancers and had certain methodological limitations. Indeed, small samples and a wide variety of interventions were studied (different essential oils, number of drops of essential oils used, method of administration, etc.), making it impossible so far to generalize these results. Studies with a more robust methodology and larger samples will make it possible to confirm the potential usefulness of this complementary treatment.

Impact of plate shape on the conservation of food praxis in institutionalised elderly adults with severe Alzheimer's disease or mixed dementia: Praxalim an observational before-after non-randomized study.

Purpose: To investigate whether the shape of the food plate could affect the conservation of praxis in institutionalised elderly adults with severe Alzheimer's disease or mixed dementia. Patients and methods: We conducted a monocentric, prospective, observational, before-after case-only study in 32 patients with a loss of the ability to self-feed. The primary objective was to assess the change of food praxis using the Blandford scale at 3 weeks after changing the food plate. Secondary variables included the impact of the change of diet on the food praxis at 6 weeks, the patient's autonomy in the food intake evaluated by Tully's Eating Behaviour Scale (EBS), and the enjoyment of eating assessed by Part D of the Alzheimer's Disease-Related Quality of Life (ADRQL) scale at 3 and 6 weeks. Results: At 3 weeks after changing the food plate we observed a significant decrease in the number of aversive feeding behaviours (Δ = -0.90 ± 2.23; p = 0.03) and an improved autonomy in self-feeding (Δ = 1.88 ± 3.36.23; p = 0.001). There was also an increase in the enjoyment of eating at 3 weeks (Δ = 4.07 ± 13.02), but it was not statistically significant. These results were not consolidated at the 6 week timepoint. Conclusion: A simple change in the organisation of care during meals and the use of a familiar object can positively affect the recovery of the self-feeding autonomy of patients with severe dementia.

[Dementia and the gestures surrounding meals]. / Démences et gestuelle de la prise des repas.

The nursing research project "Praxalim" was initiated by a nursing team. Confronted with Alzheimer's disease and related illnesses, the nursing staff wanted to work on help with daily living tasks and in particular meals.