Examining the long-term effects of COVID-19 in surgical nurses: Case of Aegean Region.

PURPOSE: To examine the long-term effects of COVID-19 on surgical nurses. BACKGROUND: Individuals contaminated with COVID-19 may face several metabolic or psychological issues, primarily in the respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, musculoskeletal and renal systems during the late period. However, the long-term epidemiology is still not clear. DESIGN: Descriptive cross-sectional study. METHODS: The study included nurses (n = 509) who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 at least 12 weeks before and worked in surgical departments. We collected the study data via an online survey using the snowball sampling method between December 2021 and May 2022. This study followed the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology Guideline. RESULTS: The mean age of the nurses was 31.66 ± 8.74 years. Nurses stated that they were diagnosed with COVID-19 approximately 36 weeks before participating in this study. We found that the nurses mostly experienced palpitation (83.5%), headache (73.5%), dyspnea (64.1%), anosmia (57.6%), arthralgia (55.7%) and burnout (58.4%) during the late period after COVID-19. CONCLUSION: The long-term effects of COVID-19 were related to multiple organ dysfunctions. NO PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION: Since the study was conducted with healthy individuals who had previously experienced COVID-19, there is no patient contribution. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: This study focuses on the long-term effects of COVID-19 on nurses. The results support the long-term effects of COVID-19 and are thought to contribute to the literature.

Pain Management Knowledge and Attitudes for Surgical Nursing Students.

BACKGROUND: Pain is considered as one of the most common factors that cause people to seek medical care. An important responsibility of health professionals is to manage pain, and nurses play a crucial role in it. Therefore, nursing students must have pain management knowledge and skills to fulfill this role. AIM: The objective of the study was to examine pain management knowledge and attitudes of nursing students who had taken a surgical nursing course. METHODS: This descriptive, cross-sectional study was conducted with volunteer second-year undergraduate nursing students (n = 260) from two universities in Turkey. The Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain and a student demographic information form were used for data collection. Data were analyzed with descriptive statistics, t test and variance analysis. RESULTS: The mean score on the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain was 6.78 ± 2.23. Of all the students, 48.8% reported that they only preferred pharmacologic treatments for pain management. The mean score on the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain significantly differed in terms of the type of high school (p = .044) and the unit for clinical education (p = .025). CONCLUSIONS: The students had a moderate mean score on the Knowledge and Attitudes Survey Regarding Pain. The students who graduated from high school and those who received their clinical education in cardiovascular and thoracic surgery units had significantly higher mean scores on pain management knowledge and attitudes.

The effects of showering in 48-72 h after coronary artery bypass graft surgery through median sternotomy on wound infection, pain, comfort, and satisfaction: randomized controlled trial.

AIMS: Time of showering after surgery is still a controversial issue for surgical patients and health professionals. We evaluated the effects of showering in 48-72 h after median sternotomy on sternal wound infections, pain due to sternotomy, patient comfort, and satisfaction levels. METHODS AND RESULTS: The study was a randomized controlled clinical trial. Fifty-one patients were randomly allocated (1:1) to the shower (n = 26) or non-shower group (n = 25). The patients in the shower group (intervention group) showered in the first 48-72 h after surgery and the patients in the non-shower group (control group) were not allowed to shower until their chest tube sutures were removed. They were instructed to shower on the next day after removal of the chest tube sutures. The rate of sternal wound infections was significantly lower in the shower group (n = 2, 7.7%) than in the non-shower group patients (n = 8, 32.0%; P = 0.038). A logistic regression analysis showed that early post-operative showering was protective and significantly reduced the risk of sternal wound infections independently of other variables [odds ratio (OR): 0.177; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.033-0.940; P = 0.042]. The pain severity score was significantly lower in the shower group patients. Also, comfort and satisfaction scores were significantly higher in this group (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Early showering after sternotomy was found to be protective against sternal wound infections and had a positive effect on pain, comfort, and satisfaction. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Clinical Trials.gov registration number NCT04250961 (https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04250961).

Sexual Counseling Provided by Cardiovascular Nurses: Attitudes, Beliefs, Perceived Barriers, and Proposed Solutions.

BACKGROUND: Although sex lives of patients with cardiovascular disease (CVD) are affected in various ways and degrees, nurses working with these patients refrain from talking about sexual matters with their patients or encounter barriers trying to do so. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this descriptive study was to identify attitudes and beliefs of cardiovascular nurses regarding talking to their patients about sexual problems, perceived barriers, and proposed solutions. METHODS: The sample included 170 nurses working for the cardiology and cardiac surgery departments of 1 university hospital, 2 ministry of health hospitals, and 2 private hospitals in Turkey. Data were collected between April and August 2015 through a 4-section questionnaire including the Sexual Attitude and Beliefs Scale. Descriptive, parametric, and nonparametric statistics were used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Most (73.5%) reported not talking to their patients about sexual issues, and only 35.9% stated that they had been educated on how to do so. The major reason for nurses avoiding discussions about sex with their patients was not considering sexuality as a patient care priority (86.4%). Establishing privacy for the patient (91.2%) was the solution proposed by most nurses. The average score of the nurses on the Sexual Attitude and Beliefs Scale was only medium. CONCLUSION: Most of the nurses were untrained about how to talk about sexual problems with their patients and therefore were unable to talk about it freely.

Cardiovascular surgery nurses' level of knowledge regarding delirium.

BACKGROUND: Studies have shown that nurses have a crucial role in the recognition of delirium; however, they have insufficient knowledge regarding the issue. OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study is to determine the knowledge level of cardiovascular surgery nurses regarding delirium. METHODS: A survey design was used. The population of the study consisted of 124 nurses employed at the cardiovascular surgery wards and intensive care units of universities as well as state and private hospitals located in two different cities in Turkey between May and June 2014. The sample consisted of 97 nurses employed at the aforementioned institutions and time. Data were collected using the questionnaire form depicting the demographic characteristics of the nurses and the knowledge form including the level of nurses' knowledge regarding delirium. For the evaluation of data, number, percentage, Kruskal-Wallis, Mann-Whitney U- and independent-samples t-test were used. RESULTS: Nurses were between 18 and 47 years of age with a mean 29·8 (SD = 6·80, the youngest = 18 and the oldest = 47) years. They spent a minimum of 1, a maximum of 25 and a median value of 3 (interquartile range, IQR: 5) years working in cardiovascular surgery. As for the scores received from the knowledge form regarding delirium, the lowest was zero, the highest was 60, and the average score was 41·18 ± 12·50 (a moderate level of knowledge). It was found that the nurses working in intensive care units, those who were chief nurses and those who received in-service training scored higher than the others. CONCLUSIONS: Cardiovascular surgery nurses had a moderate level of knowledge regarding delirium. This may result in the neglect of delirium or a misdiagnosis. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: It is recommended that training is provided that includes recognition, assessment and application of appropriate interventions to minimise the incidence of delirium.