ABSTRACT
A large amount of scientific literature is forcing those who want to study the subject deeply. In general, the number of articles available exceeds thousands. It has become challenging both to dominate the current concept and to see the relationships between the developments that feed the concept. Visualization techniques based on bibliometric data help to gain an overview of the literature on complex research topics. The aim of this study is to examine the topic of "patient safety" with a bibliometric analysis program. The data of 8372 articles obtained from the Web of Science database were analyzed with SciMAT2 software. Before the analysis, general findings regarding the raw data were brought to the fore. The strategic diagram and thematic development map have been analyzed in terms of 10-year periods covering the past 30 years. Five motor themes ("contrast agent," "adverse events," "program," "safety," "prostatectomy") were identified in 1990-1999, four motor themes ("infection control," "hospital-acquired infections," "adverse drug events," "culture") in 2000-2009 and nine motor themes ("patient safety," "education," "climate," "system," "mortality," "operating room," "validity," "burnout," "primary care") in 2010-2019. The number of motor themes increased during the period and adverse events, which were the active subjects of the early periods, were replaced by new concepts (such as climate, primary care, and burnout) over time. Bibliometric visualization tools make it possible to analyze the literature consisting of a large number of articles. This approach facilitates a person''s understanding of a complex research topic such as patient safety and ensures that they are aware of new research directions or alternative research priorities.
ABSTRACT
PURPOSE: This study was conducted to determine the prevalence and severity of postoperative pain in the first 24 hours after surgery and to emphasize the importance of postoperative pain assessment. DESIGN: A descriptive study. METHODS: This study was carried out on May 21, 2019 with 898 patients who had completed the postoperative 24th hour in the surgical clinics of 10 training and research hospitals in Istanbul, the capital of Turkey. Point prevalence was used in the study. Data were collected using a questionnaire developed by the researchers and the Revised American Pain Society Patient Outcome Questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were presented as frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. Nonparametric tests were used for data without normal distribution (Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test, P < .05). Two-group comparisons were performed using the Mann-Whitney U test. The Kruskal Wallis-H test was used for the comparison of three or more groups. Statistical significance was set as P < .05. FINDINGS: The three main types of surgery were general surgery with 31.8%, gynecologic surgery with 12.9%, and orthopedic surgery with 12.7%. The mean lowest level of pain felt by the patients included in the study in the first 24 hours was 3.90 ± 2.94, and the mean highest level of pain was 6.38 ± 4.45. CONCLUSIONS: Postoperative pain is a subjective phenomenon and may be affected by factors such as type of surgery, previous experience of surgery, duration of surgery, the length of the surgical incision, the type of anesthesia, the quality of postoperative care, individual characteristics and experiences, and fear anxiety; thus, the experience of pain may vary from person to person.
