Predictors of death anxiety among Iranian cancer patients: Contribution of sense of Coherence.

BACKGROUND: Death anxiety is a negative consequence of cancer that influences the quality of life of many patients. This study determined the predictors of death anxiety and the contribution of the sense of coherence to this disorder among Iranians with cancer. METHODS: The present research was a descriptive-analytical study that examined cancer patients referring to one of the educational hospitals in Tehran, Iran. Two hundred eligible patients selected by purposeful sampling filled out a clinical and demographic questionnaire. The data were analyzed by the SPSS 20 software. RESULTS: The correlational results revealed a negative and significant relationship between death anxiety and a sense of coherence (r = -0.610). Likewise, age, gender, marital status, occupational and economic circumstances, and cancer type were among the variables that correlated with death anxiety and predicted 85% of this psychological state. CONCLUSION: The researchers recommend mental assessment in oncological care to identify psychological challenges to realize the ultimate goal of palliative care, i.e. improving patients' quality of life.

Development and validation of SALT Triage method to facilitate the identification and classification of patients in Mass Casualty Incidents.

BACKGROUND: Mass Casualty Incidents (MCIs) have caused great financial losses. These incidents are referred to a situation in which the number of casualties caused by the accident temporarily increases to such an extent that it is not possible to treat all these patients with the facilities and capacities available in the area. To offer fair and proportionate medical services to all patients, it is necessary to use a process called patient triage. This study aimed to modify the Sort Assess Lifesaving Intervention Treatment/transport (SALT) triage method to simplify the differentiation of patients from green from yellow and gray from red. METHODS: This is a methodological study with a descriptive cross-sectional approach that by studying the SALT triage method and using the criteria defined in the Reference Standard, facilitates the identification of patients with a minor (Outpatient) and fatal injury (Expectant). Then, using two common and modified SALT triage methods, 100 simulated patients were triaged and the obtained data were evaluated and compared in terms of accuracy and speed. RESULTS: The improvement made in the SALT triage method was able to reduce 22% of the total triage error of the first nurse and improved 18% in green, 43% in yellow, 15% in red, and 13% in the gray category. In the second nurse, this method was able to reduce 29% of the errors and in the category of green patients, 41%, yellow 47%, red was unchanged, and gray 38% improvement was observed. Furthermore, the average triage rate was 4 and 5 seconds shorter per patient in the first and second nurses, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: With this modification, the diagnostic power has increased by 22% in the first nurse and 29% in the second nurse. Due to the significant increase in the accuracy of the mSALT (Modified SALT) triage method, this modification can be considered useful and can be used to advance the goals of triage in MCIs.

The Effect of E-Learning Program for COVID-19 Patient Care on the Knowledge of Nursing Students: A Quasi-Experimental Study.

Introduction: As COVID-19 is an emerging disease, nursing students have little experience in caring for COVID-19 patients while they will be part of the country's health system and have the closest relationship with the treatment team. Objectives: Therefore, considering the importance and challenges of nursing students' education during the COVID-19 pandemic, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of e-learning programs for COVID-19 patient care on nursing students' knowledge in Tehran, Iran 2021. Methods: The present quasi-experimental study was performed on 100 nursing students selected by a random sampling method. The demographic and knowledge assessment questionnaires were used to collect data before the intervention. Then, the e-learning program was implemented, in which students participated in three sessions for two weeks, the educational content was provided for the students in the form of text, audio, video, and image files, and questions were asked to them. Data were collected immediately after completing the e-learning program and four weeks later. Results: The mean age value was 22 ± 1.25, and 61% of participants were female. The total mean score of knowledge immediately after training (22.95 ± 0.30) and one month after training (22.79 ± 0.30) significantly increased compared to baseline time (17.21 ± 0.48). The main effect of time was significant for the total score of knowledge from baseline to immediately after training (B = 5.79) and one-month follow-up (B = 5.63). Conclusion: The findings of the study showed that the total mean score of the knowledge of students increased significantly in all dimensions after the e-learning program for COVID-19 patient care. Implications for nursing practice: Considering the effectiveness of the e-learning program for COVID-19 patient care in increasing the knowledge of nursing students, it is necessary to provide more training programs focusing on new scientific findings because increasing nurses' and nursing students' knowledge plays a significant role in achieving more skills and promoting community health.

CURB-65, qSOFA, and SIRS Criteria in Predicting In-Hospital Mortality of Critically Ill COVID-19 Patients; a Prognostic Accuracy Study.

Introduction: Outcome prediction of intensive care unit (ICU)-admitted patients is one of the important issues for physicians. This study aimed to compare the accuracy of Quick Sequential Organ Failure Assessment (qSOFA), Confusion, Urea, Respiratory Rate, Blood Pressure and Age Above or Below 65 Years (CURB-65), and Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome (SIRS) scores in predicting the in-hospital mortality of COVID-19 patients. Methods: This prognostic accuracy study was performed on 225 ICU-admitted patients with a definitive diagnosis of COVID-19 from July to December 2021 in Tehran, Iran. The patients' clinical characteristics were evaluated at the time of ICU admission, and they were followed up until discharge from ICU. The screening performance characteristics of CURB-65, qSOFA, and SIRS in predicting their mortality was compared. Results: 225 patients with the mean age of 63.27±14.89 years were studied (56.89% male). The in-hospital mortality rate of this series of patients was 39.10%. The area under the curve (AUC) of SIRS, CURB-65, and qSOFA were 0.62 (95% CI: 0.55 - 0.69), 0.66 (95% CI: 0.59 - 0.73), and 0.61(95% CI: 0.54 - 0.67), respectively (p = 0.508). In cut-off ≥1, the estimated sensitivity values of SIRS, CURB-65, and qSOFA were 85.23%, 96.59%, and 78.41%, respectively. The estimated specificity of scores were 34.31%, 6.57%, and 38.69%, respectively. In cut-off ≥2, the sensitivity values of SIRS, CURB-65, and qSOFA were evaluated as 39.77%, 87.50%, and 15.91%, respectively. Meanwhile, the specificity of scores were 72.99%, 34.31%, and 92.70%. Conclusions: It seems that the performance of SIRS, CURB-65, and qSOFA is similar in predicting the ICU mortality of COVID-19 patients. However, the sensitivity of CURB-65 is higher than qSOFA and SIRS.

The expansion of the role of nurse prescribing in intensive care units in the healthcare system of Iran: a qualitative content analysis.

Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nurses prescribe medication for patients in many countries. However, there is still no evidence on the legitimacy of nurse prescribing roles in the healthcare system of Iran. This qualitative study with 30 experts was conducted to explore the experiences regarding the expanding role of prescribing medication by the ICU nurses. Data were collected through 31 individual semi-structured interviews and analyzed using the conventional content analysis method by MAXQDA 10. One major theme, "applicability of prescribing medication by ICU nurses", together with three sub-themes of "facilitators", "potential risks of nurse prescribing" and "the professional pathway", emerged. The use of successful global experiences, patient-oriented healthcare system policies, current culture and positive professional position of nurses, physician shortage, and high capacity of ICU nurses appeared as facilitators to perform the new role in our context. For the expansion of the new role, different professional pathways such as discussion with physicians and special groups with conflicts of interests, training qualified nurses in this area, and gradual development were proposed by the participants. The next step of the research is to prepare a set of standards for the prescription of medication by the ICU nurses in our context.

The Relationship Between Work Commitment, Dynamic, and Medication Error.

Incidence of medication errors in intensive care unit (ICU) can cause irreparable damage for ICU patients. Therefore, it seems necessary to find the causes of medication errors in this section. Work commitment and dynamic might affect the incidence of medication errors in ICU. To assess the mentioned hypothesis, we performed a descriptive-analytical study which was carried out on 117 nurses working in ICU of educational hospitals in Tehran. Minick et al., Salyer et al., and Wakefield et al. scales were used for data gathering on work commitment, dynamic, and medication errors, respectively. Findings of the current study revealed that high work commitment in ICU nurses caused low number of medication errors, including intravenous and nonintravenous. We controlled the effects of confounding variables in detection of this relationship. In contrast, no significant association was found between work dynamic and different types of medication errors. Although the study did not observe any relationship between the dynamics and rate of medication errors, the training of nurses or nursing students to create a dynamic environment in hospitals can increase their interest in the profession and increase job satisfaction in them. Also they must have enough ability in work dynamic so that they don't confused and distracted result in frequent changes of orders, care plans, and procedures.

The Effect of Liaison Nurse Service on Patient Outcomes after Discharging From ICU: a Randomized Controlled Trial.

Introduction: Recent studies suggest that liaison nurse intervention might be effective to solve the gap between intensive care unit and wards, but little studies are known about the effect of this intervention. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of liaison nurse service on patient outcomes after discharging from intensive care unit. Methods: In this single blinded randomized controlled trial, a total of 80 patients were selected by convenience sampling method from two teaching hospitals located in Tehran, Iran. Patients were randomly allocated to either the experimental or the control groups. Patients in the experimental group received post-ICU care from a liaison nurse and patients in the control group received the routine care. After the intervention, patients' vital signs, level of consciousness, length of hospital stay, need for re-hospitalization in ICU, and satisfaction with care were measure. Data were analyzed by SPSS Ver.13 software. Results: None of the participants experienced ICU re-hospitalization. According to the result and there were no significant differences between the study groups regarding heart rate, respiratory rate, systolic blood pressure, post-ICU level of consciousness, satisfaction with care, and length of hospitalization in medical-surgical wards. However, the study groups differed significantly in terms of body temperature. Conclusion: Care services provided by an ICU liaison nurse has limited effects on patient outcomes. However, considering the contradictions among the studies, further studies are needed for providing clear evidence about the effectiveness of the liaison nurse strategy.

A Systematic Review of the Liaison Nurse Role on Patient's Outcomes after Intensive Care Unit Discharge.

BACKGROUND: This review focuses on the impact of liaison nurse in nursing care of patient after ICU discharge on patient's outcomes, compared with patients that are not taken care of by liaison nurses. The role of the ICU liaison nurse has transpired to solve the gap between intensive care unit and wards. Therefore, we aimed to review the outcomes of all studies in this field. METHODS: A systematic review of intervention studies between 2004 and 2013 was undertaken using standard and sensitive keywords such as liaison nurse, intensive care unit, and patient outcomes in the following databases: Science direct, PubMed, Scopus, Ovid, Oxford, Wiley, Scholar, and Mosby. Then, the articles which had the inclusion criteria after quality control were selected for a systematic review. RESULTS: From 662 retrieved articles, six articles were analyzed in a case study and four articles showed a statistically significant effect of the liaison nurse on the patient's outcomes such as reducing delays in patient discharge, effective discharge planning, improvement in survival for patients at the risk for readmission. CONCLUSION: Liaison nurses have a positive role on the outcomes of patients who are discharged from the ICU and more research should be done to examine the exact function of liaison nurses and other factors that influence outcomes in patients discharged from ICU.