Prevention and management of hospital-acquired pressure injury among patients with lung disease in a hospital: a best practice implementation project.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this project was to promote evidence-based practice in the prevention and management of pressure injury in lung disease patients. INTRODUCTION: Pressure injury is a crucial quality indicator for hospital care of patients. The pressure injury incidence threshold in the chest wards has been exceeding that of the general ward (0.128%), which may extend patients' hospital stay. METHODS: Clinical audits were performed using the JBI Practical Application of Clinical Evidence System and Getting Research into Practice (GRiP) audit and feedback tool. Twelve audit criteria representing best practice recommendations for preventing and managing pressure injury among lung disease patients were used. A baseline audit was performed to measure the degree of consistency between existing practice and best practice. This project used the GRiP analysis and multiple strategies to develop care protocols for pressure injury prevention and management. A follow-up audit was conducted to measure changes in clinical practice and pressure injury incidence. RESULTS: Postimplementation audit compliance rates improved for the following criteria: skin assessment for identifying pressure injury indications (from 31 to 81%), identification of pressure injury risk score/category (from 19 to 88%), employment of nutritional assessment tools (from 8 to 93%), and provision of information regarding oral nutritional supplements (from 23 to 84%). Furthermore, patients learning the pressure injury care protocols (from 48 to 93%), the receipt of additional skin protection measures, and repositioning of vulnerable areas to relieve pressure increased to 100 and 93%, respectively. After project implementation, the monthly pressure injury incidence decreased markedly from 0.075 to 0.021%. CONCLUSION: The success factors of this project are attributable to leadership, open communication, multiple learning-by-doing strategies, regular audits, and the promotion of patient and family engagement.

Necessity of Local Modification for Deep Learning Algorithms to Predict Diabetic Retinopathy.

Deep learning (DL) algorithms are used to diagnose diabetic retinopathy (DR). However, most of these algorithms have been trained using global data or data from patients of a single region. Using different model architectures (e.g., Inception-v3, ResNet101, and DenseNet121), we assessed the necessity of modifying the algorithms for universal society screening. We used the open-source dataset from the Kaggle Diabetic Retinopathy Detection competition to develop a model for the detection of DR severity. We used a local dataset from Taipei City Hospital to verify the necessity of model localization and validated the three aforementioned models with local datasets. The experimental results revealed that Inception-v3 outperformed ResNet101 and DenseNet121 with a foreign global dataset, whereas DenseNet121 outperformed Inception-v3 and ResNet101 with the local dataset. The quadratic weighted kappa score (κ) was used to evaluate the model performance. All models had 5-8% higher κ for the local dataset than for the foreign dataset. Confusion matrix analysis revealed that, compared with the local ophthalmologists' diagnoses, the severity predicted by the three models was overestimated. Thus, DL algorithms using artificial intelligence based on global data must be locally modified to ensure the applicability of a well-trained model to make diagnoses in clinical environments.

High rates of colonization and antimicrobial resistance of group B streptococcus highlight the need for vaccination even after implementation of guidelines for intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis.

INTRODUCTION: It is estimated that about 11-35% of pregnant women are colonized with Group B streptococcus. Intrapartum antibiotic prophylaxis (IAP) is the primary intervention to decrease the risk of infecting babies born to GBS colonized mothers. METHODS: A total of 5,996 pregnant women, who received the Taiwanese universal GBS screening program from 2012 to 2020, were included in this study that investigated GBS colonization, antimicrobial resistance rates and their neonatal incidence of invasive GBS infection. RESULTS: The average GBS colonization rate was 18.5%. Older age groups had higher colonization rates than younger age groups. Compared to Taiwanese, immigrant women from Indonesia had a greater positive rate. GBS isolated from Vietnamese women had significant greater resistance to clindamycin relative to Taiwanese women. Rates of resistance to erythromycin increase from 35.5% to 45.5% over the 9 years of measurements. The incidence of invasive GBS disease was about 0.6/1,000 (4/6,204) live births during the study. CONCLUSIONS: Although relatively low incidence of invasive GBS diseases was observed after implementation of IAP, the colonization of GBS remains high and antimicrobial resistance of GBS is increasing. An effective GBS vaccine holds promise to be a solution for these issues.

Orthopaedic inpatient rehabilitation conducted by nursing staff in acute orthopaedic wards in Taiwan.

The purpose of this study was to understand the postoperative rehabilitation patterns of orthopaedic patients and to explore factors which affected the patients' functional recovery. A descriptive study with convenience sampling was performed. Study participants included orthopaedic inpatients from two hospitals in Taipei. In total, 100 patients were selected with an average age of 60.88 ± 17.61 years, of which the most common type of surgery was a total knee replacement (49.0%). Among these participants, 79.0% received rehabilitation guided by nursing staff, while only 6.0% were instructed by a physical therapist. The predictive factor for the time to first ambulation was the intensity of pain experienced on the second day after the operation, which accounted for 4.5% of the total variance. As for the functional status prior to discharge, predictive factors included the time to first ambulation and whether nursing staff provided instructions on rehabilitation, which accounted for 11.2% of the total variance. We recommend that professional staff should promote patient guidance toward postoperative rehabilitation, assistance in achieving the first ambulation and a resolution of obstacles to rehabilitation.

A longitudinal study of childhood obesity, weight status change, and subsequent academic performance in Taiwanese children.

BACKGROUND: This study examined the association among childhood obesity, weight status change, and subsequent academic performance at 6-year follow-up. METHODS: First-grade students from one elementary school district in Taichung City, Taiwan were followed for 6 years (N = 409). Academic performance was extracted from the school records at the end of each grade. Weight and height were measured at the beginning of each grade. A weight change variable was created based on each child's weight status difference at grades 1 and 6. A multivariate linear regression model for predicting academic performance at grade 6 was developed with adjustment for individual characteristics and family factors. A latent growth curve (LGC) showed the association between changes in body mass index (BMI) and in academic performance across a 6-year period. RESULTS: BMI in children increased significantly across 6 years. The rate of increase in BMI over 6 years was higher for children with higher baseline BMIs than it was for children with lower baseline BMIs. However, BMI changes were not significantly associated with changes of academic performance. CONCLUSION: There was no significant relationship between initial obesity or change in weight status and subsequent academic performance. It appears that either being or becoming overweight/obese did not impact academic achievement for these Taiwanese children.

Using a nurse invented T-Bar device in a rehabilitation program improved the range of motion for rotator cuff repair patients.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study investigates the effects on patient outcomes of using a T-bar in rehabilitation programs in shoulder arthroscopic surgical procedure patients. BACKGROUND: Orthopaedic nurses play an important role in facilitating restoration of patients' range of motion shoulder function. Conventionally, nurses instruct patients to use the unaffected arm to hold the surgical arm when performing range of motion. However, patients often have difficulty performing the entire range of motion efficiently in this manner. Therefore, nurses have invented a T-bar device to help patients perform range of motion in a rehabilitation program. DESIGN: A repeated-measure, quasi-experimental study. METHOD: Sixty-eight participants were recruited from four orthopaedic wards of a medical center in Taipei, Taiwan. Of the patients meeting the inclusion criteria for the study, 33 were assigned to the experimental group and 35 to the comparison group. Both groups had the same shoulder rehabilitation program including identical activities, duration and frequency, except that the experimental group used the nurse invented T-bar device to facilitate range of motion while the comparison group used a conventional method. Data were collected when patients were admitted, five days and four weeks after the surgery. Outcome indicators were shoulder range of motion, muscle power and the American Shoulder and Elbow Society Shoulder Index. Statistical methods used for analysis included mean, standard deviation and repeated measures anova. RESULTS: All the participants completed the study. Results showed a significant improvement in shoulder abduction after surgery in experimental group versus the comparison group. No significant differences were found in other outcomes. CONCLUSIONS: The nurse invented T-bar device used in the rehabilitation program was effective in helping restore the abduction function of rotator cuff repair patients in our preliminary study. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Using a T-bar in the rehabilitation program to improve range of motion may be considered for patients with shoulder surgery.

To evaluate the effectiveness of a discharge-planning programme for hip fracture patients.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a comprehensive discharge-planning service for hip fracture patients, including length of stay, functional status, self-care knowledge and quality of life (QOL). BACKGROUND: Hip fractures are the most devastating result of osteoporosis. Care of these patients from the moment they enter the hospital until discharge and postdischarge is a challenging task, requiring a coordinated approach by an interdisciplinary team. DESIGN: An experimental design was used. Methods. Fifty hip fracture patients were recruited from a medical centre in Taipei, Taiwan and randomly divided into two groups. The control group received routine discharge nursing care and the experimental group received comprehensive discharge planning. After patient admission, researchers assessed discharge-planning needs, provided discharge nursing instruction, coordinated services and determined discharge placement based on assessment results. RESULTS: (i) Mean age of 50 hip fracture patients was 78.75 (SD 6.99) years. Mean length of stay was 6.04 (SD 2.41) days for the experimental group and 6.29 (SD 2.17) for the control group. Difference between groups was not significant (t = -0.394, p = 0.696). (ii) The self-care knowledge of the experimental group was higher than that of the control group (F = 11.569, p = 0.001). (iii) Significant improvements were observed in functional status of both groups at three months postdischarge, with no significant differences observed between groups. However, the functional status of experimental group patients showed a slightly better trend than that of the control group. (iv) At three months postdischarge, QOL of experimental group patients was better than control group patients. CONCLUSIONS: A comprehensive discharge-planning service can improve hip fracture patients' self-care knowledge and QOL. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Results of this study can be used clinically as a basis for practical implementation of discharge-planning services in fracture patients.

Post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety and quality of life in patients with traffic-related injuries.

AIMS: This paper reports a study to investigate and follow-up relationships between post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, depression and quality of life in patients after traffic-related injuries. BACKGROUND: Worldwide, traffic accidents kill 1.2 million people and injure 50 million people per year. Accidental injuries are fourth in the top five causes of death in Taiwan. For survivors, traffic accidents not only cause physical impairments, but also psychological trauma, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety, all of which affect the quality of life. METHODS: An exploratory, correlational design was used, and participants were recruited consecutively. Data were collected at 1 and 6 weeks post-injury for 64 patients from two major medical centres in Taiwan. Instruments were the New Injury Severity Scale, Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Reaction Index, Beck Depression Inventory, State Anxiety Inventory and Medical Outcomes Study Questionnaire. The data were collected in 2002. RESULTS: Statistically significant improvements occurred in depression, anxiety and the quality of life between week 1 and week 6 (P<0.05); high levels of post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms at week 1 (87.5%) and at week 6 (82.8%) showed no statistically significant improvement. There was a positive correlation between post-traumatic stress disorder and depression (r=0.70, P<0.001) and between post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety (r=0.57, P<0.001), and a negative correlation between post-traumatic stress disorder and quality of life (r=-0.47, P<0.001). Depression was the most important variable to predict post-traumatic stress disorder at week 6, with depression levels at week 6 being a more powerful predictor than those at week 1. Regression analysis revealed that depression (19%) at week 1, depression at week 6 (45%), anxiety (3.8%) at week 6 and post-traumatic stress disorder (5.8%) explained a statistically significant amount of the variance at week 6. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that traffic accidents have an impact on people's psychosocial wellbeing. Healthcare professionals need to implement interventions to decrease post-traumatic stress disorder, depression and anxiety to increase the quality of life for patients following traffic injuries.