Objective: Home care services (HCS) is delivery of the healthcare and attendant care service to the patients living with their families by healthcare professionals in accordance with physicians' recommendations so as to meet their medical needs including rehabilitation, physiotherapy, psychological therapy. In our study, it was aimed to evaluate the infections developing in the patients followed by HCS. Methods: Follow-up forms of 361 patients visited by the staff of the HCS unit between January 20-11 and January 2013 were evaluated retrospectively. Results: 143 (39.6%) of the patients followed up by HCS unit were male and the mean age was 69.2±17.8 years. In terms of underlying diseases, 201 (55.7%) of patients had cerebrovascular disease, 187 (51.8%) had ischemic heart disease, 165 (45.7%) had hypertension, 65 (18%) had diabetes mellitus and 67 (18.6%) had solid organ malignancy. 153 (42.4%) patients were completely bedridden. 53 (14.7%) of them had an indwelling urinary catheter. 53 (14.4%) patients had decubitus ulcer. 18 (5%) of the patients were feeding with parenteral nutrition, 13 (3.6%) were feeding via a nasogastric tube and 10 (2.8%) were feeding via a jejunal tube. 88 episodes of infection were identified in 68 (18.8%) of 361 patients followed up throughout the study period. Urinary system infections (41%) and lower respiratory tract infections (26%) were the most common infections in patients. Conclusions: In our study, urinary system infections and lower respiratory tract infections are most commonly observed among patients receiving HCS. Being completely bedridden is a risk factor for developing infection among the patients receiving HCS. Klimik Dergisi 2018; 31(1): 41-5.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.