Introduction: Nursing activities score scales are valuable instruments for assessing the quality of nursing care provided in critically ill patients and easy to use in validating nurse staffing. The aim of this study was the assessment of nursing workload (NW) as a predictive factor of mortality by using the nursing activities score (NAS) scale. Materials and Methods: In this cross-sectional study of 91 days during 2019, convenience sampling was employed to recruit 82 registered nurses (RN) from three intensive care units (ICUs) of two public hospitals with 41 beds in total. Data were collected using the NAS scale, the researcher’s observation, the information given by the staff, and the nursing care reports. Descriptive and inductive statistics were used with significance level α = 0.05. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS 25.0) was used for analyzing the data. Results: Females were the majority of the sample (84.1%), with a mean age of 38.9 (7.7) years, 87.8% had a nursing degree from a technological educational institute (T.E.I), the average working experience was 14 (8.1) years and the ICU experience was 12.9 (8.5) years. There were 3764 daily records of NAS with an average of 54.81 (2.34) and total NAS of 756.51 (150.27). The NW of the first day’s admission in the ICU was 65.15 (13.05), NW was 13.15 h/day and the NW of patients who died was 57.37 (4.06). The optimal nurse/patient ratio (NPR) was 1:1.82, while the existing NPR was 1:2.86. The mortality rate was 28.7%. Conclusion: Although the study results did not demonstrate a significant correlation between NW and mortality, the NW in ICU appeared to be relatively higher for patients who died than for those who survived. This result may serve as an indication for a positive correlation between these two variables. In addition, NW was found to be moderate, while one ICU nurse can take care of more than one patient.
Background: Dyslipidemias are one of the major modifiable risk factors for cardiovascular disease. Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is the most common genetic metabolic disorder; it is estimated that around 14-34 million people worldwide have FH but only 25% of FH patients have been diagnosed. Aim: The aim of the present study was to explore the prevalence of FH in Attica region, Greece.Methods: Attica region was divided into 8 regional units. A predesigned questionnaire was used to collect demographic and clinical data. Data analysis was performed by using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), ver. 20.Results: The studied sample consisted of 1578 Greek inhabitants of Attica region. The majority of the sample was women (59.9%). The mean age of the studied participants was 47.1 (±14.9) years. According to Simon Broome criteria, the probability of an FH diagnosis as unlikely is determined in 98.7% of the studied sample, probable in 0.8% of the participants or definite in 0.5% of the participants, based on this data, the prevalence of FH in Attica region, Greece is 1:200. Qualitative factors found to be associated with the onset of the disease were medication (p-value = 0.001) and hypolipidemic therapy (p-value = 0.001). The quantitative factors found to be associated with disease onset were body mass index (p-value = 0.044), and systolic (p-value = 0.001) and diastolic (p-value = 0.007) pressure.Conclusions: Based on our data, the prevalence of FH in Attica region, Greece is 1:200. Early identification of contributing factors in FH development and proper treatment is vital and reduce the risk of premature and severe atherosclerotic disease.
Introduction: The postoperative pleural effusion (PE) is common in patients who undergo cardiac surgery. Most of these effusions develop as a consequence of the surgical procedure itself and follow a generally benign course. The characteristics of PE and the factors predisposing factors should be documented further.Aim: The aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of PE after cardiac surgery. And also to determine whether this prevale is related to the type of cardiac surgery.Material and Methods: This retrospective study was conducted at a large private hospital in Athens. The sample of the study was all adult patients who undergo coronary artery bypass graft (CABG), valve replacement or a combination of these surgeries. A special form was made to record patients’ demographic and clinical data. Descriptive statistics and correlation studies were performed with the SPSS 22.0, at significant level a=0.05.Results: Among the 118 patients, who included in this study, 42.4% underwent CABG surgery, 29.7% valve surgery, and 28% a combination of two types of surgery. Postoperative pleural effusion was developed in 40% of those who underwent CABG, 42.9% of those who underwent cardiac valve surgery, and 42.4% of those who underwent in both types of surgeries. The mean time development of PE was 6.65 days for the CABG group, 4.8 days for the valve group and 8.7 days for the CABG +valve group. There was no statistically significant difference in the demographic and clinical data of patients with pleural effusion according the type of cardiac surgery.Conclusions: Postoperative PE is a common complication at cardiac surgery and is more common in patients undergoing surgical recuperation of valve.
Introduction: In Greece, it is estimated that annually 600 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed, being the third most common form of cancer in women after breast cancer (22.9%) and colon cancer (9.4%).In addition to being life-threatening, such a diagnosis can also represent the psychological impact of gynecological cancers; there are negative emotional consequences of such a diagnosis for both patients and their families affecting the quality of life (QOL) of patients with gynecological cancer.Aim: To examine the quality of life (QOL) of women with recent diagnosis of gynecologic cancer (RDGC) in Greece during their illness and to identify the psychosocial problems and the symptoms faced by women in the early stages of the disease.Material and Method: A prospective study of 63 patients with RDGC before undergoing hysterectomy, who completed the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire.Results: The patients were between 45 and 50 years old (19.6%). Impaired physical functioning of women with RDGC was associated with strenuous activity or a long walk. Emotionally, patients showed a lack of concentration, tension, anxiety, irritation and depression. Age was negatively correlated with depression (p-value = 0.05<0.1). More than half of women had pain and few of them suffered a lot. Pain, shortness of breath (dyspnea) and fatigue caused discomfort and interference with daily living activities. More than half had sleeping disorders. Constipation and lack of appetite were common symptoms of the digestive system. Most women had no social or financial problems and rated their quality of life “very good”.Conclusions: Women with a RDGC, besides the common physical symptoms such as fatigue, pain, anorexia, sleep disorders and loss of appetite, had also emotional disorders. The feeling of depression was present in most patients. It was found that the younger the patient, the more depressed they feel.
Introduction: When the pressure ulcer does not respond to established standard care, then international guidelines recommend the use of alternative forms of therapy such as electrical stimulation, negative pressure wound treatment, ultraviolet radiation, electromagnetic field therapy or ultrasound. Low and high frequency ultrasound is used to treat various types of chronic ulcers including venous, diabetic and pressure ulcers.Aim: The aim of the present systematic review was to investigate the effectiveness of ultrasound in promoting the healing of pressure ulcers.Method and Material: A systematic review was carried out in the electronic databases PubMed and Cochrane Library. Inclusion criteria were primary and secondary studies, whose sample were patients with pressure ulcers, regardless of age, published in English language of the last decade (2008-2018).Results: The review revealed 5 articles that met the inclusion criteria. The results of these studies showed an advantage in the use of ultrasound for the treatment of pressure ulcers in relation to the standard wound care only.Conclusions: The use of ultrasound seems to be a process which improves and accelerates the healing of pressure ulcers. The method of low and high frequency ultrasound in the treatment of chronic wounds, presents many advantages. It appears to be easy to use, painless, less stressful and better accepted by patients.
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