RESUMO
INTRODUCTION: In Greece, patients undergoing hemodialysis (HD) usually go to dialysis centers two or three times a week for three/four hours per session because the treatment for home is unavailable; therefore, caregivers should perform supportive transportation and care functions. PURPOSE: This study was designed to assess the burden and quality of life in caregivers of patients undergoing hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis (PD) and to record their attitude toward Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19). METHODOLOGY: We studied caregivers of patients undergoing hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis. A total of 80 caregivers took part (30 caregivers of patients of PD and 50 caregivers of patients of HD). The final form of the questionnaire was based on the Quality-of-Life Scale (SF-12) and the Zarit Scale, in order to record the scale of burden and the effect on them throughout the process. The Fear Due to COVID-19 Scale (FCV-19S) contributed to recording the caregivers' fear toward the pandemic of COVID-19. RESULTS: Most of the caregivers were women with an average age of about 60 years and 6-10 were the patient's wife or partners. The prevalence of the moderate or severe burden of the patients was found at 18.7%, and the few or no burden at all at 33.8%. The prevalence of fear toward COVID-19 was at very high levels, reaching 82.5% in all caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: During the pandemic period of COVID-19, the role of the caregivers of the patients, both who follow the PD method and those who have joined the HD, is particularly important. Their quality of life has been partially affected in all dimensions.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Falência Renal Crônica , Diálise Peritoneal , Humanos , Feminino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Masculino , Qualidade de Vida , Cuidadores , Pandemias , COVID-19/epidemiologia , Diálise Renal , Falência Renal Crônica/epidemiologia , Falência Renal Crônica/terapiaRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The social isolation (lockdown) used worldwide as a measure to effectively prevent the infection of COVID-19 has been shown to be responsible for the high prevalence of depression, anxiety, insomnia, and post-traumatic stress symptoms. The aim of this study was to investigate the physical activity habits and sleep disorders in the nursing staff. METHODOLOGY: This is a multicenter cross-sectional correlational study. The study population consisted of nurses and nursing assistants. Data were collected using the Greek version of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, the Fear of the COVID-19, and the Physical exercise questionnaire of the American College of Sports Medicine. Statistical analysis of data was done with IBM SPSS v. 22.0. RESULTS: A total of 1710 nursing personnel aged 42.3 ± 9.1 years were included. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, 190 (11.1%) participants were physically active, and 2 years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, active were 130 (7.6%) participants. Both at the beginning and two years after the beginning of the pandemic, the sleep dimensions that scored higher were subjective sleep quality (1.98 ± 0.2 vs. 1.98 ± 0.3), sleep onset latency (1.89 ± 1.5 vs. 1.64 ± 1.6), and sleep duration (1.55 ± 0.9 vs. 1.65 ± 0.8). The total sleep score was 8.64 ± 3.1 at the beginning of the pandemic and 8.11 ± 3.7 two years after the beginning of the pandemic. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses and nurses' assistants had less physical activity habits, slept less, and had more sleep disorders 2 years after the beginning of the pandemic in relation to the beginning of the pandemic.
Assuntos
COVID-19 , Recursos Humanos de Enfermagem , Transtornos do Sono-Vigília , Humanos , COVID-19/epidemiologia , Grécia/epidemiologia , Pandemias , Estudos Transversais , Controle de Doenças Transmissíveis , Exercício Físico , Hábitos , Transtornos do Sono-Vigília/epidemiologiaRESUMO
BACKGROUND: To determine the levels of depression and anxiety in women undergoing mastectomy and to investigate the factors related to the onset of anxiety and depression on the eve of the surgery. METHODS: This is a prospective observational study. The sample of the study consisted of 82 women with breast cancer who are going to undergo surgery. The assessment of patient anxiety and depression was done with the HADS anxiety and depression hospital scale. RESULTS: The study sample was 82 patients aged 56.8 ± 12.9 years. Most of them were married (68.3%), had children (87.5%), were Greek (93.6%), Orthodox Christians (97.4%), housewives (28%), and retired (23.2%). In total, 70 (85.4%) participants would be subjected to single mastectomy and 12 (14.6%) both of them. More than half of respondents (51.9%) smoked, while 32.7% consumed alcohol. 51.2% had pathological stress levels and 31.7% pathological levels of depression. Participants with abnormal levels of anxiety were significantly younger (p < 0.05), smoked at a significantly lower rate (p < 0.05), and made significantly fewer cigarettes per day (p < 0.05). Participants with abnormal levels of depression were significantly younger (p < 0.05), significantly more "other" (p < 0.05) and "other" (p < 0.05) and had a significantly higher educational level (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The factors found to affect participants stress levels were young age, reduced smoking rates, and the smallest number of cigarettes per day, while the factors found to affect participants' levels of depression were the young age, the other ethnicity except for Greek, the other religion except Christianity, and the highest educational level.
Assuntos
Neoplasias da Mama , Depressão , Ansiedade/diagnóstico , Ansiedade/epidemiologia , Neoplasias da Mama/epidemiologia , Neoplasias da Mama/cirurgia , Criança , Depressão/diagnóstico , Depressão/epidemiologia , Feminino , Grécia/epidemiologia , Humanos , MastectomiaRESUMO
AIM: The aim of this study was the evaluation of the degree of burden of caregivers of patients with hip fracture surgery and the assessment of its impact on their cost of living. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study and the study sample, which was a sample of convenience, included 100 caregivers of patients after hip replacement from February to May 2019 at the General Hospital of Thessaloniki "G. Gennimatas" in Greece. The main tools of the survey were the Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale (BCOS) Care Outcome Scale and a Questionnaire used for measuring rehabilitation costs in trauma patients adjusted for the needs of the present study. RESULTS: Of the 100 caregivers in the sample, 35% were male, 65% women and children of patients. Most caregivers worked full-time (47%), or had retired (39%). The costs incurred by the carers, which were not covered by the insurer, were, with the highest concerns, the rehabilitation center, the services of another caregiver, the services of an exclusive nurse, and physiotherapy. CONCLUSIONS: Informal caregivers often fill the gaps and shortcomings of the health systems of many countries, saving large sums of money. The state should take care of consolation leave to caregivers so that they can provide the necessary assistance to their people, thereby reducing their burden. The development of ambulatory care would offer such important and necessary respite for caregivers, having a positive impact on the care and course of the patient.
Assuntos
Cuidadores , Efeitos Psicossociais da Doença , Criança , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Grécia , Humanos , Masculino , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Evidence-based practice (EBP) is about integrating scientifically proven effective methods into clinical practice by healthcare professionals in the context of patient care. This approach is being studied extensively by the scientific community because of its positive effects on patients and on the health system. The aim of the study was to investigate the degree of implementation of evidence-based leadership in Greek public hospitals. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. The sample of the study consisted of 213 nurses who worked to two large public hospitals of Athens, Greece. The Implementation Leadership Scale (ILS) used for data collection. The SPSS v. 24. was used to analyze the data. RESULTS: Most of participants were females (89.7%), aged 31-40 years (38.5%), married (74.8%), were RN (68.1%), and had more than 10 years of work experience (63.9%). About half of participants (40.4%) supported that the head nurse has taken in a great extent the necessary measures to facilitate evidence-based clinical care, thus positively affecting its implementation. About one third of participants (35.2%) considered that their head nurses are well informed. The more knowledge nurses have about evidence-based clinical care, the greater their prevention (r = 0.852, p < 0.05) and the more persistent they are in implementing it despite any difficulties (r = 0.796, p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Knowledgeable, supportive, proactive, and persistent leadership positively influences the implementation of evidence-based practice. The hospital managers, and especially head nurses, are able to promote the implementation of evidence-based care.
Assuntos
Hospitais Gerais , Liderança , Estudos Transversais , Feminino , Humanos , Saúde Pública , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Employees in healthcare systems are often conflict in the workplace due to the high-pressure environment and the diversity between different departments. The aim of the study was not only to investigate the main causes of creation of conflicts but also investigate conflict management strategies health professionals use in a public hospital. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. An anonymous questionnaire was used on a sample of 25 physicians and 95 nurses. RESULTS: Conflicts exist between colleagues and other professional groups. The most common management strategy is to avoid conflict, and second-place behavior such as compromise and negotiation for mutual benefit come along. The results of the organizational causes of conflicts have shown that important factors are the workload, the commands received by more than one supervisor, their reward, and the fact that their present work does not look like as what they had in mind about ideal work. Finally, the results on the causes related to employee expectations have shown that significant causes in this direction are the differences in the level of education, the unfair rewards among the various professional groups are that they do not have common professional expectations with other professional groups and that professional development is not related to their expectations. CONCLUSIONS: The most popular proposals for conflicts solutions are nondiscrimination between the healthcare professionals, a fair approach to reward and punishment, communication and cooperation in the organization/hospital, establish a clear division of responsibilities, and establish professional management and the departments have to be autonomous.
Assuntos
Pessoal de Saúde , Hospitais Gerais , Atitude do Pessoal de Saúde , Estudos Transversais , Humanos , NegociaçãoRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Job rotation in nursing staff involves moving workers from one department to another to increase their qualities in all areas. AIM: Investigating the effects of job rotation of nursing staff on employee satisfaction and occupational engagement. METHODOLOGY: A total of 211 nurses took part in the study. A structured questionnaire with closed-ended questions was used to collect the data. The questions used were based on previous research tools. The data analysis was performed with the SPSS statistical package v.24.0. RESULTS: Τhe results regarding the correlation of job rotation, job satisfaction, and occupational engagement show that job rotation is positively related to occupational engagement and job satisfaction of nurses. The overall attitude of nursing staff toward job rotation is neutral, and they express moderate to neutral professional satisfaction, moderate degree of vigor and absorption, and moderate-to-high degree of dedication. Regarding the correlation of job rotation, job satisfaction, and occupational engagement with the demographic characteristics of nurses, it was found that the gender and years of work of nurses are not the factors that affect job satisfaction, occupational engagement, and job rotation. On the contrary, it was found that the age of nurses is a factor that only affects their work satisfaction, nursing education is a factor that only affects nurses' occupational engagement, and job position is a factor that affects nurses' occupational engagement and job rotation. CONCLUSIONS: The results highlight the importance of job rotation of nursing staff in their professional satisfaction and occupational engagement.
Assuntos
Enfermeiras e Enfermeiros , Recursos Humanos de Enfermagem Hospitalar , Atitude do Pessoal de Saúde , Estudos Transversais , Humanos , Satisfação no Emprego , Satisfação Pessoal , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The form of communication developed between the physician and the patient and between the physician and the patient's close relatives builds the foundation for the process of announcing unpleasant news, which is related to the diagnosis of chronic disease. The aim of this study was to investigate the attitudes of the general population regarding the information of patients for a chronic and life-threatening disease. METHODS: It is a cross-sectional study. An anonymous questionnaire was used on a sample of 350 people. RESULTS: The 95.1% of participants considered that patients have the right to be fully informed about their health status and that the physician has the right to be informed. The 90.3% of the respondents argued that patients differ in their preferences. Totally, 60.3% of participants agreed that all patients would like to know the bad news about their health, while 44.5% argued that patients do not want to hear bad news about their health, and 32.3% believed that patients should be protected from the announcement of bad news. The majority of respondents (95.6%) were informed by the physician about their or their relevant chronic disease. CONCLUSIONS: The general population is of the opinion that patients should be informed about their health status. Due to the fact that each patient responds differently to the announcement of the unpleasant news, the respondents replied that the announcement of the unpleasant news should be personalized and carried out by the physician.
Assuntos
Relações Médico-Paciente , Revelação da Verdade , Atitude , Comunicação , Estudos Transversais , HumanosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: The family members of patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) are called to become carers, playing a vital and difficult role in supporting the patients in their daily life. The aim of this study was to investigate the extent of the multidimensional burden on the carers of multiple sclerosis. METHODS: Data were collected from 111 carers with MS patients. The survey was conducted in Patras General Hospital. RESULTS: According to the research findings, the multidimensional burden of carers is proportional to the severity of the patient's condition. In particular, the majority of patients were in a good kinetic state, so the carers examined felt gentle with a moderate burden. On both scales, Zarit and BAKAS, it was observed that the age of the caregiver, the type of care he provides, and the patient's dependence on him increase the feeling of the burden. Positive results from care improve the caregiver's relationship with the patient, his self-esteem, and his ability to cope with stress. According to the F-COPES scale, it is observed that the relationship between the caregiver and the patient is responsible for accepting the problem; the greater the caregiver's age, the higher the percentage of those seeking help from doctors, social services. CONCLUSIONS: The burden on carers is indisputable; support from family members, social and economic support, and education may mitigate the burden of care.
Assuntos
Cuidadores , Esclerose Múltipla , Adaptação Psicológica , Efeitos Psicossociais da Doença , Família , Humanos , Masculino , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Healthcare professionals involved with ionizing radiation must have sufficient knowledge of its effects on the human body in order to avoid potential risks for both patients and themselves. The aim of this study was to estimate the knowledge and awareness of healthcare professionals about the hazards of radiological examinations on their health and on their patients. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study, and the data collection was carried out with a self-administered questionnaire. The study group included a total of 210 individuals from different professional groups: nurses, doctors, medical technicians, radiologists, and other staff working in different clinics that use radiation in their work. The study was carried out in a large hospital in Athens, Greece. RESULTS: The study population consisted of 210 subjects aged 44.7 ± 9.1 years. In a total of 23 questions, participants answered correctly to 6.4 ± 2.6 questions. The factors for predicting the correct responses were male gender (ß = -1.034, p = 0.004), frequency of contact with imaging examinations of patients requiring ionizing radiation (ß = 0.496, p = 0.007), participation in any educational process (ß = -0.918, p = 0.014), the number of published articles on radiation protection (ß = 0.720, p = 0.001), and knowledge of the principle of ALARA (ß = -0.391, p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: It is proposed to include a radiation protection course in the total healthcare professionals' undergraduate curricula in order to address the current knowledge gap in clinical practice.
Assuntos
Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Proteção Radiológica , Estudos Transversais , Grécia , Humanos , Masculino , Radiação Ionizante , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Medication errors have been recognized as a real problem for all health systems worldwide and are the most common category of nursing errors. The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of medication errors and their correlation with the job satisfaction of nurses. METHOD: A prospective cross-sectional study was carried out and the sample of the study consisted of 189 nurses. To investigate medication errors, an anonymous structured questionnaire of 34 questions was used and Job Satisfaction Survey (JSS) questionnaire was used to measure job satisfaction. The IBM SPSS 25.0 program was used for statistical analysis of the data. RESULTS: 63.0% of nurses have been errors in the administration of medication, more often by the wrong time of administration (34.4%), missed dose (22.8%), and wrong dose (21.7%). The likelihood of an error is similar in all shifts, its devaluation is a non-reference reason, and if reported to a greater frequency in the attending physician. A significant difference in the frequency of errors was found only in the marital status and the job, while under the working conditions no significant variation was recorded. Job satisfaction is statistically significantly low for financial earnings and high for the management supervision. Based on the findings, the correlation between total job satisfaction and medication errors was not significant. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing medication errors continue to happen. Continuing education, formal recording, and improvement of working conditions could help prevent and minimize errors and at the same time increase the job satisfaction of nurses.
Assuntos
Erros de Medicação , Satisfação Pessoal , Estudos Transversais , Grécia , Hospitais , Humanos , Satisfação no Emprego , Estudos Prospectivos , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
AIM: The aim of this study was the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of HIV-infected patients and the effect of their illness in their living costs. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study and the study sample, which was a sample of convenience, included 98 HIV-infected patients from March to May 2019 at the General Oncology hospital "Oi Agioi Anargyroi" in Greece. The main tools of the survey were the Greek version of the MOS-HIV and a questionnaire used for measuring rehabilitation costs in trauma patients adjusted for the needs of the this study. RESULTS: A total of 98 patients were inducted in our study aged 49.3 ± 11.3 years, most of them males (68.3%). HRQoL was assessed in 11 individual dimensions. The highest score was found in the dimensions of role functioning (73.47 ± 36.93), physical functioning (72.53 ± 26.65), and social functioning (71.63 ± 32.3). Regarding the patients' living costs over the last month due to their illness, the highest burden comes from other expenses (152.4 ± 179.5), services provided by a psychologist (142.8 ± 170.6) and medical visits (142.8 ± 170.6). CONCLUSIONS: As the HIV infection is characterized as a chronic disease, the economic cost due to the illness needs to be studied as it affects the extent to which an HIV-infected patient can access medical care and meet emerging needs. Therefore, future research should focus in the economic dimension of the illness in relation with the quality of life of these patients and their relatives, so that new health policies may arise.
Assuntos
Infecções por HIV , Qualidade de Vida , Efeitos Psicossociais da Doença , Estudos Transversais , Grécia/epidemiologia , Infecções por HIV/tratamento farmacológico , Infecções por HIV/epidemiologia , Custos de Cuidados de Saúde , Humanos , Masculino , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: The relationship between leadership and the work environment has been studied by many authors at the organization level, but not specifically in intensive care units (ICUs). The aim of this study was to investigate the possible relationship between the work environment and nursing leadership in intensive care units. METHODOLOGY: This is a correlation study. The study population consisted of nurses and nursing assistants with at least 6 months of experience in ICUs of Northern Greece hospitals. Data were collected using the Greek version of the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index (PES-NWI) and the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ). Statistical analysis of data was done with IBM SPSS v. 22.0. RESULTS: A total of 64 nurses aged 43.6 ± 6.4 years were included. In the work environment, the dimensions of nursing staff competence (2.4 ± 0.6) and relationships between nursing staff and physicians (2.4 ± 0.6) were higher, and the dimensions of nursing staff involvement in decision-making in hospital (2.3 ± 0.6), nursing authorities on the quality of healthcare (2.2 ± 0.6), and supervisor abilities and support to nursing staff (2.2 ± 0.6) had the lowest score. The highest scores on the leadership questionnaire were personalized interest (2.6 ± 0.8), and exceptional management (passive) (2.6 ± 0.9). CONCLUSIONS: The work environment was not related to nursing leadership. Nurses need individual development plans that include the type of knowledge, skills, attitudes, and values required for leadership. In this context, continuing training centers play an important role because they are responsible for training and developing leaders who are fit for work in intensive care.
Assuntos
Liderança , Recursos Humanos de Enfermagem Hospitalar , Grécia , Hospitais , Humanos , Unidades de Terapia Intensiva , Satisfação no Emprego , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Vein thrombosis (VTE) is a collective term for deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE). The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of DVT and its association with health-related quality of life among Greek nurses. METHODS: This is a multicenter descriptive correlation study. The sample of the study was nursing staff working in Greek public hospitals. The diagnosis of DVT was set by Hicks's clinical criteria. RESULTS: The study included 6304 nurses with a mean age of 47.4 ± 4.9 years. Diagnosed by a physician, DVT had 544 (8.6%) participants. The mean score of the overall dimension of physical health-related quality of life was 68.1 ± 21.9 and the overall score of mental health scale was 53.3 ± 10.4. The odds of DVT occurrence increased dramatically for female gender (CI: 27.76, 95% CI: 8.12-94.89, p = 0.001). Increased odds were found also for advanced age (CI: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.09-1.33, p = 0.001), advanced BMI (CI: 1.06, 95% CI: 1.02-1.10, p = 0.001), and smoking (CI: 2.72, 95% CI: 1.51-4.90, p = 0.001). Moreover, previous pregnancy (CI: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.21-2.29, p = 0.002), work experience (CI: 1.13, 95% CI: 1.03-1.23, p = 0.008), and Rhesus (CI: 2.55, 95% CI: 1.11-5.84, p = 0.027) were found to be risk factors for DVT. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses are potentially a professional group for developing deep vein thrombosis, and given the high incidence found in this study, as well as the lower proportion of nurses who were undiagnosed while meeting the clinical criteria of Hick, it is essential for nurses to check their lower extremities for DVT annually.
Assuntos
Embolia Pulmonar , Tromboembolia Venosa , Trombose Venosa , Adulto , Feminino , Hospitais Públicos , Humanos , Incidência , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Gravidez , Qualidade de Vida , Fatores de Risco , Trombose Venosa/epidemiologiaRESUMO
AIM: The aim of this study was the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and rehabilitation costs of patients with amputated limb. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study and the study sample, which was a sample of convenience, included 100 patients with amputated limb. The tools of the survey were the Short Form Questionnaire-36 (SF-36) and the Questionnaire used for measuring rehabilitation costs in trauma patients by Stergiannis et al.Results: The sample of the study consisted of 107 patients with amputation. HRQoL significantly increased (p < 0.001) between all-time points. According to the patients' answers, there were zero costs related to rehabilitation 1 year after the amputation. The type of edge amputation had significant impact on the rate of HRQoL increase. Rehabilitation costs increased over time during the first year. The mean (SD) rehabilitation cost was 1372 (2200) at the first 6 months and 4774 (9109) at the second half year. HRQoL was associated with age at all-time points and with costs of purchase of special pharmaceuticals, hospitalization, other expenses, number of medical visits, and cost of phone calls. CONCLUSIONS: The economic costs due to the amputation need to be studied as they affect the extent to which an amputated patient can meet his new emerging needs. Therefore, future research should focus in the economic dimension of the amputation in relation with the HRQoL of these patients and their relatives, so that new health policies may be conducted.
Assuntos
Amputados , Qualidade de Vida , Amputação Cirúrgica , Estudos Transversais , Humanos , Inquéritos e QuestionáriosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Chronic illnesses with high level of disability can affect not only the patients but also the main caregiver who supports them. The aim of this study was to investigate the burden and sleep disorders of family caregivers of hemodialysis patients. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study. The sample of the study consisted of 310 family caregivers of hemodialysis patients. The tools used were the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep disorders assessment, the Zarit Burden Interview, and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies-Depression Scale (CES-D) for burden and depression assessment, respectively. RESULTS: The total burden of caregivers was serious at 35.5%, and this rate increased to 64.8% if we added the moderate burden. About 26.7% of caregivers were positive in depressive symptoms and 20% at risk (predisposition) for depression. The factor with the greatest correlation with the overall burden was personal strain (r = 0.952, p < 0.001) followed by the role strain factor (r = 0.901, p < 0.001). About half of the respondents (51.6%) had poor quality of sleep. The factors that were strongly related to the overall degree of sleep quality were the actual sleep duration and daytime dysfunctions. CONCLUSIONS: Caregivers of hemodialysis patients face an increased risk for burden and sleep disorders development. Continuous and regular assessment of the caregivers' quality of life and the provision of psychological support may reduce the burden of caregivers and improve the emotional disorders they face.
Assuntos
Cuidadores/psicologia , Cuidadores/estatística & dados numéricos , Depressão/epidemiologia , Qualidade de Vida , Diálise Renal , Insuficiência Renal Crônica , Transtornos do Sono-Vigília/epidemiologia , Efeitos Psicossociais da Doença , Estudos Transversais , HumanosRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Increased life expectancy in patients with end-stage renal failure undergoing dialysis and the high prevalence of the chronic renal disease highlight the need to investigate the patients' quality of life. AIM: To investigate sleep disorders and the level of health-related quality of life in hemodialysis patients with chronic renal failure. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The sample of the study consisted of 420 hemodialysis patients. The Kidney Disease and Quality of Life™ Short Form questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life of patients, and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index was used to investigate sleep disorders. RESULTS: The physical and mental health of the responders were found to be 36.9 and 39.6, respectively, while the burden and effects of chronic renal disease were found to be 40 and 44.9, respectively. There were strong positive correlations between the overall health assessment and the emotional well-being (r = 0.743), the physical function (r = 0.730), the burden of renal disease (0.626), the energy/fatigue (0.643), the social function (0.639), and the pain (0.595). The patients' quality of sleep was found poor (7.62). The major correlation was observed between the total score and the dimension of the sleep latency (0.681), followed by the sleep disturbances (0.624). CONCLUSIONS: The HRQOL of hemodialysis patients with CKD-FS remains poor, interacting with important functions such as sleep, vitality, cognition, and sexual function.
Assuntos
Falência Renal Crônica/epidemiologia , Qualidade de Vida , Diálise Renal , Insuficiência Renal Crônica/epidemiologia , Transtornos do Sono-Vigília/epidemiologia , Grécia/epidemiologia , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , HumanosRESUMO
BACKGROUND: Low compliance rates with medication after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS) is a serious public health problem with adverse socioeconomic implications for both patients and their families as well as for health systems in general. The aims of the study are to measure the levels of compliance with medication in the treatment of patients who suffered from ACS and to investigate the factors contributing to the noncompliance. METHODS: The sample consisted of 100 patients hospitalized in the coronary care unit (CCU) of a general hospital. The compliance of patients with treatment, which was measured with the GR-SMAQ and ARMS scales, was measured at 3, 6, and 12 months after their hospitalization. The t-test and control X2 were used, and the value of statistical significance was set to 0.05. RESULTS: According to the GR-SMAQ and ARMS scales, compliance of patients at 3, 6, and 12 months after hospitalization is low (58%, 70%, 32% with ARMS scale and 54%, 58%, 38% with GR-SMAQ scale, respectively). Patients who were readmitted to CCU had 68.9% less chances of showing compliance, and patients who had normal levels of systolic blood pressure were 3.5 times more likely to adhere to their treatment. No correlation between compliance and social demographic data, such as gender, age, level of study, and family and occupational status, was found (p > 0.05). CONCLUSION: Compliance of patients who suffered from ACS is at low level. There is a need for closed monitoring and use of wearable devices in order to improve the compliance rates.
Assuntos
Síndrome Coronariana Aguda/psicologia , Síndrome Coronariana Aguda/terapia , Unidades de Cuidados Coronarianos , Hospitalização , Cooperação do Paciente , HumanosRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Patients at risk should be admitted to the ICU if there is room for improvement. Patients who have no room for improvement or the risk of death is either too high or too low should not be admitted to the ICU. AIM: To investigate ward patient characteristics, outcomes, and survival rates after an emergency call for evaluation by an intensivist. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This is a prospective observational study of patients hospitalized at a general hospital in Greece. A data recording form was completed by the investigators in order to collect the required data. RESULTS: 115 patients (58.3%, n = 67 men and 41.7%, n = 48 women) of mean age 67.1 ± 13.8 years (range 27-92 years) were evaluated by an intensivist and were recorded. 28.7% (n = 33) were hospitalized in a surgical clinic, 67% (n = 77) were hospitalized in internal medicine clinics (oncology), and 4.3% (n = 5) of the patients were treated in the emergency department, the radiotherapy department, or the radiology department. 73% (n = 84/115) of the patients were hospitalized in the ICU. Total survival rate was 49.6% (57/115). Of the 31 patients who did not enter the ICU (out of 115 patients), 15 survived (13% of the 115 patients or 48.4% of the 31 patients not admitted to the ICU). Five (5) of them had a cardiac arrest and either died without entering the ICU or continued their hospitalization in the ward. The survival rates of the patients not admitted to the ICU who continued hospitalization at the ward was 57.7% (15/26). Of the 84 patients admitted to the ICU, 42 survived (36.5% of the 115 patients or 50% of the 84 patients admitted to the ICU). CONCLUSIONS: The survival rates of these patients are quite low and possibly multifactorial due to the severity of the disease, the unnecessary call for an intensivist due to an irreversible condition, or the delayed call of an intensivist.
Assuntos
Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência , Parada Cardíaca/mortalidade , Unidades de Terapia Intensiva , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Feminino , Grécia , Hospitalização , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Prospectivos , Taxa de SobrevidaRESUMO
INTRODUCTION: Although central venous catheters (CVCs) provide reliable vascular access, there are several risks linked with their use, with the rates of central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) being the most important ones. CLABSIs have a big impact on mortality rates and health care costs. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of obesity in the development of central venous catheter infections. MATERIAL AND METHOD: This is a prospective, observational study. The data were collected in the ICUs of three major hospitals in Greece, over a period of 18 months. Totally, 744 patients were included in the study. RESULTS: The study included 744 ICU patients aged 63.6 ± 16.6 years. The Apache II score and MODS score of patients were 23.3 ± 6.9 and 7.5 ± 3.8, respectively. Totally, 5.426 catheter-days were included in the study. Among the 722 CVCs, 178 (24.7%) were CLABSIs. The incidence rate of CVC-associated CLABSI was 22.48 infections per 1000 catheter-days. CLABSI was significantly predicted by the BMI (p = 0.001), by the diabetes mellitus as comorbidity (p = 0.013), by the doctors' experience (p = 0.001), by the type of CVC (p = 0.001) and CVC site (p = 0.001), by the number of efforts for CVC insertion (p = 0.009), by the catheterization's duration (p = 0.001) and by the MODS score (p = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Better staff training focused on care bundles preventing infections, better medical training focused on less efforts for CVC insertion, and the use of Ultrasounds during the CVC insertion may be the main factors that can lead to lower CLABSI rates in obese patients. Further research relating CLABSI rates in ICU patients and obesity is needed.