Prevalence of pressure injury on the medical wards of public general hospitals in Kuwait: a national cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Pressure injury is a severe problem that can significantly impact a patient's health, quality of life, and healthcare expenses. The prevalence of pressure injuries is a widely used clinical indicator of patient safety and quality of care. This study aims to address the research gap that exists on this topic in Kuwait by investigating the prevalence of pressure injuries and preventive measures on the medical wards of the country's public general hospitals. METHODS: A cross-sectional research design was adopted to measure the point prevalence of pressure injuries on 54 medical wards in the public general hospitals. Data, including variables pertaining to hospitals, patients, pressure injuries and preventive practices, were collected using an online form. The data were processed and analysed using Microsoft Excel and SPSS 23 (α level = 0.05). Analysis provided an overview of patient, pressure injury characteristics and preventive measures, and the relationships between the patient and pressure injury characteristics and the prevalence of pressure injuries. A model for predicting the determinants of pressure injury prevalence was constructed from a linear regression analysis. RESULTS: The mean national prevalence of pressure injury was 17.6% (95% CI: 11.3-23.8). Purely community-acquired pressure injuries represent the majority of pressure injuries nationally (58.1%). Regarding preventive measures, "pressure injury assessment on admission" has been provided to 65.5% of patients. Correlation analysis revealed that the only statistically significant correlation with the prevalence of hospital-acquired pressure injury was "pressure injury assessment on admission", which was strongly negative (ρ = -0.857). Therefore, this was the only variable included in the regression analysis as a predictor of pressure injury prevalence (Beta = 0.839). The results showed many statistically significant differences between hospitals with respect to the variables studied. CONCLUSIONS: The national pressure injury prevalence is high compared to the global rate. The higher percentage of purely community-acquired pressure injuries requires particular attention. Many risk factors for the development of pressure injuries are public health concerns, and effective mitigating strategies are needed. Further research is required to assess the knowledge, attitude, and behaviour of nurses with respect to pressure injuries, and to evaluate preventive and management practices.

Environmental Enrichment Ameliorates Psychological Dependence Symptoms and Voluntary Morphine Consumption in Morphine Withdrawn Rats Under Methadone Maintenance Treatment.

INTRODUCTION: Previous studies have shown that physical and psychological dependence and the vulnerability to relapse are still present during MMT. Thus, this study examined whether Enriched Environment (EE) would attenuate anxiety, depressive, and obsessive-compulsive-like behaviors, as well as voluntary morphine consumption following Methadone Maintenance Treatment (MMT) in morphine withdrawn rats. METHODS: The rats were injected bi-daily doses (10 mg/kg, 12-h interval) of morphine for 14 days. Then, the rats were reared in a Standard Environment (SE) or EE for 30 more days during morphine withdrawal, simultaneous with receiving MMT. The rats were tested for anxiety (the Elevated Plus Maze [EPM]) and depression (Sucrose Preference Test [SPT]), Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) as grooming behavior, and voluntary morphine consumption using a Two-Bottle Choice (TBC) paradigm. RESULTS: The findings revealed that EE experience in morphine withdrawn rats under MMT significantly increased the EPM open-arm time and higher sucrose preference than SE rats. Also, we found that the EE decreased the self-grooming behavior and morphine preference ratio in morphine withdrawn rats receiving MMT compared to the SE group. CONCLUSION: We conclude that exposure to EE decreased methadone-induced anxiety, depressive and OCD-like behaviors, and voluntary morphine consumption in morphine withdrawn rats under MMT. Thus, the EE seems to be one of the strategies for reducing MMT-induced behavioral dysfunction and the risk of relapse induced by morphine withdrawal.

Psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents: Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates in Semnan Province in Iran.

AIM: The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of psychiatric disorders and sociodemographic correlates in children and adolescents ages 6-18 years in semnan province. METHOD: Participants were 1037 children and adolescents ages 6 to 18 years in Semnan. This study was a survey study and its data have been taken from the National survey of Iranian Children and Adolescents' Psychiatric Disorders in 2017. A sample of children and adolescents from Semnan was selected by multistage cluster sampling method. Participants completed the K- SADS- PL interview. RESULTS: Findings showed the general prevalence of psychiatric disorders in Semnan was 24.8 (CI95%: 22.2-27.5) with a proportion of female to male 1.1:1. As the age increased, the prevalence rate of psychiatric disorders decreased. In mothers with undergraduate education, the rate of prevalence of psychiatric disorders in children and adolescents was significantly lower than that of illiterate mothers (OR adjust = 0.309, p = .01). Among anxiety disorders, the highest rate of prevalence was related to Separation Anxiety Disorder (6.4%; CI95%: 5.03-8.01). Oppositional Defiant Disorder (4%; CI95%: 2.9-5.3) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (3.4%; CI95%: 2.4-4.7) had the highest rate of prevalence among behavioral disorders. Sex, Locus of life, socioeconomic status had no effect on the prevalence rate. CONCLUSION: The disorders prevalence was higher than the previous prevalence that reported in Iran. Anxiety disorders are the most common disorders. The results showed that psychiatric disorders of the children and adolescents were not different in terms of sociodemograhic factors in Semnan.