The Role of a 'Tracheostomy Care Training Module' in Improving the Knowledge, Attitude and Practices Among Nurses in High Dependency Units.

Background: The occurrence of life-threatening events in hospitalized patients with tracheostomies are often preventable. Nurses have a vital role in providing consistent tracheostomy care to patients, thereby avoiding complications. This study was conducted to assess the knowledge of nurses in high dependency areas at a tertiary care hospital with regards to tracheostomy care, to train them and to assess the impact of a tracheostomy care teaching module. Methods: Purposive sampling techniques were used to recruit 65 nurses from high dependency areas in Father Muller Medical College Hospital. With appropriate informed, a detailed evaluation was conducted with a pre-validated questionnaire that assesses the knowledge, attitude and practices with regards to tracheostomy care. The nurses then underwent a tracheostomy training programme with a teaching module that emphasizes on tracheostomy care, a demonstration and hands on experience in the simulation lab, followed by an OSCE and a post-test. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 28 for paired T test and crosstabulation. Results: There was a mean increase in test scores, from 7.74 in pretest to 10.66 in post-test which was statistically significant. The comfort and confidence level of nurses after the module, increased by 80% and the OSCE scores were averaged around 73% giving a satisfactory outcome. Conclusion: This module significantly increased the quality of tracheostomy tube care provided by nurses thereby improving patient outcome. Small modifications to existing training programs can have a significant impact on overall health care as demonstrated by our study. Supplementary Information: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12070-024-04489-y.

Ganglioneuroma of the Cervical Sympathetic Chain - A Rare Occurrence.

This article deals with a rare occurrence of Ganglioneuroma of the left cervical sympathetic chain in a 9-year-old girl, presenting with painless paracervical swelling noticed since 7 months. Imaging studies showed a left parapharyngeal mass extending from C1 to C6, displacing the posterior pharyngeal wall and anterolaterally displacing the contents of the carotid sheath, with no significant vascular feeders. A provisional diagnosis of? Neurogenic tumour was established and the patient underwent surgical excision. Histopathologically, the diagnosis of Ganglioneuroma was confirmed.

Is Prophylactic Antibiotic Therapy Needed in Thyroidectomy?

Antibiotics have been traditionally prescribed for any open head and neck surgery. With classification of wound and wound contamination and various published guidelines the practice is still widely prevalent. Thyroidectomy being a clean surgery does not warrant the use of antibiotics at all. We performed an interventional prospective study to see the occurrence of wound infection in patients who received antibiotic prophylaxis as compared to those who did not. A total of 71 patients were recruited in the study who were randomly divided into two groups, one received antibiotic prophylaxis and other did not. Both the groups did not show any marked change in the incidence of wound infection hence highlighting the unnecessary use of prophylactic antibiotics in thyroid surgeries.

Prevalence of hearing impairment amongst school going children in the rural field practice area of the institution.

Worldwide, over 275 million people are estimated to have moderate to profound hearing loss in both ears. Children with hearing impairment often experience delayed development of speech and cognitive skills, which may result in slower learning and difficulty in progressing at school. Adequate hearing is one of the main factors for good psychosocial development, by which individuals may express their thoughts, feelings, and wishes, and acquire life experience and knowledge. Therefore, hearing impairment needs to be diagnosed early for prompt therapy. Primary objectives of this study was to know prevalence of hearing impairment amongst primary school children and secondary objective was to identify the common causes of hearing impairment amongst primary school children. The cross sectional study was conducted in the government and private schools of our rural field practice area in 2013-2014 for the duration of 4 months from November 2013 to February 2014. Prevalence of Hearing loss was 8.8%. Most common cause of Hearing loss was Impacted wax and Retracted Tympanic membrane. Otological conditions-Wax followed by otitis media with effusion and chronic suppurative otitis media were the common ear problems found in our study.