Enhancing pulmonary function and arterial blood gas readings through immediate chest physiotherapy among extubated patients in ICU.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the effect of immediate chest physiotherapy (ICPT) on pulmonary function and arterial blood gases among extubated patients. METHOD: This prospective study enrolled patients aged 20-60 years who had been intubated for 48 h. They were randomly assigned to either a control or study group. The study group received ICPT by trained critical care nurses and physiotherapists, which included early mobilization, breathing exercises and airway clearance. The control group received standard nursing chest care (positioning, oral and endotracheal suctioning) without ICPT. Researchers evaluated participants using pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gas tests and mechanical ventilation parameters. RESULTS: The study enrolled 70 patients. There were no significant differences in the sociodemographic characteristics and medical data before intubation between the two groups except for preparatory education. After extubation, the vital capacity was significantly higher in the study group compared with the control group. There were also significant differences between the two groups in other lung function tests and arterial blood gas tests. After extubation, the total lung capacity, functional residual capacity and residual volume were significantly higher in the study group compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: The use of ICPT improved both pulmonary function and arterial blood gases.

COVID-19 Vaccination Knowledge, Perception, and Reason for Adherence and nonadherence Among Nursing Students in Egypt.

Introduction: Vaccines are considered preventive measures to reduce coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) spread around the world. There are many factors for adherence and acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination. Objectives: The study aimed to investigate nursing students' knowledge, perception, and factors that influence their adherence to COVID-19 vaccines. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study design was conducted among nursing students at the Faculty of Nursing, Mansoura University, Egypt, during the period between September 1 and November 30, 2021. Results: Of the total of 500 participants, 76% took a COVID-19 vaccination. About 89% of participants rated the correct answer related to COVID-19 vaccination. Obligatory to enter the faculty, protect family and friends, and protect myself were the most reasons of adherence (80.3, 73.7, and 70.8%, respectively) while fear of adverse events and lack of information about vaccine were the most reasons of nonadherence (87.5 and 79.2%, respectively) to COVID-19 vaccination. The majority of participants (62%) had expressed positive perception toward COVID-19 vaccination. Education level, training program about COVID-19, previous infection with COVID-19, perception toward COVID-19 vaccination, and knowledge toward COVID-19 vaccination were significantly (p = .035, p = .027, p = .009, p = .008 and p = .033, respectively) associated with students' adherence to take COVID-19 vaccines. Conclusion: Accurate knowledge and perception about COVID-19 vaccines are the stronger predictors of vaccine hesitance or acceptance among nursing students in Egypt. Campaigns to increase knowledge and perception of COVID-19 and its vaccines among nursing students are needed to improve vaccine acceptance and reduce vaccine hesitance.

Developing Nursing Standards for Maintaining Shift Handover in the Intensive Care Unit: A Methodological and Cross-Sectional Study.

Patient handover, which is a method of moving the clinical data of patients to another individual or professional community, is a high-risk area for the safety of patients due to errors which can happen during staff break time, changeover shifts, and when patients are moved in and out of units. Standards for critical care nurses will improve bedside handover due to the presence of clear plans implemented by nurses who are well informed about them. To develop nursing standards for maintaining handover in the intensive care unit. A methodological and cross-sectional study was conducted at Mansoura University Hospital and included 15 experts and 150 staff nurses. Twelve items were excluded from the tool because their CVR ratio was less than 0.7. Therefore, after eliminating 12 items, the number of tool items produced was 66. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value = 0.713, with the recommended value being 0.6 or above. The cut-off score for the analysis model was 0.3, and the KMO value criterion was greater than 1, which defined eight-factor loadings as the best fit for the results, accounting for 69.5% of the variance. The aim of this study was satisfactorily achieved, with 0.9055 validity and reliability for the handover instrument, which consisted of 60 items with a total reliability score.