Nurse-led clinical activity in kidney transplantation care in Spain: A cross-sectional observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To explore the presence of specialist outpatient nursing activity in care for kidney transplant recipients in Spain and to determine the level of competence development of this activity according to the Advanced Practice Nurse model. DESIGN: Descriptive, cross-sectional study. PARTICIPANTS AND MEASUREMENTS: All outpatient nurses specialising in renal transplantation in the 39 transplant hospitals in Spain were included. To fulfil the study objectives, an ad hoc questionnaire and the 'Advanced Practice Nurse Role Definition Instrument (IDREPA)' were administered to assess the nurses' level of competence development. RESULTS: Of the facilities included in the study, 25 (64.1%) had posttransplant nursing activity, 13 (33.3%) had pretransplant nursing activity and 11 (28.2%) had nursing activity involving kidney donor candidates. Twenty-seven specialist nurse's offices were identified. The results of the IDREPA reflect the presence of advanced practice in the domains of 'expert care planning' and 'comprehensive care'. Three (11.1%) nurses met all criteria for advanced nursing practice. CONCLUSION: The results on specialised outpatient nursing activity at the 39 transplantation facilities in Spain indicate a low presence of this type of activity, with an even lower presence of advanced practice nurses. IMPLICATIONS FOR CLINICAL PRACTICE: Management teams should consider investing in the quality of care provided by advanced nurse practice to ensure that suitable treatment is provided and better clinical outcomes are obtained.

Can We Improve the Effectiveness of the Spanish Nondirected Donation Program?

BACKGROUND: A nondirected altruistic living kidney donor is a person who wants to donate a kidney to anyone in need. In 2010, the Spanish National Transplant Organization developed a national protocol to make the assessment of every potential nondirected living kidney donor. The aim of this study was to describe the potential donor pool and its characteristics and the overall effect of the program. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis was performed using data from the Spanish National Registry of Transplant Activity, and the Nondirected Donors National Database, between 2010 and 2017. Data related to sociodemographic characteristics, main motivations toward donation, and causes of dismissal were collected from all potential donors. The assessment of each candidate was carried out in a step-by-step process based on the national protocol. RESULTS: Two hundred seventy-two people contacted us, showing interest in the nondirected kidney donation, only 203 people underwent the early triage, and 16 of them successfully completed the assessment proces s, representing 8% of the total. The main motivation toward anonymous donation (n = 161) was: social awareness (22%) and to improve the quality of life of other people (9%). One hundred eighty-two candidates did not proceed, due to medical and psychological contraindications (42%) or donor refusal after specific information about the donation process (33%). The number of utilized nondirected altruistic living donors was 13 out of 203 (6%) of the candidates who began the early triage. Twelve transplant chains and a direct donation were performed, which made 38 kidney transplants possible (2.9 transplants per nondirected donor). CONCLUSIONS: We have to continue working to optimize our program. Our next steps will be to review the evaluation process, to detect areas for improvement, to understand why we lost many possible donors, and to ascertain if any of the reasons could be avoided.

El trasplante renal de donante vivo: una opción terapéutica en consulta de Enfermedad Renal Crónica Avanzada / Kidney transplantation from a living donor: a therapeutic option in consultation in Advanced Chronic Kindey Disease

En España se ha conseguido gestionar la donación de órganos a lo largo de los últimos 30 años, de manera más efectiva que en el resto de los países. Aun así, no hemos alcanzado la autosuficiencia. La prevalencia de enfermedad renal en nuestro país para el año 2017 fue de 685 p.m.p. teóricamente el 22% de estos pacientes serán candidatos a trasplante renal, lo que supone una necesidad de 150 trasplantes renales p.m.p. En 2017, la lista de espera para trasplante renal albergaba a 7.211 pacientes, 3.269 consiguieron trasplantarse (332 de donante vivo), lo que suponen 70 trasplantes p.m.p. El porcentaje aumenta cuando hablamos de receptores jóvenes, ya que, el número de donantes mayores de 60 años supera el 50% del total. Así mismo, se observan notables diferencias en la distribución de actividad de trasplante renal de donante vivo por CCAA. Con la donación renal de vivo, se pretende atender mejor las necesidades de la lista de espera para trasplante, reducir los tiempos de espera en general y aumentar la oferta de una excelente opción terapéutica, con mejores resultados en supervivencia y rehabilitación para el paciente, siendo actualmente una opción muy segura también para los donantes. El abordaje de los pacientes con enfermedad renal crónica debe plantearse desde el punto de vista multidisciplinar (enfermeras, nefrólogos, psicólogos y cirujanos), destacando el papel clave de la enfermera como gestora de cuidados, por la influencia que ejerce en su educación sanitaria y en la orientación terapéutica que se proporciona desde las consultas de enfermedad renal avanzada

In Spain, organ donation has been managed over the last 30 years, more effectively than in the rest of the countries. Even so, we have not reached self-sufficiency, specifically in the case of kidney transplantation, there is still a negative balance between patients who annually enter the waiting list and organs available for transplantation. The prevalence of kidney disease in our country in 2017 was 685 donors per million population (p.m.p) theoretically 22% of these patients will be candidates for kidney transplantation, which means a need for 150 kidney transplants p.m.p. In 2017, the waiting list for kidney transplantation had 7,211 patients, 3,269 were transplanted (332 from living donor), which means 70 transplants p.m.p. The percentage increases in young recipients, since, the number of donors older than 60 years exceeds 50% of the total. There are also notable differences in the distribution of renal transplant activity from living donors by Autonomous Community. Kidney donation from living donors, aims to better meet the needs of the waiting list for transplant, reduce waiting times in general and increase the supply of an excellent therapeutic option, with better results in survival and rehabilitation for the patient, being currently a very safe option also for donors. The approach to patients with chronic kidney disease must be multidisciplinary (nurses, nephrologists, psychologists and surgeons), highlighting the key role of the nurse as manager of care, by the influence on their health education and therapeutic guidance, which it is provided from the consultations in advanced chronic kidney disease

Executive functioning in people with personality disorders.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review summarizes recent executive functions research to better delineate the nosology of personality disorders. RECENT FINDINGS: This review indicates that there are consistent impairments in executive functioning in people with personality disorders as compared with matched controls. Only five disorders were considered: borderline, obsessive-compulsive, antisocial, narcissistic, and schizotypal. Significant deficits are observed in decision-making, working memory, inhibition, and flexibility. Relevant data for the remaining personality disorders have not yet been published in relation to the executive functions. SUMMARY: People with personality disorders could present a pattern of neurocognitive alterations that suggest a specific impairment of the prefrontal areas. The executive dysfunctions could partially explain the behavioral alterations in people with personality disorders.Further research should adopt broader considerations of effects of comorbidity and clinical heterogeneity, include community samples and, possibly, longitudinal designs with samples of youth.

Situación actual del trasplante renal de donante vivo en España y otros países: pasado, presente y futuro de una excelente opción terapéutica / Present situation of living-donor kidney transplantation in Spain and other countries: past, present and future of an excellent therapeutic option

El trasplante renal de donante vivo es un tratamiento establecido en España desde los años sesenta, pero ha mantenido unos escasos niveles de actividad hasta el año 2000, fecha en que comienza un incremento progresivo en el número de procedimientos y de hospitales que realizan esta terapia, alcanzando en el año 2009 la cifra más alta de nuestra historia, con 235 trasplantes renales de donante vivo (que suponen un 10% de la actividad de trasplante renal). Los motivos por los que el trasplante renal de donante vivo está emergiendo en nuestro país son diversos y pueden englobarse en cuatro grandes apartados: 1) M ejores resultados que el trasplante renal de donante fallecido. Receptores más jóvenes con una mejor compatibilidad HLA, el buen estado de salud del donante, la ausencia de los posibles daños que se producen en el riñón secundariamente a la muerte encefálica, el menor tiempo de isquemia y la posibilidad de realizar el trasplante anticipado explican la mejor supervivencia de injerto y de paciente. 2) Necesidad de trasplante de vivo: la flexibilización de criterios de entrada en lista de espera conlleva una mayor dificultad de atender a la demanda de trasplante sin ayuda del trasplante renal de donante vivo, sobre todo en receptores jóvenes en los que las posibilidades de obtener un órgano adecuado a su edad son menores, debido al cambio en el perfil de los donantes fallecidos (cada vez de mayor edad). 3) M ejora en la seguridad del donante: la excelente evaluación y seguimiento de los donantes (basada en estándares internacionales), además de la utilización de técnicas quirúrgicas menos invasivas, conlleva un bajo índice de complicaciones y una esperanza de vida de los donantes similar a la de la población general. 4) Obstáculos superados: el esfuerzo en formación realizado por los equipos de trasplante, coordinaciones hospitalarias, autonómicas y la Organización Nacional de Trasplantes (ONT) está dando excelentes resultados, visibles en el progresivo aumento en el número de hospitales con programa de trasplante renal de donante vivo y en su actividad. Por otra parte, los programas de desensibilización y el programa nacional de donación renal cruzada han eliminado las barreras al trasplante en los casos de incompatibilidad ABO o prueba cruzada positiva (AU)

Kidney transplantation from living donor is an established treatment in Spain since the 60s but has maintained a low level of activity until 2000, when the number of procedures and hospit als t hat perf orm t his t herapy experienced a gradual increase, reaching the highest figure in our history in 2009, with 235 living donor kidney transplants (which represents 10% of renal transplant activity). The reasons why living donor kidney transplantation is emerging in our country are diverse and can be focused in four main areas. 1) Better outcomes obtained when using living donors for kidney transplantation than those obtained with kidneys from deceased donors. Younger recipients with better HLA matching, the good health of the donor, the absence of any damages that occur in the kidney secondary to brain death, the small ischemic time and the possibility of preemptive transplantation can explain the best graft and patient survival. 2) The scarcity of sources: the relaxation of entry criteria on the waiting list implies an increasing challenge of the demand for transplant without the contribution of living donor kidney transplantation, especially in young recipients where the chances of obtaining an age-appropriate deceased donor are lower, due to the change in the profile of the deceased donor (increasingly older). 3) Improvement in the safety of the donor: the excellent evaluation and monitoring of donors (based on international standards) plus the use of less invasive surgical techniques are related to a low complication rate and to survival expectancies of living donors being similar to those of the general population. 4) Barriers overcome: the training effort by the transplant teams, hospital and regional coordinations, and the National Transplant Organization is giving excellent results, visible in the gradual increase in the number of hospitals with a program of living donor kidney transplantation and its activity. In addition, desensitization programs and the national cross-over kidney transplantation program have removed barriers to transplantation in cases of ABO incompatibility or positive crossmatch (AU)