Positive impact of a clinical goal-directed protocol on reducing cardiac arrests during potential brain-dead donor maintenance.

BACKGROUND: The disproportion between the large organ demand and the low number of transplantations performed represents a serious public health problem worldwide. Reducing the loss of transplantable organs from deceased potential donors as a function of cardiac arrest (CA) may contribute to an increase in organ donations. Our purpose was to test the hypothesis that a goal-directed protocol to guide the management of deceased donors may reduce the losses of potential brain-dead donors (PBDDs) due to CA. METHODS: The quality improvement project included 27 hospitals that reported deceased donors prospectively to the Transplant Center of the State of Santa Catarina, Brazil. All deceased donors reported prospectively between May 2012 and April 2014 were analyzed. Hospitals were encouraged to use the VIP approach checklist during the management of PBDDs. The checklist was composed of the following goals: protocol duration 12-24 hours, temperature > 35 °C, mean arterial pressure ≥ 65 mmHg, diuresis 1-4 ml/kg/h, corticosteroids, vasopressin, tidal volume 6-8 ml/kg, positive end-expiratory pressure 8-10 cmH2O, sodium < 150 mEq/L, and glycemia < 180 mg/dl. A logistic regression model was used to identify predictors of CA. RESULTS: There were 726 PBDD notifications, of which 324 (44.6) were actual donors, 141 (19.4 %) CAs, 226 (31.1 %) family refusals, and 35 (4.8 %) contraindications. Factors associated with CA reduction included use of the checklist (odds ratio (OR) 0.43, p < 0.001), maintenance performed inside the ICU (OR 0.49, p = 0.013), and vasopressin administration (OR 0.56, p = 0.04). More than three interventions had association with less CAs (OR 0.19, p < 0.001). After 24 months, CAs decreased from 27.3 % to 14.6 % (p = 0.002), reaching 12.1 % in the following two 4-month periods (p < 0.001). Simultaneous increases in organ recovered per donor and in actual donors were observed. CONCLUSIONS: A quality improvement program based on education and the use of a goal checklist for the management of potential donors inside the ICU is strongly associated with a decrease in donor losses and an increase in organs recovered per donor.

'Quer N0 AVC' for Monitoring Stroke Patients' Healthcare Using a Mobile App.

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and impairments worldwide. After hospital discharge, it is necessary to monitor these patients during their recovery. This research addresses the implementation of a mobile app, entitled 'Quer N0 AVC', to improve the quality of stroke patient care in Joinville, Brazil. The study method was divided into two parts. The adaptation phase included all the necessary information in the app for monitoring stroke patients. The implementation phase aimed to prepare a routine for the Quer mobile app installation. One of the questionnaires collected data from 42 patients and identified that before hospital admission 29% of them did not have medical appointments, 36% had one or two appointments, 11% had three appointments, and 24% had four or more appointments. This research portrayed adaptation feasibility and the implementation of a cell phone app for following up on stroke patients.

Technologies During the COVID-19 Pandemic: Teleconsultation in Care Management for Patients Undergoing Liver Transplant.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify home care management strategies for patients undergoing liver transplant, through teleconsultation, during the COVID-19 pandemic for maintenance and improvements in treatment adherence. METHODS: This was a qualitative, exploratory, and descriptive research study. Participants included patients who underwent liver transplant between 2020 and 2021. Through a semistructured script, data were analyzed according to the recommendations of content analysis and then simple statistics were applied. RESULTS: Twenty-two people participated in the study. Two analysis categories were developed, which resulted in 7 strategies and 22 care actions. The care strategy with the highest adherence involved actions related to the prevention of COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Teleconsultation is an excellent tool to manage and supervise post-liver transplant care of patients. Considering that teleconsultation has presented strategies and care actions, which were developed by the patients, the patients have a direct effect on treatment adherence despite pandemic impositions.

Family Interview Evaluation for Organ Donation: Communication of Death and Information About Organ Donation.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to identify variables related to organ donation that can contribute to the development of best practices in planning and conducting family interviews by health professionals. METHODS: This descriptive and prospective study of quantitative approach was conducted at 2 southern Brazil health institutions referenced in organ donation. Data collection occurred between 2018 and 2019 by health professionals who conduct family interviews using validated instruments that assessed the stages of the interview. Analysis was performed by means of the proportions of the studied variables associated with the donation authorization categories per the χ2 test. The significance level adopted was 0.05. RESULTS: The variables that presented the highest level of significance in the correlation with the prevalence of family authorization for organ donation included the following: communication with the family about the results of each test in the brain death diagnostic protocol; identification of whether the family understood the information about the death; presence of a member of the transplantation commission who had training to communicate information about organ donation; presence of a family member who had power to authorize the donation; and the interval between the communication of death and information about organ donation. CONCLUSIONS: The study presents important gaps that can be filled by health teams and hospitals in order to improve the welcoming and respect for families, as well as the organ donation rates. It is important to understand that each family is unique when facing mourning, and to distance the communication of death from the discussion about organ donation is an act of respect and empathy.

Communication of Death in the Context of Infant-Child Donation: Best Practices for Creating Family Interview for Organ and Tissue Donation.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze evidence capable of supporting best practices available in the literature to create dialogues about organ and tissue donation with parents of deceased children and adolescents. METHODS: An integrative literature review performed using Scopus, Cochrane, PsycINFO, PubMed/MEDLINE, Web of Science database, and SciELo electronic libraries from November of 2013 to November of 2018, using keyword syntax for each database. The categories were developed using the Alicante model. RESULTS: A total of 745 articles were identified, with 7 selected for analysis. The information obtained was grouped into 3 categories: death communication, which indicates the importance of using simple and clear words; emotional support, which reveals the need to respect family time and the importance of empathy and compassion; and donation information, which punctuates the importance of dissociating communication about the death from that regarding organ donation. CONCLUSIONS: Evidence shows that best practices are the use of simple language, respect for the family during the grieving process, and the importance of establishing different situations in which to communicate about the death and the donation process.

Complications Following Liver Transplant at a Teaching Hospital.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to analyze the liver transplant complications in a reference transplant hospital in southern Brazil. METHODS: The researchers used a cross-sectional, quantitative, exploratory, and descriptive study, conducted using 103 medical records of patients who underwent liver transplantation from 2011 to 2018. Data were analyzed through median, mean, and standard deviation, and the Kruskal-Wallis test was used. RESULTS: There was a higher proportion of men (70.9%), with a mean age of 53.3 years, who had hepatitis C (43.7%). The indication for the procedure was hepatocellular carcinoma (34%). The most frequent complications included pulmonary (26.7%), graft-related complications such as rejection (21.1%), and viral infections (14.4%). In addition, infectious complications, such as pneumonia (45%) and septicemia (29%), occurred. The main causes of death were septic shock (15.6%) and multiple organ failure (21.9%). There was statistical significance between the recipient's age and the Model for End-Stage Liver Disease value at the time of transplantation for the development of complications. CONCLUSIONS: The data from the present study provide important information about liver transplant. These data may enable the team to propose strategies for practice improvements, which will certainly offer better living conditions and transplant survival.

Health Needs of Patients Undergoing Liver Transplant From the Context of Hospital Discharge.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the health needs of the patient and family facing the perspectives of discharge, health care, and adaptation to the new reality at home. METHODS: This was a quantitative and qualitative, exploratory, descriptive study conducted at a reference hospital for liver transplantation. The participants were patients undergoing liver transplant in this hospital unit from 2011 to June 2019. A semistructured interview script was used for data collection, and data were analyzed according to guidelines proposed for content analysis. RESULTS: Twenty patients participated, with a mean age of 40.2 years; 76% were men. The interview data enabled the development of 3 categories: daily health care, warning signs, and adaptation to the new health care routine. The data obtained from the categories showed that the main health needs include difficulties in blood glucose management, insulin administration, the importance of awareness of the warning signs, and obtaining support from the health care team to deal with food restrictions and high doses of medication. CONCLUSION: The health needs are focused on identifying strategies to develop daily care, in addition to seeking better strategies to adapt to the new reality. The study showed the need for individualized discharge planning by the health care team, based on the health needs of each patient.