Antipsychotic medication side effects knowledge amongst registered mental health nurses in England: A national survey

© 2020 The Authors. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd What is known on the subject?: Research findings indicate the percentage of knowledge-related errors in medicines management is high, accounting for approximately 75% of all errors, with insufficient knowledge levels one of the most significant contributors of medication errors. Patients should be able to trust nurses to engage therapeutically and actively listen to their needs and concerns, responding using skills that are helpful, providing information that is clear, accurate, meaningful and free from jargon. However, without knowledge of pharmacology, it is impossible for nurses to be able to provide adequate advice. What the paper adds to the existing knowledge?: This study has examined an area that had not yet been systematically examined previously, which draws together previous research findings on mental health nurses' knowledge of adverse events, including side effects and medication errors, related to antipsychotic medication within NHS inpatient settings. What are the implications for practice?: A recent study has found that almost three-quarters (73%) of patients taking antipsychotic medication reported side effects to some degree. This high number of people experiencing antipsychotic medication side effects is likely to compromise care, especially in situations where nurses have inadequate knowledge of side effects and are unable to provide effective advice to patients. The findings from this study allow the mental health nursing profession an opportunity to reflect on the best means to increase knowledge and increase patient safety awareness and benefits for mental health service users. Abstract: Introduction Antipsychotic medications play a significant role in the treatment and recovery of people with several psychiatric disorders. However, research findings indicate mental health nurses are insufficiently knowledgeable about antipsychotic medication side effects. Aim To assess practising mental health nurses' knowledge of antipsychotic medication side effects using a Multiple-Choice Questionnaire (MCQ) across National Health Service (NHS) Trusts in England. Hypothesis Knowledge of antipsychotic medication side effects amongst registered mental health nurses is related to their academic qualification, clinical banding and length of experience. Method A national survey of registered mental health nurses was carried out using an online questionnaire which was disseminated by Research and Development departments. Results A total of 504 questionnaires were returned, 245 of which had full data and further analysed. The mean score for the sample was 14.4 and only 21 participants attained a mark of >80%. Implications for Practice Two out of three of our hypotheses (that length of experience and clinical banding are directly related to knowledge of antipsychotic medication side effects) were supported. Our study found many nurses have a suboptimal working knowledge of antipsychotic medication side effects which has the potential to compromise care. Strategies need to be put in place to enhance pharmacology knowledge

Measurement of the semileptonic branching fraction of the B_s meson

We report a measurement of the inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of the B_s meson using data collected with the BABAR detector in the center-of-mass energy region above the Υ(4S) resonance. We use the inclusive yield of ϕ mesons and the ϕ yield in association with a high-momentum lepton to perform a simultaneous measurement of the semileptonic branching fraction and the production rate of B_s mesons relative to all B mesons as a function of center-of-mass energy. The inclusive semileptonic branching fraction of the B_s meson is determined to be B(B_s→ℓνX)=9.5_(-2.0)^(+2.5)(stat)_(-1.9)^(+1.1)(syst)%, where ℓ indicates the average of e and μ

B^0 meson decays to ρ^0K^(*0), f_0K^(*0), and ρ^-K^(*+), including higher K^* resonances

We present branching fraction measurements for the decays B^0→ρ^0K^(*0), B^0→f_0K^(*0), and B^0→ρ^-K^(*+), where K^* is an S-wave (Kπ)_0^* or a K^*(892) meson; we also measure B^0→f_0K_2^*(1430)^0. For the K^*(892) channels, we report measurements of longitudinal polarization fractions (for ρ final states) and direct CP violation asymmetries. These results are obtained from a sample of (471.0±2.8)×10^6 BB̅ pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e^+e^- collider at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory. We observe ρ^0K^*(892)^0, ρ^0(Kπ)_0^(*0), f_0K^*(892)^0, and ρ^-K^*(892)^+ with greater than 5σ significance, including systematics. We report first evidence for f_0(Kπ)_0^(*0) and f_0K_2^*(1430)^0, and place an upper limit on ρ^-(Kπ)_0^(*+). Our results in the K^*(892) channels are consistent with no direct CP violation

Observation of the baryonic B decay B̅^0→Λ_c^+Λ̅ K^-

We report the observation of the baryonic B decay B̅ ^0→Λ_c^+Λ̅ K^- with a significance larger than 7 standard deviations based on 471×10^6 BB̅ pairs collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II storage ring at SLAC. We measure the branching fraction for the decay B̅ ^0→Λ_c^+Λ̅ K^- to be (3.8±0.8_(stat)±0.2_(sys)±1.0_(Λc)^+)×10^(-5). The uncertainties are statistical, systematic, and due to the uncertainty in the Λc+ branching fraction. We find that the Λ_c^+K^- invariant-mass distribution shows an enhancement above 3.5  GeV/c^2

Search for the decay D^0 → γγ and measurement of the branching fraction for D^0 → π^0π^0

We search for the rare decay of the D^0 meson to two photons, D^0→γγ, and present a measurement of the branching fraction for a D^0 meson decaying to two neutral pions, B(D^0→π^0π^0). The data sample analyzed corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 470.5  fb^(-1) collected by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e^+e^- collider at SLAC. We place an upper limit on the branching fraction, B(D^0→γγ)<2.2×10^(-6), at 90% confidence level. This limit improves on the existing limit by an order of magnitude. We also find B(D^0→π^0π^0)=(8.4±0.1±0.4±0.3)×10^(-4)

Search for CP violation in the decay τ-→π-K_S^0(≥0π^0)ν_τ

We report a search for CP violation in the decay τ-→π-KS^0(≥0π^0)ντ using a data set of 437×10^6 τ-lepton pairs, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 476  fb^(-1), collected with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II asymmetric-energy e^+e^- storage rings. The CP-violating decay-rate asymmetry is determined to be (-0.36±0.23±0.11)% approximately 2.8 standard deviations from the standard model prediction of (0.36±0.01)%

Study of radiative bottomonium transitions using converted photons

We use (111±1) million Υ(3S) and (89±1) million Υ(2S) events recorded by the BABAR detector at the PEP-II B-factory at SLAC to perform a study of radiative transitions between bottomonium states using photons that have been converted to e^+e^- pairs by the detector material. We observe Υ(3S)→γ_(χb0,2)(1P) decay, make precise measurements of the branching fractions for χ_(b1,2)(1P,2P)→γΥ(1S) and χ_(b1,2)(2P)→γΥ(2S) decays, and search for radiative decay to the η_b(1S) and η_b(2S) states

Branching fraction measurements of the color-suppressed decays B̅^0 to D^((*)0_π^(0), D^((*)0)η, D^((*)0)ω, and D^((*)0)η′ and measurement of the polarization in the decay B̅ 0→D^(*0)ω

We report updated branching fraction measurements of the color-suppressed decays B̅ ^(0) → D^(0)π^(0), D^(*0)π^(0), D^(0)η, D^(*0)η, D^(0)ω, D^(*0)ω, D^(0)η′, and D^(*0)η′. We measure the branching fractions (×10^(-4)): B(B̅^0 → D^(0)π^(0)) = 2.69±0.09±0.13, B(B̅^(0) → D^(*0)π^(0)) = 3.05±0.14±0.28, B(B̅^(0) → D^(0)η) = 2.53±0.09±0.11, B(B̅^(0) → D^(*0)η) = 2.69±0.14±0.23, B(B̅^(0) → D^(0)ω) = 2.57±0.11±0.14, B(B̅^(0) → D^(*0)ω) = 4.55±0.24±0.39, B(B̅^(0)→D^(0)η′) = 1.48±0.13±0.07, and B(B̅^(0) → D^(*0)n′) = 1.49±0.22±0.15. We also present the first measurement of the longitudinal polarization fraction of the decay channel D*0ω, fL=(66.5±4.7±1.5)%. In the above, the first uncertainty is statistical and the second is systematic. The results are based on a sample of (454±5)×10^6 BB̅ pairs collected at the Υ(4S) resonance, with the BABAR detector at the PEP-II storage rings at SLAC. The measurements are the most precise determinations of these quantities from a single experiment. They are compared to theoretical predictions obtained by factorization, Soft Collinear Effective Theory (SCET) and perturbative QCD (pQCD). We find that the presence of final state interactions is favored and the measurements are in better agreement with SCET than with pQCD