Estimating The Quality Of Life Of Hemodialysis Patients And Adequate Clearance

Abstract Introduction: Dialysis affects the quality of life of hemodialysis patients due on idrasis in physical activities, psychological factors, and social adaptability. Predominant indicator for assessing the adequacy of dialysis, considered the Kt / V (clearance time/volume of distribution). According to international guidelines, the price which shows adequate dialysis is > 1.2. Aim: The aim of the present study was the association of quality of life of hemodialysis patients with adequate dialysis. Material and Methods: To evaluate the quality of life of hemodialysis patients used the questionnaire KDQOL-SF weighted in the Greek language and the Greek egkyropoiimeno population. Excluded from the study patients with a speaking disability, those who were comatose, aliens, and those undergoing dialysis 3 hours/ 2 times / week. For data processing, used the statistical package SPSS ver.17. Results: Based on the statistical analysis t-test results showed respect to the route of vascular access that patients with graft (31,6%) had a higher clearance rate adequacy, as well as patients undergoing hemodialysis with high permeability (high-flux) filters (35,8%) and those undergoing dialysis with hemodiafiltration (35,8%). According to the statistical criterion pearson's r and multivariate analysis of linear regression, statistically significant difference was only between Kt / V and forefinger encouraging staff and p = 0,032 and p = 0,015 respectively. Conclusions: The conclusions drawn from this study showed that there was no correlation between quality of life and dialysis adequacy, but only with the index of encouraging staff

Benchmarkıng Indıcators Nursing Workload In Ιntensıve Care Unıts

Introduction: The high and continues increasing nursing workload in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is a remarkable increase in mortality factor of heavy ill patients. Aim: The aim of this study was a comparison evaluation between the score of Nursing Workload (NW), Nursing Activity Score (NAS) and Comprehensive Nursing Intervention Score (CNIS) in nurses who treat critically ill patients in Intensive Care Unit (ICU). Material and Methods: The studied population was 100 patients who were hospitalized in Intensive Care Units (ICU) hospitals in Athens and private clinic of Piraeus. It was used a special designed questionnaire by the researchers based on Nursing Activity Score (NAS) score and Comprehensive Nursing Intervention Score (CNIS) score. Data analysis was performed with the statistical package SPSS 17.0. Results: The 56% of study were men. The average age of the sample was 74 ± 15 years. The average Nursing Activity Score (NAS) for the first 10 days of hospitalization was 55, 4 ± 4, 9 and Comprehensive Nursing Intervention Score (CNIS) was 129, 5 ± 15, 4. Compared with indicators gravity nursing workload, with prognostic score APACHE II, SAPS II, the Glasgow scale and with laboratory markers creatinine and white blood showed that the Nursing Activity Score (NAS) and Comprehensive Nursing Intervention Score (CNIS) indicators a statistically significant difference (p = 0.005 and p <0.001, respectively) compared with patient outcome. Conclusions: The nursing workload (NW) as measured on scales Nursing Activity Score (NAS) and Comprehensive Nursing Intervention Score (CNIS). Both scales are equality and validity. Similarly, the outcome of these patients was associated with disease severity as measured by the score APACHE II and SAPS II

A Comparative Study Between Two Support Surfaces for Pressure Ulcer Prevention and Healing in ICU Patients

Objective The aim of this research was to compare the effectiveness of two mattresses used in intensive care unit (ICU) high-risk patients in terms of pressure ulcers (PUs) prevention and healing. Materials and Methods The studied sample consisted of 70 consecutive patients aged 18 to 65 years hospitalized in two ICUs of a general hospital in Athens, Greece. Virtuoso Mattress System (LINET, Slany, Czech Republic) was used in 35 patients, and standard memory foam mattress was used in the rest of participants. Patients were firstly assessed on enrollment and then every 72 hours in order to record the appearance or not of PUs, location of PUs, and stage of PUs, with the maximum follow-up not exceeding the 21 days. A number of clinical and biochemical factors, medical treatment, and vital signs were also recorded at each time point. Results Of the 70 patients, 40 (57.1%) were men, and the mean +/- standard deviation age of the sample was 46.1 +/- 14.5 years. The most common area of PUs was the buttocks (34.3%) followed by the shoulders (22.3%), with no statistically significant difference detected between the two groups. Moreover, the proportion of patients having PUs at stage 2 or higher was 23.8% on the third day after admission and 61.1% on the sixth day, with no difference detected between the two groups. Cox proportional hazard model revealed that the Virtuoso mattress was associated with almost 56% lower risk of developing PUs compared with standard foam mattress (HR [95% CI]: 0.44 [0.20-0.93]). The percentage of patients healed using the Virtuoso mattress was significantly lower compared with the standard foam mattress at all time points, with the results reaching statistical significance only on the 12th day after admission (7.7% vs. 66.7%; p &lt; 0.05). Conclusions The Virtuoso mattress seems to be more effective compared with standard foam mattresses in the prevention of PUs, whereas the standard foam mattresses are more effective in PU healing process