Good agreement of conventional and gel-based direct agglutination test in immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The aim of this study was to compare a gel-based test with the traditional direct agglutination test (DAT) for the diagnosis of immune-mediated haemolytic anaemia (IMHA).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Canine (n = 247) and feline (n = 74) blood samples were submitted for DAT testing to two laboratories. A subset of canine samples was categorized as having idiopathic IMHA, secondary IMHA, or no IMHA.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The kappa values for agreement between the tests were in one laboratory 0.86 for canine and 0.58 for feline samples, and in the other 0.48 for canine samples. The lower agreement in the second laboratory was caused by a high number of positive canine DATs for which the gel test was negative. This group included significantly more dogs with secondary IMHA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The gel test might be used as a screening test for idiopathic IMHA and is less often positive in secondary IMHA than the DAT.</p

Nursing workload and occurrence of adverse events in intensive care: a systematic review

Abstract OBJECTIVE To identifyevidences of the influence of nursing workload on the occurrence of adverse events (AE) in adult patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU). METHOD A systematic literature review was conducted in the databases MEDLINE, CINAHL, LILACS, SciELO, BDENF, and Cochrane from studies in English, Portuguese, or Spanish, published by 2015. The analyzed AE were infection, pressure ulcer (PU), patient falls, and medication errors. RESULTS Of 594 potential studies, eight comprised the final sample of the review. TheNursing Activities Score (NAS; 37.5%) and the Therapeutic Intervention Scoring System(TISS; 37.5%) were the instruments most frequently used for assessing nursing workload. Six studies (75.0%) identified the influence of work overload in events of infection, PU, and medicationerrors. An investigation found that the NAS was a protective factor for PU. CONCLUSION The nursing workload required by patients in the ICU influenced the occurrence of AE, and nurses must monitor this variable daily to ensure proper sizing of staff and safety of care

The use of the Nursing Activities Score in clinical settings: an integrative review

ABSTRACT Objective analyze how studies have approached the results obtained from the application of the Nursing Activities Score (NAS) based on Donabedian’s model of healthcare organization and delivery. Method CINAHL and PubMed databases were searched for papers published between 2003 and March 2015. Results 36 articles that met the inclusion criteria were reviewed and double-coded by three independent coders and analyzed based on the three elements of Donabedian’s health care quality framework: structure, process and outcome. The most frequently addressed, but not always tested, variables were those that fell into the structure category. Conclusion variables that fell into the process category were used less frequently. Beside NAS, the most frequently used variables in the outcome category were mortality and length of stay. However, no study used a quality framework for healthcare or NAS to evaluate costs, and it is recommended that further research should explore this approach

Adherence and factors related to acceptance of alcohol for antiseptic hand rubbing among nursing professionals

OBJECTIVE Identify rates of adhesion and related factors to acceptance of an alcohol based preparation to hands antiseptic friction among nursing professionals in a unit of intensive therapy. METHOD A cross-sectional study, which involved direct observation of hand hygiene opportunities and nursing professionals’ completion of questionnaires, was conducted at a university hospital between January and July 2015. Descriptive and univariate analyses were performed, with a 5% significance level. RESULTS It was observed 956 opportunities of hand hygiene among 46 nursing professionals. The rate of adhesion to alcohol-based handrub (ABH) was 34.8% and about 87.0% preferred handwashing. Nurses used ABH more frequently than nursing technicians (pOBJETIVO Identificar as taxas de adesão e os fatores relacionados à aceitação do produto alcoólico para fricção antisséptica das mãos entre profissionais da enfermagem de uma unidade de terapia intensiva. MÉTODO Foi realizado um estudo transversal, que envolveu a observação direta de oportunidades de higienização das mãos e o preenchimento de questionários pelos profissionais de enfermagem, em um hospital universitário, entre janeiro e julho de 2015. As análises descritivas e univariadas foram realizadas, com um nível de significância de 5%. RESULTADOS Foram observadas 956 oportunidades de higiene das mãos entre 46 profissionais de enfermagem. A taxa de adesão à fricção antisséptica foi de 34,8% e cerca de 87,0% profissionais relataram preferir a higiene de mãos simples. Enfermeiros realizaram a fricção antisséptica com mais frequência que os técnicos de enfermagem (pOBJETIVO Identificar las tasas de adhesión y los factores relacionados con la aceptación del producto alcohólico para fricción antiséptica de las manos entre profesionales de enfermería de una unidad de cuidados intensivos. MÉTODO Se llevó a cabo un estudio transversal, que involucró la observación directa de oportunidades de higienización de las manos y el llenado de cuestionarios por los profesionales de enfermería, en un hospital universitario, entre enero y julio de 2015. Los análisis descriptivos y univariados fueron realizados con un nivel de significación del 5%. RESULTADOS Se observaron 956 oportunidades de higiene de las manos entre 46 profesionales de enfermería. La tasa de adhesión a la fricción antiséptica fue del 34,8% y un 87,0% de los profesionales relataron preferir la higiene de manos simple. Enfermeros realizaron la fricción antiséptica con más frecuencia que los técnicos de enfermería (