Role of Nurses in Early Ambulation of Living Donor Liver Transplant Recipients

［Introduction］ Liver transplant recipients suffer more complications than do patients undergoing other gastroenterological surgeries. Many factors inhibit ambulation in liver transplant patients, such as the level of restriction to bed rest and length of stay in the intensive care unit（ ICU）. Patients thus face ambulation difficulties. Support for ambulation is one of the major daily tasks of nurses. We reviewed the ambulation situations of patients who underwent living donor liver transplantation to investigate factors that contributed to ambulation and the nurse’s role therein. ［Patients］ Ten recipients underwent living donor liver transplantation in our hospital between April 2009 and December 2010. Records of the 8 patients who survived were evaluated for this study. ［Result］ According to the postoperative day of initiation of independent walking in the hospital ward, there were no significance difference among operation time, intraoperative bleeding, length of stay in ICU, bed rest level, complications, and rehabilitation intervention. However, the patients who received preoperative guidance were more highly motivated about ambulation than were patients who did not receive preoperative guidance. ［Discussion］ Although initiation of independent walking in the hospital ward differed depending on the patient's general status, it was found that volition is also a strong factor in patient ambulation. Preoperative orientation helps patients to understand perioperative management and clinical course. Moreover, it is necessary to share information with the rehabilitation team and to assist in the activities of daily living for early ambulation

Factors associated with development and persistence of post-COVID conditions : a cross-sectional study

INTRODUCTION: The post-COVID condition has become a social concern. Although the patient characteristics associated with the development of this condition are partially known, those associated with its persistence have not been identified. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire-based survey among patients who had recovered from COVID-19 and visited the National Center for Global Health and Medicine between February 2021 and March 2021. Demographic and clinical data, and data regarding the presence and duration of post-COVID conditions were obtained. We identified factors associated with the development and persistence of post-COVID conditions using multivariate logistic and linear regression analyses, respectively. RESULTS: We analyzed 457 of 526 responses (response rate, 86.9%). The median patient age was 47 years. Of these, 378 patients (84.4%) had mild disease in the acute phase. The number of patients with symptoms at 6 and 12 months after onset or diagnosis was 120 (26.3%) and 40 (8.8%), respectively. Women were at risk of developing fatigue (odds ratio [OR]: 2.03, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.31–3.14), dysosmia (OR: 1.91, 95%CI: 1.24–2.93), dysgeusia (OR: 1.56, 95%CI: 1.02–2.39), hair loss (OR: 3.00, 95%CI: 1.77–5.09), and persistence of any symptoms (coefficient: 38.0, 95%CI: 13.3–62.8). Younger age and low body mass index were factors for developing dysosmia (OR: 0.96, 95%CI: 0.94–0.98 and OR: 0.94, 95%CI: 0.89–0.99, respectively) and dysgeusia (OR: 0.98, 95%CI: 0.96–1.00 and OR: 0.93, 95%CI: 0.88–0.98, respectively). CONCLUSION: We identified factors involved in the development and persistence of post-COVID conditions. Many patients, even those with mild conditions, experience long-term residual symptoms