Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatment

Interventions for preventing oral mucositis for patients with cancer receiving treatmentTreatment for cancer (including bone marrow transplant) can cause oral mucositis (severe ulcers in the mouth). This painful condition can cause difficulties in eating, drinking and swallowing, and may also be associated with infections which may require the patient to stay longer in hospital. Different strategies are used to try and prevent this condition, and the review of trials found that some of these are effective. Two interventions, cryotherapy (ice chips) and keratinocyte growth factor (palifermin®) showed some benefit in preventing mucositis. Sucralfate is effective in reducing the severity of mucositis, and a further seven interventions, aloe vera, amifostine, intravenous glutamine, granulocyte‐colony stimulating factor (G‐CSF), honey, laser and antibiotic lozenges containing polymixin/tobramycin/amphotericin (PTA) showed weaker evidence of benefit. These were evaluated in patients with different types of cancer, undergoing different types of cancer treatment. Benefits may be restricted to the disease and treatment combinations evaluated

Effects of Music Therapy on Pain and Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Bone Marrow Biopsy and Aspiration

Bone marrow biopsy and aspiration are commonly used for diagnosing, treating, and following up after treatment for blood disorders and solid tumors. For adults, the infiltration of local anesthesia at the biopsy site has been used as the principal form of analgesia for bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. Pain relief during these procedures is often incomplete, especially during aspiration of the bone marrow, and pain is likely to contribute to patient anxiety. Researchers at the Tabriz Hematology and Oncology Center in Iran conducted a study to quantify and evaluate the effectiveness of music therapy interventions on pain and anxiety control for 100 patients undergoing bone marrow biopsy and aspiration. Participants in the study were randomly assigned to one of two groups: one group listened to music during the procedure, and the other did not. Patients completed the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory both before and after the procedure and reported pain severity by using a visual analog scale. Results showed that participants who listened to music had lower state anxiety and pain levels than those who did not listen to music

The effects of allopurinol mouthwash in the prevention of chemotherapy-induced stomatitis

Background: Stomatitis, the inflammation of the mucous lining of any of the oral structures, is a frequent side-effect of anticancer drugs due to excess uric acid production. Strict oral hygiene and the application of an appropriate mouthwash has been reported to relieve pain and improve patient quality of life. Allopurinol is a drug used to treat conditions caused by excess uric acid. The aim of this study to evaluate the effectiveness of prophylactic use of allopurinol mouthwash for stomatitis in patients undergoing chemotherapy."nMethods: In this quasi-experimental study, 42 patients were randomly assigned to either a study group or a control group. In the study group (28 patients), patients used 5 mg/ml allopurinol mouthwash in hydroxyl propyl methyl cellulose. The control group (14 patients) used water instead of the mouthwash. Treatment was administered for 16 days."nResults: Data collected during the daily follow-up of the patients' oral mucosa showed that allopurinol mouthwash decreased the severity, pain and duration of stomatitis."nConclusion: Preventing stomatitis in patients receiving chemotherapy improves the health of the patient and compliance with treatment. Based on our findings, allopurinol mouthwash should be used for all chemotherapy patients for the prevention of stomatitis. This nursing intervention can also improve the patient's nutritional state and level of satisfaction

Illness Perception, Self-Efficacy, and Medication Adherence in Patients With Coronary Artery Disease: A Path Analysis of Conceptual Model

Introduction Illness perception and self-efficacy in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) may affect medication adherence, which is one of the most important challenges in disease management in this group of patients. Objective The present study aimed to investigate the factors influencing medication adherence in CAD patients, especially the effect of illness perception and self-efficacy. Methods This study was cross-sectional and conducted from April to September 2021. A total of 259 patients with confirmed CAD were selected by convenience sampling method based on inclusion criteria. Illness perception, self-efficacy, and medication adherence were investigated using Brief IPQ, SCSES, and MARS_10 questionnaires, respectively. The data were analyzed using the STATA software (version 14) and the regression path analysis method. Results Patients had moderate illness perception and high self-efficacy, and 61.8 of them adhered to their medication regimen. Greater illness perception, better self-efficacy, and higher education had a positive effect on medication adherence, and increasing age had a negative effect on it. The final path model shows a good fit of the data in the model (χ2: 0.37, df: 274, χ2/df: 0.36, CFI: 1, IFI: 0.95, TLI: 1.07, and RMSEA: 0.00). Conclusion The results of the present study suggest that patients’ illness perception can play an important role in predicting self-efficacy in disease management and the level of medication adherence in patients with CAD. To improve self-efficacy and medication adherence, future intervention studies should focus on the patient's illness perceptions and their improvement

Work success and the physician-nurse professional relationship in emergency departments

Background. Considering the importance of physician-nurse relationship in emergency departments and its role in improving the quality of services, patient satisfaction, job success and staff satisfaction, this study was conducted to investigate nurses' attitude about the professional doctor-nurse relationship and career success of the nurses in emergency departments. Methods. This study is a descriptive study in which 197 nurses working in the emergency departments of hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences participated. Data collection tools included demographic characteristic; physician-nurse professional communication questionnaire and nurses' career success questionnaire. The collected data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistical tests with SPSS ver.21 statistical software. Results. The findings showed that the mean (SD) of the professional physician-nurse relationship from the perspective of participating nurses was 3.07 (0.54). Cooperating dimension with the mean score of 3.34 (0.79) had the highest score and imposing opinions and tasks dimension with the mean score of 2.62 (0.85) had the lowest score. Also, the mean (SD) score of nurses’ career success was 4.21 (0.40) with the highest mean in the dimension of system assistant 4.33 (0.55) and the lowest mean in the effective dimension 4.08 (0.41). Conclusion. Considering the importance of the professional physician-nurse relationship, it is necessary to pay more attention to the effective factors in its promotion by implementing interventions such as professional communication skills training and effective interaction in strengthening the professional relationship of the treatment team. Practical Implications. The results of this study can be used to improve professional communication between health care team members and their work success. As a result, in addition to increasing job satisfaction and improving the psychological condition of personnel, the safety of patients will also be increased and the amount of injuries caused by communication defects will be decreased