Search results for: humanising hospital

Authors: Neha Adsul, Rohit Shah

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Background: The global history of nursing is exclusively a history of deep contradictions as it seeks to negotiate inclusion in an already gendered world. Although a powerful 'clinical gaze exists, nurses have toiled to re-negotiate and subvert the 'medical gaze' by practicing the 'therapeutic gaze' to tether back 'care into nursing practice.' This helps address the duality of the 'body' and 'mind' wherein the patient is not just limited to being an object of medical inquiry. Nevertheless, there has been a consistent effort to fit 'nursing' into being an art or an emerging science over the years. Especially with advances in hospital-based techno-centric medical practices, the boundaries between technology and nursing practices are becoming more blurred as the technical process becomes synonymous with nursing, eroding the essence of nursing care. Aim: This paper examines the history of nursing and offers insights into how gendered relations and the ideological belief of 'nursing as gendered work' have propagated to the subjugation of the nursing profession. It further aims to provide insights into the patriarchally imbibed techno-centrism that negates the gendered caregiving which lies at the crux of a nurse's work. Method: A literature search was carried out using Google Scholar, Web of Science and PubMed databases. Search words included: technology and nursing, medical technology and nursing, history of nursing, sociology and nursing and nursing care. The history of nursing is presented in a discussion that weaves together the historical events of the 'Birth of the Clinic' and the shift from 'bed-side medicine' to 'hospital-based medicine' that legitimizes exploitation of the bodies of patients to the 'medical gaze while the emergence of nursing as acquiescent to instrumental, technical, positivist and dominant views of medicine. The resultant power asymmetries, wherein in contemporary nursing, the constant struggle of nurses to juggle between being the physicians "operational right arm" to harboring that subjective understanding of the patients to refrain from de-humanizing nursing-care. Findings: The nursing profession suffers from being rendered invisible due to gendered relations having patrifocal societal roots. This perpetuates a notion rooted in the idea that emphasizes empiricism and has resulted in theoretical and epistemological fragmentation of the understanding of body and mind as separate entities. Nurses operate within this structure while constantly being at the brink of being pushed beyond the legitimate professional boundaries while being labeled as being 'unscientific' as the work does not always corroborate and align with the existing dominant positivist lines of inquiries. Conclusion: When understood in this broader context of how nursing as a practice has evolved over the years, it provides a particularly crucial testbed for understanding contemporary gender relations. Not because nurses like to live in a gendered work trap but because the gendered relations at work are written in a covert narcissistic patriarchal milieu that fails to recognize the value of intangible yet utmost necessary 'caring work in nursing. This research urges and calls for preserving and revering the humane aspect of nursing care alongside the emerging tech-savvy expectations from nursing work.

Keywords: nursing history, technocentric, power relations, scientific duality

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Authors: Sabiha Sahin

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Introduction: We have planned this study because of the increasing number of corrosive substance poisoning who admitted to the Pediatric Emergency Department. Method: 636 corrosive substance poisoning cases applied to the Osmangazi University PED between 1 January 2015 - 31 December 2017 were retrospectively analyzed. Results: 438 (69%) cases were male.The poisoning rate of groups 0-4 was significantly higher and occurred by accident. A total of 616 cases (96.9%) were poisoned by the oral route, and 20 cases were poisoned by inhalation.462 Patients were admitted to the hospital within an hour (72.8%). Of the 134 patients who had only erosion and redness around the mouth, 24 patients had salivation and dysphagia symptoms besides these. Of the 28 cases of 158 patients with symptoms, eusaphegeal stenosis was detected. on third day examination. Although there was no statistically significant correlation between esophageal stenosis and erosion and redness around the mouth, there was a statistically significant correlation between dysphagia and salivation between esophageal stenosis Conclusion: The increased salivation and the dysphagia are important signs of risk of devoloping esophageal stenosis at first examination corrosive poisoning in children.

Keywords: caustic, corrosive, poisoning, children

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Authors: P. P. Chandrasekera, P. B. Hewavithana, S. Rosairo, M. H. M. N. Herath, D. M. R. D. Mirihella

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Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL) is a White Matter Injury (WMI) of preterm neonatal brain. Objectives of the study were to assess the neuro-developmental outcome at one year of age and to determine a good protocol of cranial ultrasonography to detect PVL. Two hundred and sixty four preterm neonates were included in the study. Series of cranial ultrasound scans were done by using a dedicated neonatal head probe 4-10 MHz of Logic e portable ultrasound scanner. Clinical history of seizures, abnormal head growth (hydrocephalus or microcephaly) and developmental milestones were assessed and neurological examinations were done until one year of age. Among live neonates, 57% who had cystic PVL (Grades2 and 3) manifested as cerebral palsy. In conclusion cystic PVL has permanent neurological disabilities like cerebral palsy. Good protocol of real time cranial ultrasonography to detect PVL is to perform scans at least once a week until one month and at term (40 weeks of gestation).

Keywords: cerebral palsy, cranial ultrasonography, Periventricular Leukomalacia, preterm neonates

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Authors: Benedikt Munzar, Jagraj Singh, Alice Mei, David Musheyev, Sandeep Gandhi

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Clostridium glycolicum is a gram-positive, anaerobic, spore-forming rod that is not commonly identified as a primary human pathogen. Here is presented a case of a 60-year-old patient with a history of opioid use disorder who underwent a number of abdominal surgeries for small bowel obstruction. His hospital course was complicated by Clostridium glycolicum infection, resulting in an acute abdomen. The patient clinically improved with antibiotic therapy. A thorough review of the National Institute of Health database revealed that only a small number of cases have been reported since 2007, with the last postsurgical cases documented in 2009 and the last clinical case documented in 2012. Clostridium glycolicum infections have been noted in patients with immunosuppressive conditions or those undergoing medical treatments that compromise immune function. This case was unusual due to the patient being immunocompetent. We suggest that a case of an acute abdomen should consider this organism as an etiological agent.

Keywords: acute abdomen, bacterial infection, clostridium glycolicum, Meckel’s diverticulum, pneumoperitoneum, small bowel obstruction

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Authors: Jui-Chen Huang

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Nowadays, the population is aging, the number of people who need to be taken care of is increased, but the manpower and funding are insufficient. Therefore, this study aims to explore the attitudes and willingness of arthritis patients to adopt telecare and to take a large medical institution in the central area of Taiwan as a sample hospital. A structured questionnaire (using the Likert five-point scale) was used to collect chronic patients over 20 years old as sample data, and a total of 500 valid questionnaires were effectively collected. The SPSS 18.0 statistical software was used for reliability analysis and independent sample t-test to explore the differences in attitudes and willingness to use telecare for arthritis patients and non-arthritic patients. The Cronbach's alpha value of this study questionnaire was above 0.94, showing good reliability. Arthritis patients and non-arthritic patients had statistically significant differences in attitudes toward telecare, while the willingness to use did not reach statistically significant differences. In addition, the average attitude and intention of arthritis patients for telecare are 3.38 and 3.41, respectively, indicating that arthritis patients have a certain degree of attitude and willingness to adopt telecare, which is worthy of follow-up research and practical industry push.

Keywords: telecare, arthritis patients, attitudes, intention

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Authors: Kim Rod

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People whose chronic pain limits their independence are especially likely to become anxious and depressed. Mindfulness training has shown promise for stress-related disorders. Methods: Chronic pain patients who complained of anxiety and depression and who scored higher than moderate in Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS) and Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) as well as moderate in Quality of Life Scale (QOLS) were observed for eight weeks, three days a week for an hour of Mindfulness Meditation training with an hour daily home Mindfulness Meditation practice. Pain was evaluated on study entry and completion, and patients were given the Patients’ Global Impression of Change (PGIC) to score at the end of the training program. Results: Forty-seven patients (47) completed the Mindfulness Meditation Training program. Over the year-long observation, patients demonstrated noticeable improvement in depression, anxiety, pain, and global impression of change. Conclusion: Chronic pain patients who suffer with anxiety and depression may benefit from incorporating Mindfulness Meditation into their treatment plans.

Keywords: mindfulness, meditation, depression, anxiety, chronic pain

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Authors: Slobodan B. Tričković

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We present the results concerned with trigonometric series that include sine and cosine functions with a parameter appearing in the denominator. We derive two types of closed-form formulas for trigonometric series. At first, for some integer values, as we know that Riemann’s ζ function and Dirichlet η, λ equal zero at negative even integers, whereas Dirichlet’s β function equals zero at negative odd integers, after a certain number of members, the rest of the series vanishes. Thus, a trigonometric series becomes a polynomial with coefficients involving Riemann’s ζ function and Dirichlet η, λ, β functions. On the other hand, in some cases, one cannot immediately replace the parameter with any positive integer because we shall encounter singularities. So it is necessary to take a limit, so in the process, we apply L’Hospital’s rule and, after a series of rearrangements, we bring a trigonometric series to a form suitable for the application of Choi-Srivastava’s theorem dealing with Hurwitz’s zeta function and Harmonic numbers. In this way, we express a trigonometric series as a polynomial over Hurwitz’s zeta function derivative.

Keywords: Dirichlet eta lambda beta functions, Riemann's zeta function, Hurwitz zeta function, Harmonic numbers

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Authors: Wheyming Tina Song, Chi-Hao Hong

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In this study, we investigate the effect of a new boarding policy - short stay, on the overcrowding efficiency in emergency department (ED). The decision variables are no. of short stay beds for least acuity ED patients. The performance measurements used are national emergency department overcrowding score (NEDOCS) and ED retention rate (the percentage that patients stay in ED over than 48 hours in one month). Discrete event simulation (DES) is used as an analysis tool to evaluate the strategy. Also, common random number (CRN) technique is applied to enhance the simulation precision. The DES model was based on a census of 6 months' patients who were treated in the ED of the National Taiwan University Hospital Yunlin Branch. Our results show that the new short-stay boarding significantly impacts both the NEDOCS and ED retention rate when the no. of short stay beds is more than three.

Keywords: emergency department (ED), common random number (CRN), national emergency department overcrowding score (NEDOCS), discrete event simulation (DES)

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Authors: Grace Omowunmi Soyebi

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Data Mining is the extraction of information from a large database which helps in predicting a trend or behavior, thereby helping management make knowledge-driven decisions. One principal problem of most hospitals in rural areas is making use of the file management system for keeping records. A lot of time is wasted when a patient visits the hospital, probably in an emergency, and the nurse or attendant has to search through voluminous files before the patient's file can be retrieved; this may cause an unexpected to happen to the patient. This Data Mining application is to be designed using a Structured System Analysis and design method, which will help in a well-articulated analysis of the existing file management system, feasibility study, and proper documentation of the Design and Implementation of a Computerized medical record system. This Computerized system will replace the file management system and help to easily retrieve a patient's record with increased data security, access clinical records for decision-making, and reduce the time range at which a patient gets attended to.

Keywords: data mining, medical record system, systems programming, computing

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Authors: Faizan Rathore, Naveed Sultan, Humphrey O. Connor

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This study was carried out from Jan '12-Dec'12 to assess current practice in Kerry General Hospital against the age-related indicators for colonoscopies. A total of 1474 colonoscopies were performed,1177(79.9%) were diagnostic and 297 (20.1%) were therapeutic, patients were divided into 4 age groups under 75, 75-80, 81-85, 86+. The trend analysis revealed an increase in diagnostic colonoscopies and decrease in therapeutic colonoscopies with age. 664(45.04%) of colonoscopies were reported normal which made up the majority of the total diagnoses, 1330 (90.2%) of colonoscopies occurred without any complications. Main complications were patient discomfort being the highest, present in 112(7.6%) of patients, and lowest being urticaria around the IV site present in 1 (0.1%) of the cases. Patient discomfort was higher in younger patients as evidenced by 98 cases aged <75 , followed by 11 cases aged 75-80, 2 cases aged 81-85 and 1 case aged >86. Highest percentage of poor tolerance was found in 14 (1.1%) of total patients <75, 1 (0.8%) of total patients aged 75-80, 1(1.7%) of total patients in age group 81-85 and none (0%) in age group >86. We have established the safety of colonoscopy, low rate of complications and a better tolerance in the elderly from this study, however, its utility, especially in the presence of other comorbidities in elderly is questionable.

Keywords: colonoscopy, elderly patients, utility, tolerance

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Authors: Rachael Andrews, Viktoria McMillan, Shuaib Nasser, Christopher M. Roberts

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Background and objective: The National Review of Asthma Deaths (NRAD) found that asthma management and care was inadequate in 26% of cases reviewed. Major shortfalls identified were adherence to national guidelines and standards and, particularly, the organisation of care, including supervision and monitoring in primary care, with 70% of cases reviewed having at least one avoidable factor in this area. 5.4 million people in the UK are diagnosed with and actively treated for asthma, and approximately 60,000 are admitted to hospital with acute exacerbations each year. The majority of people with asthma receive management and treatment solely in primary care. This has therefore created concern that many people within the UK are receiving sub-optimal asthma care resulting in unnecessary morbidity and risk of adverse outcome. NRAD concluded that a national asthma audit programme should be established to measure and improve processes, organisation, and outcomes of asthma care. Objective: To develop a primary care dataset enabling extraction of information from GP practices in Wales and providing robust data by which results and lessons could be drawn and drive service development and improvement. Methods: A multidisciplinary group of experts, including general practitioners, primary care organisation representatives, and asthma patients was formed and used as a source of governance and guidance. A review of asthma literature, guidance, and standards took place and was used to identify areas of asthma care which, if improved, would lead to better patient outcomes. Modified Delphi methodology was used to gain consensus from the expert group on which of the areas identified were to be prioritised, and an asthma patient and carer focus group held to seek views and feedback on areas of asthma care that were important to them. Areas of asthma care identified by both groups were mapped to asthma guidelines and standards to inform and develop primary and secondary care datasets covering both adult and pediatric care. Dataset development consisted of expert review and a targeted consultation process in order to seek broad stakeholder views and feedback. Results: Areas of asthma care identified as requiring prioritisation by the National Asthma Audit were: (i) Prescribing, (ii) Asthma diagnosis (iii) Asthma Reviews (iv) Personalised Asthma Action Plans (PAAPs) (v) Primary care follow-up after discharge from hospital (vi) Methodologies and primary care queries were developed to cover each of the areas of poor and variable asthma care identified and the queries designed to extract information directly from electronic patients’ records. Conclusion: This paper describes the methodological approach followed to develop primary care datasets for a National Asthma Audit. It sets out the principles behind the establishment of a National Asthma Audit programme in response to a national asthma mortality review and describes the development activities undertaken. Key process elements included: (i) mapping identified areas of poor and variable asthma care to national guidelines and standards, (ii) early engagement of experts, including clinicians and patients in the process, and (iii) targeted consultation of the queries to provide further insight into measures that were collectable, reproducible and relevant.

Keywords: asthma, primary care, general practice, dataset development

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Authors: Turki M. Habeebullah, Atef M. F. Mohammed, Essam A. Morsy

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In recent decades, particulate matter (PM10) have received much attention due to its potential adverse health impact and the subsequent need to better control or regulate these pollutants. The aim of this paper is focused on study risk assessment of PM10 in four different districts (Shebikah, Masfalah, Aziziyah, Awali) in Makkah, Saudi Arabia during the period from 1 Ramadan 1434 AH - 27 Safar 1435 AH. samples was collected by using Low Volume Sampler (LVS Low Volume Sampler) device and filtration method for estimating the total concentration of PM10. The study indicated that the mean PM10 concentrations were 254.6 (186.1 - 343.2) µg/m3 in Shebikah, 184.9 (145.6 - 271.4) µg/m3 in Masfalah, 162.4 (92.4 - 253.8) µg/m3 in Aziziyah, and 56.0 (44.5 - 119.8) µg/m3 in Awali. These values did not exceed the permissible limits in PME (340 µg/m3 as daily average). Furthermore, health assessment is carried out using AirQ2.2.3 model to estimate the number of hospital admissions due to respiratory diseases. The cumulative number of cases per 100,000 were 1534 (18-3050 case), which lower than that recorded in the United States, Malaysia. The concentration response coefficient was 0.49 (95% CI 0.05 - 0.70) per 10 μg/m3 increase of PM10.

Keywords: air pollution, respiratory diseases, airQ2.2.3, Makkah

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Authors: Syed Hassan Tanvir Ramzi, Ubaidullah Ansari, Sana Manzoor, Namal Ilyas, Nabeel Ahmed

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Objective: To better understand the prevalence of neurological symptoms associated with COVID-19, several factors, such as age, gender, and comorbidity, are explored to create a more holistic understanding of the impact of COVID-19. Methods: After meeting inclusion and exclusion criteria, 111 patients admitted to Ibne Sina Hospital were recruited between October 2021 and February 2022. A descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to summarize patients' most often encountered signs and symptoms concerning the above parameters. Results: Out of 111 patients, a significant proportion of symptoms occurred in patients aged 40-60 years, with Dysgeusia being the most widespread (75.5%), followed by Encephalitis (45.9%), GBS (28.8%), Encephalopathy (18.9%), and Ischemic Stroke (6.3%). These were most prevalent in hypertensive individuals (46%) and Diabetes Mellitus (31%). In asthmatic individuals, they are the least prevalent (10.8%). Conclusion: Despite the predominance of neurological manifestations, the present scientific literature cannot demonstrate a definitive causal association between the symptoms and the virus. This study carefully ensures a link between age, gender, and comorbidity, along with the prevalence of neurological manifestations of COVID-19. For a comprehensive treatment plan, a holistic understanding of symptoms is critical.

Keywords: COVID 19, neurological association, GBS, Encephalitis

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Authors: Helena Costa Oliveira, Carmem Oliveira, Rita Moutinho

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The Balanced Scorecard (BSC) is a continuous strategic monitoring model focused not only on financial issues but also on internal processes, patients/users, and learning and growth. Initially dedicated to business management, it currently serves organizations of other natures - such as hospitals. This paper presents a BSC designed for a Portuguese Acute Pain Unit (APU). This study is qualitative and based on the experience of collaborators at the APU. The management of APU is based on four perspectives – users, internal processes, learning and growth, and financial and legal. For each perspective, there were identified strategic objectives, critical factors, lead indicators and initiatives. The strategic map of the APU outlining sustained strategic relations among strategic objectives. This study contributes to the development of research in the health management area as it explores how organizational insufficiencies and inconsistencies in this particular case can be addressed, through the identification of critical factors, to clearly establish core outcomes and initiatives to set up.

Keywords: acute pain unit, balanced scorecard, hospital management, organizational performance, Portugal

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Authors: Novita Verayanti Manalu, Alvin Salim

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Background: Palliative care is caring holistically for patients and families to improve their quality of life. Experts stated that palliative care could be applied not only for terminally ill cases but also for acute illnesses. Therefore, this study wants to find out the level of knowledge about palliative care of the nurses along with the relationship with attitude and performance. Method: This study applies a cross-sectional survey design and allows the respondents to fill two questionnaires to determine the level of knowledge and attitude toward palliative care, while one questionnaire is filled out by the head nurse to evaluate nurses’ performance. The relationship was analyzed by Spearman rho’s correlation in alpha < 0,05 by SPSS. Results: The majority of respondents were females, aged above 25 years old, and married. Most of the nurses are staff nurses and the ratio of education level is not significantly different. The knowledge level is poor, while the attitude and performance are at an adequate level. Knowledge may affect attitude, but it doesn’t happen toward performance. Conclusion: There is a need for increased knowledge about palliative care to improve attitude and work performance. Future researchers might use this finding as a reference to conduct further study in improving knowledge of palliative care.

Keywords: knowledge, attitude, work performance, palliative care

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Authors: Athar Hussain Memon

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Objectives: We tried to determine the frequency of raised C-reactive protein (CRP) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients and Methods: This cross-sectional descriptive study of six months study was conducted at Liaquat University Hospital Hyderabad from March 2013 to August 2013. All diabetic patients of ≥35 years age of either gender for >01 year duration visited at OPD were evaluated for C-reactive protein and their glycemic status by hemoglobin A1c. The data was analyzed in SPSS and the frequency and percentage were calculated. Results: During six month study period, total 100 diabetic patients were evaluated for C-reactive protein. The majority of patients were from urban areas 75/100 (75%). The mean ±SD for age of patients with diabetes mellitus was 51.63±7.82. The mean age ±SD of patient with raised CRP was 53±7.21. The mean ±SD for HbA1c in patients with raised CRP is 9.55±1.73. The mean random blood sugar level in patients with raised CRP was 247.42 ± 6.62. The majority of subjects were of 50-69 years of age group with female predominance (p=0.01) while the CRP was raised in 70 (70%) patients in relation to age (p=0.02) and gender (p=0.01), respectively. Both HbA1c and CRP were raised in 64.9% (p=0.04) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The mean ±SD of CRP was 5.8±1.21 while for male and female individuals with raised CRP was 3.52±1.22 and 5.7±1.63, respectively. Conclusions: The raised CRP was observed in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus.

Keywords: diabetes mellitus, C-reactive protein, hemoglobin A1c, diabetes and metabolism

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Authors: R. J. Kuo, W. C. Cheng, W. C. Lien, T. J. Yang

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Taiwan is a hyper endemic area for the Hepatitis B virus (HBV). The estimated total number of HBsAg carriers in the general population who are more than 20 years old is more than 3 million. Therefore, a case record review is conducted from January 2003 to June 2007 for all patients with a diagnosis of acute hepatitis who were admitted to the Emergency Department (ED) of a well-known teaching hospital. The cost for the use of medical resources is defined as the total medical fee. In this study, principal component analysis (PCA) is firstly employed to reduce the number of dimensions. Support vector regression (SVR) and artificial neural network (ANN) are then used to develop the forecasting model. A total of 117 patients meet the inclusion criteria. 61% patients involved in this study are hepatitis B related. The computational result shows that the proposed PCA-SVR model has superior performance than other compared algorithms. In conclusion, the Child-Pugh score and echogram can both be used to predict the cost of medical resources for patients with acute hepatitis in the ED.

Keywords: acute hepatitis, medical resource cost, artificial neural network, support vector regression

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Authors: Mohammed Saeed Jawad

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Metaverse involves the convergence of three major technologies trends of AI, VR, and AR. Together these three technologies can provide an entirely new channel for delivering healthcare with great potential to lower costs and improve patient outcomes on a larger scale. Telepresence is the technology that allows people to be together even if they are physically apart. Medical doctors can be symbolic as interactive avatars developed to have smart conversations and medical recommendations for patients at the different stages of the treatment. Medical digital assets such as Medical IoT for real-time remote healthcare monitoring as well as the symbolic doctors’ avatars as well as the hospital and clinical physical constructions and layout can be immersed in extended realities 3D metaverse environments where doctors, nurses, and patients can interact and socialized with the related digital assets that facilitate the data analytics of the sensed and collected personal medical data with visualized interaction of the digital twin of the patient’s body as well as the medical doctors' smart conversation and consultation or even in a guided remote-surgery operation.

Keywords: personal healthcare, metaverse, telemedicine, telepresence, avatar, medical consultation, remote-surgery

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Authors: Sihana Ahmeti Lika, Merita Dauti, Ledjan Malaj

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The objective of this study is to analyze the prophylactic usage of low molecular weight heparine (LMWH) along pregnancy and the correlation between their usage and month/week of pregnancy, in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, at Clinical Hospital in Tetovo. A retrospective study was undertaken during 01 January–31 December 2012. Over of one year, the total number of patients was 4636. Among the 1447 (32.21%) pregnant women, 298 (20.59%) of them were prescribed LMWH. The majority of patients given LMWH, 119 (39.93%) were diagnosed hypercoagulable. The age group with the highest attendance was 25-35, 141 patients (47.32%). For 195 (65.44%) patients, this was their first pregnancy. Earliest stage of using LMWH was the second month of pregnancy 4 (1.34%) cases. The most common patients, were 70 women along the seventh month (23.49%), followed by 68 in the ninth month of pregnancy (22.81%). Women in the 28th gestational week, were found to be the most affected, a total of 55 (78.57%) were in that week. Clexane 2000 and Fraxiparine 0.3 were the most common for which low molecular weight heparine was prescribed. The number of patients which received Clexane 2000 was 84 (28.19%), followed by those with Fraxiparine 0.3 81 (27.18%). The administration of LMWH is associated with long hospitalization (median 14,6 days).

Keywords: hypercoagulable state, low moleculare weight heparine, month of pregnancy, pregnant women

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Authors: Nasir Yusoff, Ahmad Adamu Adamu, Tahamina Begum, Faruque Reza

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The P300 from Event related potential (ERP) explains the psycho-physiological phenomenon in human body. The present study aims to identify the differences of amplitude and latency of P300 component from auditory stimuli, between ambiversion and extraversion types of personality. Ambivert (N=20) and extravert (N=20) undergoing ERP recording at the Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (HUSM) laboratory. Electroencephalogram data was recorded with oddball paradigm, counting auditory standard and target tones, from nine electrode sites (Fz, Cz, Pz, T3, T4, T5, T6, P3 and P4) by using the 128 HydroCel Geodesic Sensor Net. The P300 latency of the target tones at all electrodes were insignificant. Similarly, the P300 latency of the standard tones were also insignificant except at Fz and T3 electrode. Likewise, the P300 amplitude of the target and standard tone in all electrode sites were insignificant. Extravert and ambivert indicate similar characteristic in cognition processing from auditory task.

Keywords: amplitude, event related potential, p300 component, latency

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Authors: Gholamreza Madad

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The role of medical equipment in modern advanced hospitals is irrefutable. Despite limited financial resources, developing countries have taken an uncontrollable manner to the purchase of complex and expensive equipment, although they have not taken good maintenance to keep these huge capitals. In our country, limited studies have indicated that the irregularities exist in the management of medical equipment maintenance. Research method: The research was done as a cross-sectional one, and in this study, a questionnaire was used to collect data in 10 hospitals. After distributing and collecting questionnaires in person, the collected data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and SPSS software. Research findings: According to the obtained results from the four dimensions of the management of medical equipment maintenance, only (maintenance planning) was in a moderate position and other components with a score of less than 50% were at a low level. There was a direct relationship between the total score of maintenance management and guidance points and coordination of medical equipment maintenance, and as well as the age of hospital managers. Discussion and conclusion: In sum, we can say that problems such as lack of skilled staff in medical engineering departments of hospitals, lack of funds and unaware of the authorities of medical engineering units to their duties have caused that the maintenance situation of medical equipment maintenance is in poor condition (near average). The low inexperience of the authorities of the unit has also contributed to this problem.

Keywords: equipment, maintenance, medical equipment, hospitals

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Authors: Aref Zribi, Sonia Ben Nasr, Sana Fendri, Mahdi Balti, Abderazzek Haddaoui

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Background: Despite their benefit, Endocrine therapies (ET) are known to have substantial adverse events (AEs) such as hot flashes, mood disorders and osteoarticular pain. ET induced alopecia(EIA) is less frequently noted by patients and is less reported in the literature. The aim of our study was to report ET alopecia characteristics and their influence on patient and treatment observance. Method: We conducted a retrospective study including luminal BC patients treated in the oncology department of the military hospital of Tunis between January 2015 and December 2020. Patients treated with previous chemotherapy-inducing alopecia were excluded. Results: 145 female patients were included. The median age was 59 years. EIA was reported in 44% of cases. Alopecia was attributed to aromatase inhibitors in 53% and tamoxifen in 21%. Severity was grade 1 in 80% and grade 2 in the remaining cases. ET discontinuation because of alopecia was noted in 6.5 % of patients. Moderate improvement of alopecia was observed with topical minoxidil and Thallium metallicum 9CH homeopathy during ET in 60% of patients. Conclusions: EIA is frequent in BC patients and should be considered to improve treatment observance and patients’ quality of life.

Keywords: endocrine therapy, alopecia, breast cancer, Tunisia

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Authors: Sangbok Lee

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There has been much effort on process improvement for outpatient clinics to provide quality and acute care to patients. One of the efforts is no-show analysis or prediction. This work analyzes patient no-shows along with patient health conditions. The health conditions refer to clinical symptoms that each patient has, out of the followings; hyperlipidemia, diabetes, metastatic solid tumor, dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension, coronary artery disease, myocardial infraction, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, drug dependence abuse, schizophrenia, major depression, and pain. A dataset from a regional hospital is used to find the relationship between the number of the symptoms and no-show probabilities. Additional analysis reveals how each symptom or combination of symptoms affects no-shows. In the above analyses, cross-classification of patients by age and gender is carried out. The findings from the analysis will be used to take extra care to patients with particular health conditions. They will be forced to visit clinics by being informed about their health conditions and possible consequences more clearly. Moreover, this work will be used in the preparation of making institutional guidelines for patient reminder systems.

Keywords: healthcare system, no show analysis, process improvment, statistical data analysis

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Authors: Luciano Tarantino

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Gas gangrene is a rare, severe infection with a very high mortality rate caused by Clostridium species. The infection causes a non-suppurative localized producing gas lesion from which harmful toxins that impair the inflammatory response cause vessel damage and multiple organ failure. Gas gangrene of the liver is very rare and develops suddenly, often as a complication of abdominal surgery and liver transplantation. The present paper deals with a case of gas gangrene of the liver that occurred after percutaneous MW ablation of hepatocellular carcinoma, resulting in progressive liver necrosis and multi-organ failure in spite of specific antibiotics administration. The patient was successfully treated with percutaneous Radiofrequency ablation. Case report: Female, 76 years old, Child A class cirrhosis, treated with synchronous insertion of 3 MW antennae for large HCC (5.5 cm) in the VIII segment. 24 hours after treatment, the patient was asymptomatic and left the hospital . 2 days later, she complained of fever, weakness, abdominal swelling, and pain. Abdominal US detected a 2.3 cm in size gas-containing area, eccentric within the large (7 cm) ablated area. The patient was promptly hospitalized with the diagnosis of anaerobic liver abscess and started antibiotic therapy with Imipenem/cilastatine+metronidazole+teicoplanine. On the fourth day, the patient was moved to the ICU because of dyspnea, congestive heart failure, atrial fibrillation, right pleural effusion, ascites, and renal failure. Blood tests demonstrated severe leukopenia and neutropenia, anemia, increased creatinine and blood nitrogen, high-level FDP, and high INR. Blood cultures were negative. At US, unenhanced CT, and CEUS, a progressive enlargement of the infected liver lesion was observed. Percutaneous drainage was attempted, but only drops of non-suppurative brownish material could be obtained. Pleural and peritoneal drainages gave serosanguineous muddy fluid. The Surgeon and the Anesthesiologist excluded any indication of surgical resection because of the high perioperative mortality risk. Therefore, we asked for the informed consent of the patient and her relatives to treat the gangrenous liver lesion by percutaneous Ablation. Under conscious sedation, percutaneous RFA of GG was performed by double insertion of 3 cool-tip needles (Covidien LDT, USA ) into the infected area. The procedure was well tolerated by the patient. A dramatic improvement in the patient's condition was observed in the subsequent 24 hours and thereafter. Fever and dyspnea disappeared. Normalization of blood tests, including creatinine, was observed within 4 days. Heart performance improved, 10 days after the RFA the patient left the hospital and was followed-up with weekly as an outpatient for 2 months and every two months thereafter. At 18 months follow-up, the patient is well compensated (Child-Pugh class B7), without any peritoneal or pleural effusion and without any HCC recurrence at imaging (US every 3 months, CT every 6 months). Percutaneous RFA could be a valuable therapy of focal GG of the liver in patients non-responder to antibiotics and when surgery and liver transplantation are not feasible. A fast and early indication is needed in case of rapid worsening of patient's conditions.

Keywords: liver tumor ablation, interventional ultrasound, liver infection, gas gangrene, radiofrequency ablation

Procedia PDF Downloads 81

Authors: Mohammed Almohammedali, David Edgar, Duncan Peter

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The aim of this exploratory research is to further understand how organisations can evaluate their activities, which generate knowledge creation, to meet changing stakeholder expectations. A Scale of Knowledge (SoK) Framework is proposed which links knowledge management and organisational activities to changing stakeholder expectations. The framework was informed by the knowledge management literature, as well as empirical work conducted via a single case study of a multi-site hospital organisation in Saudi Arabia. Eight in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with managers from across the organisation regarding current and future stakeholder expectations, organisational strategy/activities and knowledge management. Data were analysed using thematic analysis and a hierarchical value map technique to identify activities that can produce further knowledge and consequently impact on how stakeholder expectations are met. The SoK Framework developed may be useful to practitioners as an analytical aid to determine if current organisational activities produce organisational knowledge which helps them meet (increasingly higher levels of) stakeholder expectations. The limitations of the research and avenues for future development of the proposed framework are discussed.

Keywords: knowledge creation, knowledge management, organisational knowledge, analytical aid, stakeholders

Procedia PDF Downloads 435

Authors: Walid A. Alkeridy, Arwa Aljasser, Khalid Mohammed Alayed, Saad Alsaad, Amani S. Alqahtani, Claire Ann Lim, Sultan H. Alamri, Doaa Zainhom Mekkawy, Mohammed Al-Sofiani

Abstract:

Introduction: The history of publicly funded Home Health Care (HHC) service in Saudi Arabia dates back to 1991. The first HC program was launched to provide palliative home care services for patients with terminal cancer. Thereafter, more programs launched across Saudi Arabia most remarkably was launching the national program for HHC by the Ministry Of Health (MOH) in 2008. The national HHC MOH program is mainly providing long-term care home care services for over 40,000 Saudi citizens. The scope of the HHC service program provided by the Saudi MOH is quite diverse, ranging from basic nursing care to specialized care programs, e.g., home peritoneal dialysis, home ventilation, home infusion therapy, etc. Objectives: The primary aim of our study is to report the prevalence of chronic conditions among Saudi people receiving long-term HHC services. Secondary aims include identifying the predictors of mortality among individuals receiving long-term HHC services and studying the association between frailty and poor health outcomes among HHC users. Methods: We conducted a retrospective and cross-sectional data collection from participants receiving HHC services at King Saud University Medical City, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Data were collected from electronic health records (EHR), patient charts, and interviewing caregivers from the year 2019 to 2022. We assessed functional performance by Katz's activity of daily living and the Bristol Activity of Daily Living Scale (BADLS). A trained health care provider assessed frailty using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Mortality was assessed by reviewing the death certificates if patients were hospitalized through discharge status ascertainment from EHR. Results: The mean age for deceased individuals in HHC was 78.3 years. Over twenty percent of individuals receiving HHC services were readmitted to the hospital. The following variables were statistically significant between deceased and alive individuals receiving HHC services; clinical frailty scale, the total number of comorbid conditions, and functional performance based on the KATZ activity of daily living scale and the BADLS. We found that the strongest predictors for mortality were pressure ulcers which had an odds ratio of 3.75 and p-value of < 0.0001, and the clinical frailty scale, which had an odds ratio of 1.69 and p-value of 0.002, using multivariate regression analysis. In conclusion, our study found that pressure ulcers and frailty are the strongest predictors of mortality for individuals receiving home health care services. Moreover, we found a high rate of annual readmission for individuals enrolled in HHC, which requires further analysis to understand the possible contributing factors for the increased rate of hospital readmission and develop strategies to address them. Future studies should focus on designing quality improvement projects aimed at improving the quality of life for individuals receiving HHC services, especially those who have pressure ulcers at the end of life.

Keywords: homecare, Saudi, prevalence, chronic

Procedia PDF Downloads 119

Authors: A. M. U. P. Kumari, Vidanapathirana. J., Amarasekara J., Karunanayaka L.

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Leptospirosis is a zoonotic infection with significant morbidity and mortality. As an occupational disease, it has become a global concern due to its disease burden in endemic countries and rural areas. The aim of this study was to assess disease burden in terms of DALYs of leptospirosis. A hospital-based descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using 450 clinically diagnosed leptospirosis patients admitted to base and above hospitals in Monaragala district, Sri Lanka, using a pretested interviewer administered questionnaire. The patients were followed up till normal day today life after discharge. Estimation of DALYs was done using laboratory confirmed leptospirosis patients. Leptospirosis disease burden in the Monaragala district was 44.9 DALYs per 100,000 population which includes 33.18 YLLs and 10.9 YLDs. The incidence of leptospirosis in the Monaragala district during the study period was 59.8 per 100,000 population, and the case fatality rate (CFR) was 1.5% due to delay in health seeking behaviour; 75% of deaths were among males due to multi organ failure. The disease burden of leptospirosis in the Moneragala district was significantly high, and urgent efforts to control and prevent leptospirosis should be a priority.

Keywords: human leptospirosis, disease burden, disability adjusted life Years, Sri Lanka

Procedia PDF Downloads 234

Authors: Shohra Qaderi

Abstract:

Introduction: Tetanus is a severe infection characterized by the spasm of skeletal muscles that often progresses toward respiratory failure. Acute Renal failure (ARF) is an important complication associated Tetanus infection, occurring in 15%-39% of cases. Presentation of cases: A previous healthy 14-year-old boy was admitted to the Tetanus ward of a hospital in Kabul, presenting with severe muscle spasms. On day four of admission, he started having cola-colored urine with decreased urine output. Due to lack of peritoneal dialysis, he went under hemodialysis in view of rapidly raising in blood urea (from baseline 32 mg/dl to 150 mg/dl) and creatinine from (baseline 0.9 mg/dl to 6.2g/dl). Despite all efforts, he had a sudden cardiac arrest and passed away on day 6 of admission. Discussion: ARF is a complication of tetanus, reported to be mild and non-oliguric. Suggested pathological mechanisms include autonomic dysfunction and rhabdomyolysis, owing to uncontrolled muscle spasms. Autonomic dysfunction, most evident in the first two weeks of infection. Conclusion: The prevalence and mortality of tetanus is high in Afghanistan. Physicians and pediatricians need to be aware of this complication of tetanus so as to take appropriate preventive measures and recognize and manage it early.

Keywords: afghanistan, acute renal failure, child, mortality

Procedia PDF Downloads 188

Authors: Abdullah Nurus Salam Khan, Farhana Karim, Mohiuddin Ahsanul Kabir Chowdhury, S. Masum Billah, Nabila Zaka, Alexander Manu, Shams El Arifeen

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Globally, pre-eclampsia (PE) and ante-partum haemorrhage (APH) are two major causes of maternal mortality. Prompt identification and management of these conditions depend on competency of the birth attendants. Since these conditions are infrequent to be observed, clinical vignette based assessment could identify the extent of health worker’s competence in managing emergency obstetric care (EmOC). During June-August 2016, competence of 39 medical officers (MO) and 95 nurses working in obstetric ward of 15 government health facilities (3 district hospital, 12 sub-district hospital) was measured using clinical vignettes on PE and APH. The vignettes resulted in three outcome measures: total vignette scores, scores for diagnosis component, and scores for management component. T-test was conducted to compare mean vignette scores and linear regression was conducted to measure the strength and association of vignette scores with different cadres of health workers, facility’s readiness for EmOC and average annual utilization of normal deliveries after adjusting for type of health facility, health workers’ work experience, training status on managing maternal complication. For each of the seven component of EmOC items (administration of injectable antibiotics, oxytocic and anticonvulsant; manual removal of retained placenta, retained products of conception; blood transfusion and caesarean delivery), if any was practised in the facility within last 6 months, a point was added and cumulative EmOC readiness score (range: 0-7) was generated for each facility. The yearly utilization of delivery cases were identified by taking the average of all normal deliveries conducted during three years (2013-2015) preceding the survey. About 31% of MO and all nurses were female. Mean ( ± sd) age of the nurses were higher than the MO (40.0 ± 6.9 vs. 32.2 ± 6.1 years) and also longer mean( ± sd) working experience (8.9 ± 7.9 vs. 1.9 ± 3.9 years). About 80% health workers received any training on managing maternal complication, however, only 7% received any refresher’s training within last 12 months. The overall vignette score was 8.8 (range: 0-19), which was significantly higher among MO than nurses (10.7 vs. 8.1, p < 0.001) and the score was not associated with health facility types, training status and years of experience of the providers. Vignette score for management component (range: 0-9) increased with higher annual average number of deliveries in their respective working facility (adjusted β-coefficient 0.16, CI 0.03-0.28, p=0.01) and increased with each unit increase in EmOC readiness score (adjusted β-coefficient 0.44, CI 0.04-0.8, p=0.03). The diagnosis component of vignette score was not associated with any of the factors except it was higher among the MO than the nurses (adjusted β-coefficient 1.2, CI 0.13-2.18, p=0.03). Lack of competence in diagnosing and managing obstetric complication by the nurses than the MO is of concern especially when majority of normal deliveries are conducted by the nurses. Better EmOC preparedness of the facility and higher utilization of normal deliveries resulted in higher vignette score for the management component; implying the impact of experiential learning through higher case management. Focus should be given on improving the facility readiness for EmOC and providing the health workers periodic refresher’s training to make them more competent in managing obstetric cases.

Keywords: Bangladesh, emergency obstetric care, clinical vignette, competence of health workers

Procedia PDF Downloads 194

Authors: Pratistha Shrestha

Abstract:

Background: Acrochordons (Skin tags) are common benign skin tumors usually occurring on the neck and major flexors of older people. These range in size from 1 mm to 1cm in diameter and are skin-colored or brownish. A possible association with diabetes mellitus has been suggested in previous studies, but the result is not conclusive. Objective: The aim of this study was to find out the association of diabetes mellitus with acrochordons. Material and Methods: One hundred and two patients were selected for the study. Among them, 51 (males–23 and females–28) with acrochordons were taken as cases, and 51 with other dermatologic diseases after matching age and sex were taken as controls. The patients were selected from OPD of the Department of Dermatology and Venereology in Universal College of Medical Sciences–Teaching Hospital (UCMS-TH). Blood glucose levels, including both fasting plasma glucose and 2-hour post-glucose load, were determined for both case and control and compared. Results: Patients with acrochordons had a significantly higher frequency of diabetes than the control group (p < 0.001). A total of 48.5% and 40% of patients with acrochordons having diabetes were obese and overweight, respectively. Conclusion: There is an increased risk of diabetes mellitus in patients with acrochordons. With regard to the importance of early diagnosis of diabetes, it is recommended a high level of suspicion for diabetes mellitus in patients with acrochordons.

Keywords: acrochordons, diabetes mellitus, obesity, skin tags

Procedia PDF Downloads 157