Cancer-related fatigue in women with breast cancer: outcomes of a 5-year prospective cohort study.

Purpose: Prolonged and disabling fatigue is prevalent after cancer treatment, but the early natural history of cancer-related fatigue (CRF) has not been systematically examined to document consistent presence of symptoms. Hence, relationships to cancer, surgery, and adjuvant therapy are unclear.

Patients And Methods: A prospective cohort study of women receiving adjuvant treatment for early-stage breast cancer was conducted.

Removal of short-term indwelling urethral catheters: the evidence.

Objective: The objective of this systematic review was to determine the effect of the timing of removal of indwelling urethral catheters (IUCs) on the duration to and volume of first void, length of hospitalization, number of patients developing urinary retention and requiring recatheterization, patient satisfaction, and the percentage of IUCs removed according to the scheduled time for removal.

Materials And Methods: Published and unpublished literature in English and other languages between January 1966 and June 2002, which compared the effects of the timing of removal of short-term indwelling urethral catheters on patient outcomes, was systematically reviewed using multiple electronic databases. To determine eligibility of the trials for inclusion in the review, assessment of methodologic quality and data extraction was undertaken independently by 2 reviewers and verified by a third reviewer.

Peripheral venous catheters: a review of current practices.

Loss of peripheral intravenous (PIV) catheter patency is a common problem in the clinical setting. A survey of all private and public hospitals in a metropolitan city in Australia was conducted to identify practices related to maintaining patency of PIV catheters. Eighty-three hospitals were surveyed and responses were obtained from all of them.

Comparison of late night and early morning removal of short-term urethral catheters.

Background: Indwelling urethral catheters (IUCs) are inserted in approximately 15-25% of all hospitalised patients mainly to assist clinicians to accurately monitor urine output during acute illness or following surgery, to treat urinary retention and for investigative purposes. However, this procedure is associated with significant morbidity. Although research has focused on the type and maintenance of urinary catheters and techniques for insertion, limited attention has been given to the procedures for their removal, in particular whether the time of day the IUC is removed influences patient outcomes.