Real-Time Dosimetry in Endourology: Tracking Staff Radiation Risks.

Background: To retrospectively investigate scatter radiation (SCR) exposure among staff in the endourology operating theatre.

Methods: During surgeries under fluoroscopic guidance, five professional groups (urological surgeon [US], surgical nurse [SN], assistant surgical nurse [ASN], anaesthetist [A], and anaesthesia care [AC]) wore real-time dosimeters (Philips DoseAware System) on their head and chest over lead aprons between July 2023 and February 2024. The SCR data were analysed and correlated with procedural and patient factors.

Functional Outcome and Safety of Endoscopic Treatment Options for Benign Prostatic Obstruction (BPO) in Patients ≥ 75 Years of Age.

The selection of suitable patients for the surgical treatment of benign prostatic obstruction (BPO) is a challenge in persons ≥75 years of age. : After a systematic literature search of PubMed, 22 articles were included in this review. Clinical and functional parameters were evaluated statistically.

Oral intake of solid medications in patients with post-stroke dysphagia. A challenge for nurses?

Aim: To provide a comprehensive overview of how stroke nurses manage solid medication (SM) delivery to patients with post-stroke dysphagia.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Methods: A self-administered online survey was carried out among nurses in German-speaking countries between September and December 2021.

'The last bridge'- How patients experience the CAR T-cell therapy. A qualitative study.

Purpose: CAR T-cell therapy gives patients new hope, who are diagnosed with relapsed or refractory B-cell lymphoma or B-cell leukaemia. To date, there is no scientific knowledge about the experiences of patients with CAR T-cell therapy, their process of treatment decision making or how they handle potential side effects. The study aims at deepening the understanding of the patient's experiences, indicating how to improve nursing care for this patient population.

Validation of a Geriatric Bedside Swallowing Screen (GEBS): Protocol of a Prospective Cohort Study.

Background: Demographic changes will raise the need for specialized care of older patients. Oropharyngeal dysphagia has recently been declared a geriatric syndrome reflecting its multifactorial background. Alongside multimorbidity, sarcopenia, frailty, and disability, swallowing disorders increase with advancing age, with prevalence rates reported to be as high as 44% in acute geriatric hospital settings and 80% in long-term care facilities.

Prophylactic rivaroxaban in the early post-discharge period reduces the rates of hospitalization for atrial fibrillation and incidence of sudden cardiac death during long-term follow-up in hospitalized COVID-19 survivors.

While acute Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) affects the cardiovascular (CV) system according to recent data, an increased CV risk has been reported also during long-term follow-up (FU). In addition to other CV pathologies in COVID-19 survivors, an enhanced risk for arrhythmic events and sudden cardiac death (SCD) has been observed. While recommendations on post-discharge thromboprophylaxis are conflicting in this population, prophylactic short-term rivaroxaban therapy after hospital discharge showed promising results.

Effects of Angiotensin Receptor-Neprilysin Inhibitors (ARNIs) on the Glucose and Fat Metabolism Biomarkers Leptin and Fructosamine.

(1) Background: Heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) remains a major health burden. Angiotensin-Receptor-Neprilysin-Inhibitors (ARNIs) are an established HFrEF therapy which increases natriuretic peptide levels by inhibiting neprilysin. Leptin is a lipid metabolism parameter, which is also involved in glucose metabolism and is suggested to correlate with HF burden.

Impact of cavotricuspid isthmus ablation for typical atrial flutter and heart failure in the elderly-results of a retrospective multi-center study.

Introduction: While in the CASTLE-AF trial, in patients with atrial fibrillation and heart failure with reduced ejection fraction, interventional therapy using pulmonary vein isolation was associated with outcome improvement, data on cavotricuspid isthmus ablation (CTIA) in atrial flutter (AFL) in the elderly is rare.

Methods: We included 96 patients between 60 and 85 years with typical AFL and heart failure with reduced or mildly reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF/HFmrEF) treated in two medical centers. 48 patients underwent an electrophysiological study with CTIA, whereas 48 patients received rate or rhythm control and guideline-compliant heart failure therapy.

Gender-Specific Differences in the Intensive Care Treatment of COVID-19 Patients.

Background: Gender-specific differences in the outcome of COVID-19 patients requiring intensive care treatment have been reported. However, a potential association with ICU therapy remains elusive.

Methods: A total of 224 consecutive patients (63 women) treated for severe COVID-19 disease requiring mechanical ventilation were screened for the study.

Responsive Behaviors and Pain Management in Hospital Dementia Care: A Before and After Comparison of the "Serial Trial Intervention".

Purpose: Responsive behavior, often referred to as behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), is among the most critical disorders in dementia whereby nursing personnel in hospitals are increasingly confronted with such symptoms. The purpose was to reduce the level of BPSD in an acute hospital environment through a stepwise procedure followed by the initiation of a needs-oriented treatment.

Methods: An open, prospective, interventional study with before-after comparisons was used to implement "Serial Trial Intervention" (STI) in three hospital wards (internal medicine, surgery, geriatric) after its adaption for hospital setting which was supplemented with a detailed pain assessment.

"This Project Helped Me to Grow": Experiences of Teaching Palliative Care Using the EDUPALL Project Medical Undergraduate Curriculum.

The WHO has proclaimed that palliative care (PC) should be integrated as a routine element of all undergraduate medical and nursing education. The EDUPALL Erasmus+project produced a PC curriculum for undergraduate medical education based on the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) recommendations for undergraduate training. This was tested in four Romanian Faculties of Medicine: Universities of Transilvania, Iasi, Targu Mures, and Timisoara.

Caring for a Relative with Dementia: Determinants and Gender Differences of Caregiver Burden in the Rural Setting.

Dementia is a progressive disease that puts substantial strain on caregivers. Many persons with dementia (PwDs) receive care from a relative. Since male and female caregivers experience different issues related to stress, it is important to meet their different needs to prevent the early nursing home placement of PwDs.

Absenteeism and associated labour costs according to depressive symptom severity in the German general population: why preventive strategies matter.

Purpose: Depression is a highly prevalent mental health condition with substantial individual, societal and economic consequences. This study focussed on the association of depressive symptom severity with absenteeism duration and employer labour costs.

Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the German Health Update 2014/2015, multivariable zero-inflated Poisson regression (ZIP) models explored the association of depressive symptom severity (8-item depression patient health questionnaire-PHQ-8), with absenteeism weeks during 12 months in men and women working full- or part-time.

Needs Assessment of Safe Medicines Management for Older People With Cognitive Disorders in Home Care: An Integrative Systematic Review.

The global trend of healthcare is to improve the quality and safety of care for older people with cognitive disorders in their own home. There is a need to identify how medicines management for these older people who are cared by their family caregivers can be safeguarded. This integrative systematic review aimed to perform the needs assessment of medicines management for older people with cognitive disorders who receive care from their family caregivers in their own home.

PRN Medicines Management for Older People with Long-Term Mental Health Disorders in Home Care.

Older people with long-term mental health conditions who receive care in their own home are vulnerable to the inappropriate use of medications and polypharmacy given their underlying health conditions and comorbidities. Inappropriate use of pro re nata (PRN) medications in these older people can enhance their suffering and have negative consequences for their quality of life and well-being, leading to readmission to healthcare settings and the increased cost of health care. This narrative review on published international literature aims at improving our understanding of medicines management in home care and how to improve PRN medication use among older people with long-term health conditions in their own home.

Home care nursing for persons with dementia from a family caregivers' point of view: Predictors of utilisation in a rural setting in Austria.

The service utilisation of persons with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers is subject to lively debate. The reasons for non-utilisation are manifold and heterogeneous. Conceptual models and explanatory frameworks may help identify predictors of the usage of health services.

The Content, Teaching Methods and Effectiveness of Spiritual Care Training for Healthcare Professionals: A Mixed-Methods Systematic Review.

Context: Spirituality has been demonstrated to play an important role in healthcare, yet many staff feel ill-equipped to deliver spiritual care. Spiritual care training programs have been developed to address this need.

Objective: The aim of this mixed-methods systematic review was to identify spiritual care training programs for healthcare professionals or students, and to investigate program content, teaching methods, key outcomes, and identified challenges and facilitators.

Quantifying spatial accessibility of general practitioners by applying a modified huff three-step floating catchment area (MH3SFCA) method.

Background: It is necessary to ensure sufficient healthcare. The use of current, precise and realistic methods to model spatial accessibility to healthcare and thus improved decision-making is helping this process. Generally, these methods-which include the family of floating catchment area (FCA) methods-incorporate a number of criteria that address topics like access, efficiency, budget, equity and the overall system utilization.

Transitional 'hospital to home' care of older patients: healthcare professionals' perspectives.

Background: Transitional care is a key area of care provision to older people with chronic and complex health conditions and is associated with the quality of care delivered in the healthcare system.

Aims: This study aimed to explore the perspectives of healthcare providers, including nurses and physicians, regarding transitional care from hospital to home in an urban area of Turkey.

Methods: A qualitative study using a thematic analysis method was carried out.

One-week multidisciplinary post-graduate palliative care training: an outcome-based program evaluation.

Background: A multi-professional, post-graduate, one-week palliative care training program was piloted in November 2019 at the University of Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine. A formal evaluation of this program was performed.

Methods: This is a comparative, retrospective outcome-based evaluation of an educational intervention.

eHealth systems for the optimised care of patients with type 2 diabetes.

Background: Type 2 diabetes mellitus is one of the most common diseases worldwide. The demands on health services are rising as more people are diagnosed with the condition. In order to meet this demand, eHealth systems are increasingly being integrated into nursing care.

Comparing perspectives of family caregivers and healthcare professionals regarding caregiver burden in dementia care: results of a mixed methods study in a rural setting.

Background: Persons with dementia (PwD) need support to remain in their own homes as long as possible. Family caregivers, homecare nurses and general practitioners (GPs) play an important role in providing this support, particularly in rural settings. Assessing caregiver burden is important to prevent adverse health effects among this population.

Postgraduate palliative care education for all healthcare providers in Europe: Results from an EAPC survey.

Objective: Palliative care training at basic, intermediate, and specialist levels, recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), is challenging to access in resource-poor countries and regions. Providing support in this regard would seem a moral imperative for all countries with established palliative care education systems and a strong resource base. In collaboration with WHO European Office and European Association for Palliative Care, this paper looks into the educational requirements in palliative care at postgraduate level within Europe.