Neurological conditions and acute dysphagia

An assessment by a speech and language therapist (SLT) aims to diagnose the presence or absence of OD and the cause and characteristic features. This information can contribute to overall medical...

Postoperative cognitive decline: the nurse's role in identifying this underestimated and misinterpreted condition

The social consequences of postoperative cognitive changes are important. There is a relationship between these changes and dementia, which is strongly supported by epidemiological, clinical,...

Inflammatory bowel disease nurse specialists: sailing into a perfect storm?

When talking to IBD nurse specialist colleagues about their roles and how they developed, the primary objective of many such services, based on a business plan, was to reduce demand on consultant...

Risk factors for the development of oedema and lymphoedema

The appearance of oedema is a symptom of an underlying medical condition. The cause is therefore associated with the patient's medical diagnosis or, in the case of cancer-related lymphoedema,...

Initiatives and evaluations: the life of a lymphoedema researcher

This body of work started with a service evaluation of the entire Wales-wide network. The results of this study showed that the service had brought considerable cost savings and efficiencies across...

The role of patient-reported outcomes in the management of chronic spontaneous urticaria

As CSU activity frequently changes, the overall activity and control are best measured by advising patients to document their symptoms using validated tools. The EAACI/GA2LEN/EDF/WAO international...

Diagnosis and management of a urinary tract infection

The lower urinary tract consists of the ureters, the bladder, the trigone and the urethra (Watson, 2011). The bladder has three distinct layers (Patel and Chapple, 2008):.

Supporting better adherence among patients engaged in intermittent self-catherisation

To conduct the study, we started by identifying an engaged group of doctors and nurses working in urology or rehabilitation wards in five countries, all of whom had extensive experience with:.

Reducing catheter-associated urinary tract infections through best practice: Sherwood Forest Hospitals' experience

From a financial perspective, the introduction of the Bard Tray has brought a significant benefit by reducing the incidence of CAUTIs. The initial introduction of the tray incurred additional costs of...

Antimicrobial resistance: what can nurses do?

Resistance is a natural process that allows the microorganism to adapt to environmental changes and survive (Michael et al, 2014). On exposure to antimicrobials, organisms may mutate to block the...

The link between surgical site infection and traffic flow in the operating theatre

Getting the basics right: reflections on infection prevention and control

There have been many national reports, recommendations and guidance documents, innovations and campaigns, HCAI reduction targets for MRSA bacteraemia and Clostridium difficile infection, and new Acts...