An overview of the role of the district nurse caring for individuals with complex needs
The role of the district nurse is imperative in the care of patients in a district nursing team's caseload. Through the role of care manager, district nurses are accountable for the overall coordinati...
What can community nurses do for older adults who experience faecal incontinence?
Faecal incontinence has multiple clinical signs and symptoms, and it has a catastropihc impact on an individual's quality of life. The signs and symptoms of faecal incontinence may vary from persisten...
Diagnosis and management of hepatic encephalopathy
Overt and covert hepatic encephalopathy (HE) are debilitating complications of cirrhosis. HE results in a poor quality of life for patients and their caregivers and, unless there is access to liver tr...
Patient Pathway: The Ideal Approach
Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) can be a devastating complication of cirrhosis, affecting patients and their families. Multidisciplinary community and specialist teams must work together with patients and...
Hepatic Encephalopathy: Causes and Health-Related Burden
Patients with cirrhosis are at risk of hepatic encephalopathy (HE). While its pathogenesis is not fully understood, the circulation of increased levels of ammonia through the bloodstream to the brain ...
Managing atrial fibrillation to prevent stroke
Atrial fibrillation (AF) is an important risk factor of stroke and contributes to 20% of strokes in the UK; however, with appropriate intervention, the risk can be reversed. For patients with a diagno...
Electronic recording of vital signs for mental health inpatients
The use of electronic monitoring of vital signs is becoming increasingly widespread in general hospital settings in the National Health Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom, and numerous advantages whe...
Treating chronic constipation and faecal incontinence using transanal irrigation
Transanal irrigation, also known as anal or rectal irrigation, has been used for some years in the treatment of both chronic constipation and faecal incontinence. The procedure involves insertion of a...
The assessment and care of patients with hepatic encephalopathy
This article provides an overview of the metabolic brain dysfunction hepatic encephalopathy (HE). HE is caused by severe liver cirrhosis and patients will often be treated in a liver unit, but patient...
Heart failure self-management with the House of Care model
Health-care models must evolve in order to deliver proactive care to the growing numbers of patients with long-term conditions. The House of Care model seeks to do this through championing person-cent...
Differentiation of delirium, dementia and delirium superimposed on dementia in the older person
Delirium is an acute clinical emergency that requires prompt clinical intervention. A predisposing factor for delirium is dementia, and delirium may highlight the vulnerability of a patient to develop...
Caring for patients with dementia in the acute care setting
This article highlights the vulnerability of people with dementia in the acute hospital setting, where they are more likely to experience clinical incidents such as falls, contract infections and be p...