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The aim of this study was to explore the obstacles to and the opportunities for achieving optimal interprofessional team collaboration with the introduction of the nurse practitioner (NP). A team approach can contribute importantly to sustainable and safe patient care, and NPs have been added to the healthcare team in many countries. Following the international trend towards the development of the acute care NP, the role has recently been initiated in surgical care in Sweden. The introduction of an advanced nursing role into existing organisations raises questions about how the role will be developed and what its effects will be on collaboration between the different professions. We conducted a systematic review of qualitative studies using the meta-ethnographic approach developed by Noblit and Hare. Literature in the field of nursing was searched on PubMed and CINAHL, and empirical qualitative studies from outpatient and inpatient care in seven countries were included. The studies were appraised according to national guidelines and templates and were analysed and synthesised according to the meta-ethnographic approach. A total of 26 studies were included in the synthesis. The analysis revealed four themes: (i) a threat to professional boundaries, (ii) a resource for the team, (iii) the quest for autonomy and control, and (iv) necessary properties of a developing interprofessional collaboration. Based on these themes, the synthesis was created and presented as a metaphorical journey. The implementation of a new nursing role in a traditional healthcare team is a complex process influenced by many factors and can be described as a tortuous journey towards a partially unknown destination. The synthesised obstacles and opportunities drawn from international studies may help healthcare organisations and new NPs prepare for, and optimise, the implementation of a new nursing role.

Background: The combination of cytoreductive surgery (CRS) and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) is a curative treatment option for peritoneal carcinomatosis (PC). There have been few studies on the pulmonary adverse events (AEs) affecting patient recovery after this treatment, thus this study investigated these factors. Methods: Between January 2005 and December 2006, clinical data on all pulmonary AEs and the recovery progress were reviewed for 76 patients with after CRS and HIPEC. Patients with pulmonary interventions (thoracocenthesis and chest tubes) were compared with the non-intervention patients. Two senior radiologists, blinded to the post-operative clinical course, separately graded the occurrence of pulmonary AEs. Results: Of the 76 patients, 6 had needed thoracocentesis and another 6 needed chest tubes. There were no differences in post-operative recovery between the intervention and non-intervention groups. The total number of days on mechanical ventilation, the length of stay in the intensive care unit, total length of hospital stay, tumor burden, and an American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) grade of greater than 2 were correlated with the occurrence of atelectasis and pleural effusion. Extensive atelectasis (grade 3 or higher) was seen in six patients, major pleural effusion (grade 3) in seven patients, and signs of heart failure (grade 1-2) in nine patients. Conclusions: Clinical and radiological post-operative pulmonary AEs are common after CRS and HIPEC. However, most of the pulmonary AEs did not affect post-operative recovery.

Rationale, aims and objectivesEvidence-informed healthcare is the fundament for prac-tice, whereby guidelines based on the best available evidence should assist health profes-sionals in managing patients. Patients seeking care for acute abdominal pain form acommon group in acute care settings worldwide, for whom decision-making and timelytreatment are of paramount importance. There is ambiguity about the existence, use andcontent of guidelines for patients with acute abdomen. The objective was to describe andcompare guidelines and management of patients with acute abdomen in different settingsacross the acute care delivery chain in Sweden.MethodA national cross-sectional design was used. Twenty-nine ambulance stations, 17emergency departments and 33 surgical wards covering all six Swedish health regions wereincluded, and 23 guidelines were quality appraised using the validated Appraisal of Guide-lines for Research & Evaluation II tool.ResultsThere is a lack of guidelines in use for the management of this large group of pa-tients between and within different healthcare areas across the acute care delivery chain.The quality appraisal identified that several guidelines were of poor quality, especiallythe in-hospital ones. Further, range orders for analgesics are common in the ambulance ser-vices and the surgical wards, but are seldom present in the emergency departments. Also,education in pain management is more common in the ambulance services. Thesefindingsare noteworthy as, hypothetically, the same patient could be treated in three different waysduring the same care episode.ConclusionsThere is an urgent need to develop high-quality evidence-based clinicalguidelines for this patient group, with the entire care process in focus

Aims: To explore and describe the impact of the organizational culture on and the patient-practitioner patterns of actions that contributes to or detract from successful pain management for the patient with acute abdominal pain (AAP) across the acute care pathway.

Background: Although pain management is a recognized human right, unmanaged pain continues to cause suffering and prolong hospital care. Unanswered questions about how to successfully manage pain relate to both organizational culture and individual practitioners' performance.

Design: Focused ethnography, applying the Developmental Research Sequence and the Fundamentals of Care framework.

Methods: Participant observation and informal interviews (92hr) were performed at one emergency department (ED) and two surgical wards at a University Hospital during April-November 2015. Data include 261 interactions between patients, aged 18years seeking care for AAP at the ED and admitted to a surgical ward (N=31; aged 20-90years; 14 men, 17 women; 9 with communicative disabilities) and healthcare practitioners (N=198).

Results: The observations revealed an organizational culture with considerable impact on how well pain was managed. Well-managed pain presupposed the patient and practitioners to connect in a holistic pain management including a trustful relationship, communication to share knowledge and individualized analgesics.

Conclusions: Person-centred pain management requires an organization where patients and practitioners share their knowledge of pain and pain management as true partners. Leaders and practitioners should make small behavioural changes to enable the crucial positive experience of pain management.

OBJECTIVE: Severe lower limb trauma with arterial injury is often devastating for the individual. Many studies describe how to manage these injuries when they occur. Short-term functional outcome is quite well described, but the patients are often young, and their suffering is physical, mental, and social from a lifelong perspective. The aim of this study was to report patient experiences of their lives several years after their accidents, and to explore mechanisms of how to improve management.

METHOD: The Swedvasc registry was searched for participants from 1987 to 2011, living in the region of Uppsala, Sweden. Some amputated participants were added from the Walking Rehabilitation Center. There were five reconstructed patients with an intact limb, and three with amputations. In depth interviews were conducted and systematically analyzed, using A Giorgi's descriptive phenomenological method.

RESULTS: Eight patients participated, five with reconstructed and three with amputated limbs. Life affecting functional impairments were described by all patients. The patients undergoing amputation had received more structured follow up and support through the Walking Rehabilitation Center. The satisfaction with the cosmetic result was poorer than expected. All patients had developed strategies of how to cope with their impairments and stated they now lived "normal lives."

CONCLUSIONS: Despite substantial physical, psychological, and cosmetic impairments years after severe lower limb trauma, the participants described life as "normal" and mainly satisfactory. Transition to the new situation could have been facilitated by more frequent and continuous follow up after discharge from hospital, in particular among the non-amputated patients who tend to be lost to follow up. Findings also indicate that family members have to be acknowledged, strengthened, and supported.

OBJECTIVES: To study smoking habits among men with abdominal aortic aneurysm at screening at 65 years of age, and during follow-up, as a base-line study to evaluate future interventions.

DESIGN: Nested case-control study.

PATIENTS AND METHODS: Between 2006 and 2011, 8150 65-year-old men (compliance 85%) were screened for AAA in Uppsala County, Sweden. Among 292 men with an aortic diameter of at least 25 mm, 77 were active smokers at the time of screening. At follow-up of smoking habits in 2012, 53 men (69%) participated in this study, 28 had an AAA of at least 30 mm and 25 a sub-aneurysmal aorta (SAA) 25-29 mm at baseline. For each case, one control was randomly selected, all active smokers with aortic diameter less than 25 mm at baseline, matched for age and year of screening. Telephone interviews were performed at a median 34 months (range: 4-67) after screening.

RESULTS: Men with AAA had hypertension more often than controls (68% vs. 23%, p < .001). Men with AAA and SAA reported more smoking years than controls (p = .017). Cessation rate among patients with AAA did not differ significantly compared with men with an aorta less than 30 mm (29% vs. 15%, p = .159), but they had reduced their consumption of cigarettes/day significantly more than men with SAA and controls (-8.2 vs. -3.0 vs. -4.5, p = .030). Men with AAA recalled having been informed about the importance of smoking cessation at the time of screening more often (p = .031). There was no difference in growth of the AAA between those who continued, and those who quit smoking (2.03 vs. 2.01 mm/year, p = .982), but the study was not powered to study AAA growth.

CONCLUSIONS: Although counselling in a normal healthcare setting had some effect, the results indicate a need to tailor interventions to further increase smoking cessation rates among men diagnosed with both AAA and SAA.

The continuous development of health IT fuels a process of ongoing digitalization that affects the work of hospital staff. A Cognitive Work Analysis methodology was used to investigate the impact of digitalization through a Clinical Information System (CIS), an addition to the basic Electronic Medical Record, on one intensive care unit (ICU). Both observations and semi-structured interviews were performed. The replacement of a paper charting system with a digital CIS that meant some of the administrative tasks could be automated and other tasks being performed on a computer screen instead of using paper. The nurses’ work domain was modeled and compared to a study performed prior to the implementation of the CIS. The study demonstrates the potential utility of the Cognitive Work Analysis approach (when applied both pre and post-implementation) to evaluate the impact of a CIS on ICU nurses.

Background: Children have the right to have parents present at a hospital stay. Nurses believe that care should be given to the whole family, though they believe that parents are in the way of their work. Parents of children cared for in intensive care are at risk of developing post-traumatic stress syndrome. Parents describe family-centered care in three themes: being surrounded by the family, caring for the whole family, and being involved in the care. A successful partnership strengthens integrity and family health.

Aim: To investigate how parents perceive the care of the child based on family-centered care within intensive care.

Method: A literature review with a deductive approach. Fifteen scientific articles have been included in the review. The database searches were conducted through Pubmed and Cinahl. 

Result: The result is presented based on four core values of family-centered care. These core values are environment, participation, relationship, and information. What appeared in the result was; that the parents described the environment as chaotic and frightening, they wanted to be involved though obstacles are experienced by the nursing staff and the environment, a part of the parent role was to create a personal relationship with the nursing staff, parents wished to have continuous information that is given in a language they understood. 

Conclusion: The environment is seen as an obstacle that affects parents' participation. Parents' self-confidence and participation can increase through information and cooperation with the nursing staff.

Background: Acute abdominal pain is a common reason for presentation to the emergency department. Understanding the role of nurses involved in management of acute abdominal pain is important for improving patient care and outcomes. The aim of this study was to understand the perceptions of emergency nurses in the management of acute abdominal pain. Methods: Using a qualitative design, a purposeful sample (n=9) of experienced registered nurses was recruited from the emergency department of a large tertiary public hospital in South Australia. Semi-structured interviews, informed by literature describing the management of acute abdominal pain, were used to identify the perceptions of emergency nurses when caring for patients with acute abdominal pain. Results: Thematic analysis of interviews identified four themes: Centrality of Diagnosis; Busyness and Patient Management; Systems Issues; and Communication Challenges. Of the four themes, the Centrality of Diagnosis was especially important to the nurses' sense of contribution to patient care. Care was also affected by the busyness of the environment, the systems and processes in place to manage patients and communication in the emergency department. Conclusions: The management of patients with acute abdominal pain is influenced by how nurses participate in the diagnostic process. Nurses identified their role in this process and described how this role impacted their delivery of fundamental care. Further studies of the nursing contribution to diagnosis, communication, and the systems that affect care delivery in the emergency department are required.

Background: The work of the nurse anesthetist often takes place in close collaboration in interprofessional teams. Well-functioning teamwork is based on a non-hierarchical dynamic, respect and clear communication where members' knowledge and excellence are utilized. There are structural factors that influence teamwork that is dependent on the external dimension of the Fundamentals of Care, the healthcare context. The healthcare context includes, resources, hospital organization and the team composition. In the field of anesthesiology care, the teams can be interchangeable where members are changed daily or in collaboration with staff from other departments. The cooperation in interchangeable teams has by some been called teaming. Teaming could possibly be a concept that describes the collaboration in anesthesiologic nursing. Aim: The aim of the study was to do a conceptual analysis of the concept of teaming in anesthesiologic nursing. Method: The concept of teaming was investigated through a concept analysis based on Walker & Avant's model. Results: According to the results of the analysis, teaming can be described as the active action when working together in a team. Furthermore, the results show that teaming can be described using different attributes. These include that the team must be persistent, that there is a leadership and that there is an exchange of information. Conclusion: Teaming can occur in anesthesiologic nursing where there often is an active collaboration with other professions. Teaming entails several positive effects in the work around the patient, in the form of effective collaboration and good communication.

Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) are amine- and peptide producing neoplasms. Most patients display metastases at the time of diagnosis, they have an unpredictable individual disease course and the tumors are often therapy resistant. Chromogranin A (CgA) and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) are the clinically most used biomarkers today, but there is a great need for novel diagnostic and prognostic biomarkers and new therapeutic targets. Sixty-nine biomarkers were screened in serum from 23 SI-NET patients and 23 healthy controls using multiplex PLA (proximity ligation assay). A refined method, PEA (proximity extension assay), was used to analyze 76 additional biomarkers. Statistical testing and multivariate classification were performed. Immunohistochemistry and ELISA assays were performed in an extended cohort. Using PLA, 19 biomarkers showed a significant difference in serum concentrations between patients and controls, and PEA revealed difference in concentrations in 13 proteins. Multivariate classification analysis revealed decoy receptor 3 (DcR3), trefoil factor 3 (TFF3) and Midkine to be good biomarkers for disease, which was confirmed by ELISA analysis. All three biomarkers were expressed in tumor tissue. DcR3 concentrations were elevated in patients with stage IV disease. High concentrations of DcR3 and TFF3 were correlated to poor survival. DcR3, TFF3 and Midkine exhibited elevated serum concentrations in SI-NET patients compared to healthy controls, and DcR3 and TFF3 were associated with poor survival. DcR3 seems to be a marker for liver metastases while TFF3 and Midkine may be new diagnostic biomarkers for SI-NETs.

BACKGROUND: Small intestinal neuroendocrine tumors (SI-NETs) originate from the enterochromaffin cells in the ileum and jejunum. The knowledge about genetic and epigenetic abnormalities is limited. Low mRNA expression levels of actin gamma smooth muscle 2 (ACTG2) have been demonstrated in metastases relative to primary SI-NETs. ACTG2 and microRNA-145 (miR-145) are aberrantly expressed in other cancers and ACTG2 can be induced by miR-145. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of ACTG2 in small intestinal neuroendocrine tumorigenesis.

METHODS: Protein expression was analyzed in SI-NETs (n = 24) and in enterochromaffin cells by immunohistochemistry. The cell line CNDT2.5 was treated with the histone methyltransferase inhibitor 3-deazaneplanocin A (DZNep), the selective EZH2 inhibitor EPZ-6438, or 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine, a DNA hypomethylating agent. Cells were transfected with ACTG2 expression plasmid or miR-145. Western blotting analysis, quantitative RT-PCR, colony formation- and viability assays were performed. miR-145 expression levels were measured in tumors.

RESULTS: Eight primary tumors and two lymph node metastases displayed variable levels of positive staining. Fourteen SI-NETs and normal enterochromaffin cells stained negatively. Overexpression of ACTG2 significantly inhibited CNDT2.5 cell growth. Treatment with DZNep or transfection with miR-145 induced ACTG2 expression (>10-fold), but no effects were detected after treatment with EPZ-6438 or 5-aza-2'-deoxycytidine. DZNep also induced miR-145 expression. SI-NETs expressed relatively low levels of miR-145, with reduced expression in metastases compared to primary tumors.

CONCLUSIONS: ACTG2 is expressed in a fraction of SI-NETs, can inhibit cell growth in vitro, and is positively regulated by miR-145. Theoretical therapeutic strategies based on these results are discussed.

BACKGROUND: Daily routine ventilator-filter exchange interrupts the integrity of the ventilator circuit. We hypothesized that this might reduce positive airway pressure in mechanically ventilated ICU patients, inducing alveolar collapse and causing impaired oxygenation and compliance of the respiratory system. METHODS: We studied 40 consecutive ICU subjects (P-aO2/F-IO2 ratio <= 300 mm Hg), mechanically ventilated with pressure-regulated volume control or pressure support and PEEP >= 5 cm H2O. Before the filter exchange, (baseline) tidal volume, breathing frequency,end-inspiratory plateau pressure, and PEEP were recorded. Compliance of the respiratory system was calculated; F-IO2, blood pressure, and pulse rate were registered; and P-aO2, P-aCO2, pH, and base excess were measured. Measurements were repeated 15 and 60 min after the filter exchange. In addition, a bench test was performed with a precision test lung with similar compliance and resistance as in the clinical study. RESULTS: The exchange of the filter took 3.5 +/- 1.2 s (mean +/- SD). There was no significant change in P-aO2 (89 +/- 16 mm Hg at baseline vs 86 +/- 16 mm Hg at 15 min and 88 +/- 18 mm Hg at 60 min, P = .24) or in compliance of the respiratory system (41 +/- 11 mL/cm H2O at baseline vs 40 +/- 12 mL/cm H2O at 15 min and 40 +/- 12 mL/cm H2O at 60 min, P = .32). The bench study showed that auto-triggering by the ventilator when disconnecting from the expiratory circuit kept the tracheal pressure above PEEP for at least 3 s with pressure controlled ventilation. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that a short disconnection of the expiratory ventilator circuit from the ventilator during filter exchange was not associated with any significant deterioration in lung function 15 and 60 min later. This result may be explained by auto-triggering of the ventilator with high inspiratory flows during the filter exchange, maintaining airway pressure. (ISRCTN.org registration ISRCTN76631800.)