Background and objective : Neurodevelopmental disabilities in adolescents have signifi cant effects on medical and social function. One of these challenges is their transition into adult care. Parental involvement is critical because these young adults may have more diffi culties in making informed decisions independently. Thus, the transition process involves not only the direct health care needs of the young adult, but the needs and concerns of the parents or carers who are instrumental in guiding that process. This study aims to explore the expectations and experiences of family carers of youths with chronic neurodevelopmental disorders who have undergone or are about to undergo transition into adult healthcare in a Filipino-based health care system. Methods: A descriptive phenomenology was used to gain an in-depth understanding of parents’ perceptions and experiences of their youths’ transition process from a pediatric to an adult health care setting. The results were analyzed manually using Colaizzi’s method, which involves integrating both the destructured and restructured analysis principles of phenomenology. Purposive sampling was used to interview 13 family carers of 13 youths with various neurodevelopmental disorders using a semi-structured interview questionnaire. Results : Despite the lack of information on the transition process, our study found that carers did not have a strong inclination to resist the transition event. Most of the carers treat the health care provider as a major decision maker in determining the timing and manner of transition, adopting a “doctor knows best” attitude. Several other hindrances and facilitators to successful transition were also identifi ed and are similar to the current literature. Conclusion This study provides a greater understanding of carers’ perceptions and experiences of transition care for youths with neurodevelopmental disorders in the local setting. They exhibited trust and confi dence in the medical profession as a whole, and had a “doctor knows best” attitude that may enable successful transitioning.
Transitional Care ; Neurology ; Neurodevelopmental Disorders ; Caregivers

The number of people with chronic diseases has been increasing steadily but the indicators for the management of chronic diseases have not improved significantly. To improve the existing chronic disease management system, a new policy will be introduced, which includes the establishment of care plans for hypertension and diabetes patients by primary care physicians and the provision of care coordination services based on these plans. Care coordination refers to a series of activities to assist patients and their families and it has been known to be effective in reducing medical costs and avoiding the unnecessary use of the hospital system by individuals. To offer well-coordinated and high-quality care services, it is necessary to develop a service quality assurance plan, track and manage patients, provide patient support, agree on patient referral and transition, and develop an effective information system. Local governance should be established for chronic disease management, and long-term plans and continuous quality improvement are necessary.
Chronic Disease ; Humans ; Hypertension ; Information Systems ; Patient Care Management ; Physicians, Primary Care ; Quality Improvement ; Referral and Consultation ; Transitional Care

PURPOSE: Effective transitional care is needed to improve the quality of life in older adult patients with chronic illness and avoid discontinuity of care and adverse events. The aim of this article is to provide an overview of the key features, broader implications, and the utility of Meleis' transition theory intended for the transitional care of older adults with chronic illnesses. We present the role of nurse in the context of transitional care and propose future directions to increase the quality of nursing care. METHODS: The online databases Cumulative Index of Nursing and Allied Health Literature, MEDLINE, and Science Direct were searched for relevant literature published since 1970 along with textbooks regarding nursing theory. RESULTS: An evaluation of the usefulness of transition theory based on transitional care in older adult patients with chronic illnesses is provided. Healthy transition should be the expected standard of nursing care for older adults across all healthcare settings. CONCLUSION: Nurses need to contribute to the development of transitional care for vulnerable populations; however, transition theory needs to be enhanced through additional theoretical work and repeated evaluations of the applicability in areas of transitional care.
Aged ; Chronic Disease ; Databases, Factual ; Education, Nursing ; Humans ; Models, Theoretical ; Nurse's Role ; *Quality of Life ; *Transitional Care

PURPOSE: This study was to systematically review the contents and effects of nurse-led transitional care programs for discharged patients from hospital to home. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials published between 2005 and 2015 were searched in Pubmed, Embase, Cochrane(Central Register of Controlled Trials) and CINAHL. Data were analyzed using Cochrane Review Manager(Revman) software 5.3. RESULTS: Nine studies were selected and analyzed. Patient assessment, education and discharge planning were included in pre-discharge phase. Referring, communication and care planning were performed by nurses in transition phase. Home and phone visits, monitoring and multidisciplinary advices were included in post-discharge phase. Various outcome measures such as hospital utilization(30 days readmission and emergency department visit), quality of life, and cost were used to identify effectiveness of nurse-led transitional care programs. 30 days readmission(OR=.73, 95% CI 0.54, 0.98; p=.03) and emergency department visit(OR=.67, 95% CI 0.50, 0.88; p=.005) were statistically significant in meta-analysis. However, participant blinding was not done in seven studies which put at the risk of performance bias. CONCLUSION: The results indicated that nurse-led transitional care program is effective in reducing unnecessary hospital utilization. Nevertheless, small sample size and risk at performance bias are the limitation of this study. Thus, we suggest that well-designed randomized controlled trials need to be conducted.
Bias (Epidemiology) ; Continuity of Patient Care ; Education ; Emergency Service, Hospital ; Humans ; Outcome Assessment (Health Care) ; Patient Discharge ; Quality of Life ; Sample Size ; Transitional Care

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of transitional care by a nurse-led multidisciplinary team (MDT) on clinical outcomes and quality of life of patients with ankylosing spondylitis. METHODS: A randomized control study design was used. Subjects were allocated randomly to an experimental group and a control group. The experimental group received intensive transitional care by a nurse-led MDT, whereas the control group received routine nursing care. Disease activity, spinal mobility, comprehensive function, health service utilization, and quality of life were assessed at the baseline and at six months with the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index, the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI), the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Functional Index (BASFI), a health service utilization questionnaire and version 2 of the Short Form-36 health survey. RESULTS: Compared with the baseline, the BASDAI, BASFI, emergency visits, hospitalizations, hospitalization days, and bodily pain, vitality, mental health, total score, and average score of version 2 of the Short Form-36 health survey were improved in the experimental group (p < .05), whereas only bodily pain, vitality, and role-emotional were improved in the control group p < .05). At six months, the experimental group exhibited significantly more improvement on the BASDAI, BASFI, hospitalizations, all domains except Role-physical as well as total score and average score p < .05) compared with the control group. CONCLUSION: A MDT-based nurse-led transitional care improves clinical outcomes and quality of life of patients with ankylosing spondylitis. Future research should be carried out on modes of follow-up and family support.
Baths ; Emergencies ; Follow-Up Studies ; Health Services ; Health Surveys ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Mental Health ; Nursing Care ; Patient Care Team ; Quality of Life ; Spondylitis, Ankylosing ; Transitional Care

Despite recent advances in the management of a wide variety of solid tumors, the outcomes for patients with advanced urothelial carcinoma remain relatively poor. Cisplatin-based combination chemotherapy remains the standard of care for first-line systemic treatment of advanced urothelial carcinoma and for more than 10 years there have been no other Korean health insurance system-approved treatment options available for these patients. In this review article, we summarize the current state of chemotherapeutic agents, used either alone or in combination with other chemotherapy in advanced urothelial carcinoma. Our discussion focuses on the new agents for the cisplatin ineligible patients, including carboplatin, gemcitabine, paclitaxel, docetaxel and pemetrexed. Moreover, we addressed that neoadjuvant chemotherapy was supported in the patients planning radical cystectomy as an optimal treatment option by qualified studies.
Carboplatin ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; Cisplatin ; Cystectomy ; Drug Therapy* ; Drug Therapy, Combination ; Humans ; Insurance, Health ; Paclitaxel ; Pemetrexed ; Standard of Care

Retrograde intrarenal surgery (RIRS) is being performed for the surgical management of upper urinary tract pathology. With the development of surgical instruments with improved deflection mechanisms, visuality, and durability, the role of RIRS has expanded to the treatment of urinary calculi located in the upper urinary tract, which compensates for the shortcomings of shock wave lithotripsy and percutaneous nephrolithotomy. RIRS can be considered a conservative treatment of upper urinary tract urothelial cancer (UTUC) or for postoperative surveillance after radical treatment of UTUC under an intensive surveillance program. RIRS has a steep learning curve and various surgical techniques can be used. The choice of instruments during RIRS should be based on increased surgical efficiency, decreased complications, and improved cost-benefit ratio.
Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/surgery ; Humans ; Lithotripsy, Laser/methods ; Perioperative Care/methods ; Ureteroscopy/*methods/trends ; Urolithiasis/surgery ; Urologic Neoplasms/surgery

PURPOSE: The objective was to investigate the impact of statin use on prognosis after radical nephroureterectomy for upper urinary tract urothelial carcinoma (UTUC). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A retrospective review of medical records identified 277 patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy for primary UTUC at Asan Medical Center between January 2006 and December 2011. Information on preoperative statin use was obtained from patient charts in an electronic database. We assessed the impact of statin use on recurrence-free survival (RFS), cancer-specific survival (CSS), and overall survival (OS). RESULTS: Of these 277 patients, 62 (22.4%) were taking statin medications. Compared to the statin nonusers, the statin users were older, had a higher body mass index, and had higher rates of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. The 5-year RFS rates of statin users and nonusers were 78.5% and 72.5%, respectively (p=0.528); the 5-year CSS rates were 85.6% and 77.7%, respectively (p=0.516); and the 5-year OS rates were 74.5% and 71.4%, respectively (p=0.945). In the multivariate analysis, statin use was not an independent prognostic factor for RFS (hazard ratio, 0.47; p=0.056), CSS (hazard ratio, 0.46; p=0.093), or OS (hazard ratio, 0.59; p=0.144) in patients who underwent radical nephroureterectomy for UTUC. CONCLUSIONS: Statin use was not associated with improved RFS, CSS, or OS in the sample population of patients with UTUC.
Aged ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/pathology/*surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors/*therapeutic use ; Kidney Neoplasms/pathology/*surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neoplasm Grading ; Neoplasm Staging ; Nephrectomy/methods ; Preoperative Care/methods ; Prognosis ; Recurrence ; Retrospective Studies ; Survival Analysis ; Ureteral Neoplasms/pathology/*surgery

INTRODUCTIONBladder cancer is a common malignancy but presentation with metastatic disease is rare. This is the fi rst reported case of duodenal obstruction as a presentation of metastatic bladder cancer.

CLINICAL PICTUREA middle-aged woman presented with nausea, vomiting, weight loss and intermittent haematuria. Radiology and histology confirmed metastatic bladder cancer to the retroperitoneum encasing the duodenum and causing obstruction.

TREATMENTInsertion of a duodenal stent relieved the obstruction and palliative chemoradiotherapy was initiated.

OUTCOMEThe patient died 15 months after diagnosis.

CONCLUSIONSClinicians and radiologists should be aware of atypical presentations of common malignancies.

Adult ; Carcinoma, Transitional Cell ; drug therapy ; secondary ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Duodenal Obstruction ; diagnosis ; etiology ; surgery ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Humans ; Palliative Care ; Retroperitoneal Neoplasms ; complications ; diagnosis ; secondary ; Stents ; Urinary Bladder Neoplasms ; drug therapy ; pathology

PURPOSE: The aim of our study was to assess the influence of perioperative blood transfusion (PBT) on survival outcomes following radical cystectomy (RC) and pelvic lymph node dissection (PLND). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We reviewed and analyzed the clinical data of 432 patients who underwent RC for bladder cancer from 1991 to 2012. PBT was defined as the transfusion of allogeneic red blood cells during RC or postoperative hospitalization. RESULTS: Of all patients, 315 patients (72.9%) received PBT. On multivariate logistic regression analysis, female gender (p=0.015), a lower preoperative hemoglobin level (p=0.003), estimated blood loss>800 mL (p<0.001), and performance of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (p<0.001) were independent risk factors related to requiring perioperative transfusions. The receipt of PBT was associated with increased overall mortality (hazard ratio, 1.91; 95% confidence interval, 1.25-2.94; p=0.003) on univariate analysis, but its association was not confirmed by multivariate analysis (p=0.058). In transfused patients, a transfusion of >4 packed red blood cell units was an independent predictor of overall survival (p=0.007), but not in cancer specific survival. CONCLUSIONS: Our study was not conclusive to detect a clear association between PBT and survival after RC. However, the efforts should be made to continue limiting the overuse of transfusion especially in patients who are expected to have a high probability of PBT, such as females and those with a low preoperative hemoglobin level and history of neoadjuvant chemotherapy.
Aged ; *Blood Transfusion/methods/mortality ; *Carcinoma, Transitional Cell/mortality/pathology/surgery ; Disease-Free Survival ; Female ; Humans ; Kaplan-Meier Estimate ; Lymph Node Excision/*methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Pelvis/pathology/surgery ; Perioperative Care/methods ; Prognosis ; Republic of Korea/epidemiology ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Urinary Bladder/pathology ; *Urinary Bladder Neoplasms/mortality/pathology/surgery