Journal of pediatric oncology nursing : official journal of the Association of Pediatric Oncology Nurses
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Jan 2014
ReviewManagement of febrile neutropenia in pediatric oncology across Queensland, Australia: a retrospective review on variations between locations.
Febrile neutropenia (FN) is a common complication in pediatric oncology with intravenous antibiotics being given routinely for decades. This study aimed to compare the management of FN in children in different locations across Queensland, Australia. FN episodes were identified from 4 settings: tertiary oncology outpatient department (OD), tertiary emergency department (ED), regional ward (RW), and regional emergency department (RED) between July 2009 and June 2011. ⋯ Antibiotics were commenced within 60 minutes (the gold standard) on only 10 occasions. Despite education input emphasizing the importance of early commencement of antibiotics, this study identified that this objective was not met in the majority of cases. Further study is needed to look at reasons for the delay in beginning treatment for pediatric oncology patients in Queensland and what measures may assist with improving the time from presentation with FN to antibiotic administration across all settings.
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Nov 2013
ReviewEffectiveness of integrative modalities for pain and anxiety in children and adolescents with cancer: a systematic review.
Throughout the trajectory of the cancer experience, children and adolescents will likely face pain and anxiety in a variety of circumstances. Integrative therapies may be used either alone or as an adjunct to standard analgesics. Children are often very receptive to integrative therapies such as music, art, guided imagery, massage, therapeutic play, distraction, and other modalities. ⋯ Of these, 25 warranted full-text review. Cohen's d calculations show medium (d = 0.70) to extremely large (8.57) effect sizes indicating that integrative interventions may be very effective for pain and anxiety in children undergoing cancer treatment. Integrative modalities warrant further study with larger sample sizes to better determine their effectiveness in this population.
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Nov 2012
Review Meta AnalysisParental decision making for children with cancer at the end of life: a meta-ethnography.
Parents of pediatric oncology patients are faced with difficult decisions when their child reaches the end of life. For health care providers to provide optimal care, they must understand parents' perspectives and preferences in end-of-life decision making. ⋯ Parents participated in surveys, focus groups, participant observation, and interviews to help researchers understand the expectations, hopes, fears, and values that guide their decision making. Common themes were patient-provider communication, extending time, and understanding prognosis.
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Jan 2012
Review"Targeting to zero" in pediatric oncology: a review of central venous catheter-related bloodstream infections.
Reducing or eliminating hospital acquired infections is a national quality of care priority. The majority of the 12,400 children diagnosed with cancer each year require long-term intravenous access to receive intensive and complex therapies. ⋯ Substantial financial and human costs are associated with CVC-related bloodstream infections, including prolonged hospital lengths of stay and increased care required to treat these infections. The purpose of this review of the literature is to summarize existing adult and pediatric data on CVC-related bloodstream infections and explore nursing models of CVC care that may improve pediatric oncology patient outcomes.
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J Pediatr Oncol Nurs · Nov 2011
ReviewOdds ratios and confidence intervals: a review for the pediatric oncology clinician.
Professional registered nurses (RNs) are active participants in seeking and interpreting research evidence. To facilitate knowledge transfer for RNs at the bedside, it behooves researchers to present their findings in a format that facilitates understanding. There is also an expectation that clinicians are capable of interpreting results in a meaningful way. ⋯ The purpose of this article is to describe the basic concepts of odds ratios and confidence intervals used in research. These statistical measures are used frequently in quantitative research and are often the principle measure of association that is reported. The more comfortable pediatric oncology clinicians are with the interpretation of odds ratios and confidence intervals, the better equipped they will be to bring relevant research results from the "bench" to the bedside.