Microcirculatory changes and thrombotic complications in COVID-19

Coronaviruses belong to the Coronaviridae family and include four genera-alpha, beta, gamma and deltacoronaviruses. They are enveloped, positive-sense, single-stranded RNA viruses that infect a wide...

Long COVID and breathlessness: an overview

Any patient with COVID-19 may go onto develop long COVID regardless of the severity of the initial infection and the intensity of the treatment received (Crook et al, 2021). Post-viral syndrome has...

Barriers affecting patient adherence to intermittent self-catheterisation

The use of self-catheterisation has grown since the 1970s with the development of the technique of clean intermittent catheterisation. Initially, self-catheterisation was used with paraplegic patients...

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, exacerbation and self-management: a literature review

COPD prevalence is also associated with socioeconomic deprivation and high-occupational industrial areas, and environmental and metabolic risk factors have the highest impact on disease prevention...

Catheters at home: managing urinary catheters in the home environment

In their literature review, Waskiewicz et la (2019) found that there were four factors that affected patients' ability to manage their own catheter. These were education, knowledge, empowerment and...

Statins to reduce cholesterol and cardiovascular disease in the community

Constipation should be managed

‘Community nurses can make the difference to their clients' lives by building on their existing strong rapport to engage in intimate professional conversations so that constipation can be identified...

Intermittent catheterisation: the common complications

According to the International Continence Society, IC is defined as the drainage of the bladder or a urinary reservoir with subsequent removal of the catheter, mostly at regular intervals (Gazewski et...

Pharmacology, polypharmacy and the older adult: a review

Ageing brings about a number of changes in the body, and the ageing process begins to affect the way the body handles medicines around the time a person reaches their forties..

Towards a greater understanding of the psychosocial impact of the symptoms of pituitary conditions

Some 1062 individuals (53% response rate) responded to the survey (683 female, 366 male, 13 undeclared), with most residing in England (861; 93%). Of these responses, 567 were in pen-and-paper format...

Role of the community nurse in Parkinson's disease and lower urinary disorders

Parkinson's disease is caused by a loss of the dopaminergic neurons in the pars compacta of the substantia nigra (SNpc), which is part of the basal ganglia. Dopamine plays a vital role in regulating...

Bearing witness to the challenges of breathlessness

The role of the CRNS is to maintain support for patients with respiratory disease, usually COPD and interstitial lung disease (ILD). Their support helps individuals to self-manage their disease and,...