The Open Nursing Journal

Encounters in Home-Based Nursing Care - Registered Nurses’ Experiences
The encounter between registered nurses and persons in need of healthcare has been described as fundamental in nursing care. This encounter can take place face-to-face in physical meetings and through meetings via distance-spanning technology.
Ontological Security in Nursing Homes for Older Persons – Person-Centred Care is the Power of Balance
The Swedish national guidelines for elderly care describe how older persons should be able to trust that their care is permeated with security. Different theoretical perspectives can be found that describe what creates security. Many studies have been done about security.
Measuring the Contribution and Complexity of Nurse and Physiotherapy Consultants: A Feasibility Study
Advanced practice roles in nursing and other health professions have become integral to a range of healthcare services world-wide providing experienced practitioners with the opportunity to extend their roles and influence decision making whilst maintaining patient contact.
Reliable Assessors of Infant Cranial Asymmetry in Child Health Care
Acquired cranial asymmetry is prevalent in infants today and largely attributed to the supine sleep position recommended for infant safety. There is a risk of permanent cranial asymmetry, so prevention and early detection are important.

14-Jun 2013Read More...

31-Dec 2014Read More...

04-Jan 2008Read More...

31-July 2015Read More...

Editor's Choice

A Systematic Review and Comprehensive Critical Analysis Examining the Use of Prednisolone for the Treatment of Mild to Moderate Croup

Anna Catherine Elliott, Graham R. Williamson

Background:

Many randomised control trials and systematic reviews have examined the benefits of glucocorticoids for the treatment of croup in children, but they have reported mainly on dexamethasone as an oral treatment for croup. No systematic reviews have examined prednisolone alone.

Aim:

To determine in a systematic review of the literature whether a single dose of oral prednisolone is as effective as a single dose of dexamethasone for reducing croup symptoms in children.

Search Strategy:

A detailed search was conducted on the following databases: CINAHL, MEDLINE EBSCO, MEDLINE, OVID, PubMed, The Cochrane Library, ProQuest, EMBASE, JBI, Sum search, and OpenGrey. Study authors were contacted.

Selection Criteria:

Randomised Controlled Trials, clinical trials or chart reviews which examined children with croup who were treated with prednisolone alone, or when prednisolone was compared to a dexamethasone treatment and the effectiveness of the intervention was objectively measured using croup scores and re-attendance as primary outcomes.

Data Collection and Analysis:

Following PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews, relevant studies were identified. Scores were graded agreed by two independent reviewers using QualSyst.

Main Results:

Four studies met the inclusion criteria, but were too heterogeneous to combine in statistical meta-analysis. The result suggests that although prednisolone appears as effective as dexamethasone when first given, it is less so for preventing re-presentation. Trial sample sizes were small, making firm conclusions difficult, however, a second dose of prednisolone the following day may be useful. More research including cost-benefit analysis is needed to examine the efficacy of prednisolone compared to dexamethasone.

November 30, 2017