ORCID Profile
0000-0001-5948-0975
Current Organisation
Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland
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Publisher: Wiley
Date: 10-02-2022
DOI: 10.1111/IWJ.13768
Abstract: The aim of this study was to determine the impact of a specially designed care bundle on the development of facial pressure injuries among frontline health care workers wearing personal protective equipment (PPE) during the COVID‐19 pandemic. This was a mixed methods study. First, a pre‐posttest observational design was employed to evaluate the impact of the pre‐piloted intervention, a care bundle including skin cleansing and hydration, protective material use, facemask selection and skin inspection, developed in line with international best practice guidelines. Data were collected using survey methodology. Frontline COVID‐19 staff working in acute, community and ambulance services were invited to participate. Then, judgemental and volunteer s ling was used to select participants to undertake semi‐structured interviews to elicit feedback on their perceptions of the care bundle. The s le included 120 acute hospital staff, 60 Ambulance staff, 24 Community Hub staff and 20 COVID‐19 testing centre staff. A survey response rate of 61% was realised (n = 135/224). Of the participants, 32% (n = 43) had a facial pressure ulcer (FPI) pre‐intervention and 13% (n = 18) developed an FPI while using the care bundle. The odds ratio (OR) was 0.33 (95% CI: 0.18 to 0.61 P = .0004), indicating a 77% reduction in the odds of FPI development with use of the care bundle. Analysis of the qualitative data from 22 interviews identified three key themes, the context for the care bundle, the ease of use of the care bundle and the care bundle as a solution to FPI development. The care bundle reduced the incidence of FPI among the participants and was found to be easy to use. Implementation of skin protection for frontline staff continues to be important given the persistently high incidence of COVID‐19 and the ongoing need to wear PPE for protracted durations.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2020
DOI: 10.1016/J.IJNURSTU.2019.103486
Abstract: The increasing numbers of surgeries involving high risk, multi-morbid patients, coupled with inconsistencies in the practice of perioperative surgical wound care, increases patients' risk of surgical site infection and other wound complications. To synthesise and evaluate the recommendations for nursing practice and research from published systematic reviews in the Cochrane Library on nurse-led preoperative prophylaxis and postoperative surgical wound care interventions used or initiated by nurses. Meta-review, guided by the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. The Cochrane Library database. All Cochrane Systematic Reviews were eligible. Two reviewers independently selected the reviews and extracted data. One reviewer appraised the methodological quality of the included reviews using A MeaSurement Tool to Assess Systematic Reviews 2 checklist. A second reviewer independently verified these appraisals. The review protocol was registered with the Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews. Twenty-two Cochrane reviews met the inclusion criteria. Of these, 11 reviews focused on preoperative interventions to prevent infection, while 12 focused on postoperative interventions (one review assessed both pre-postoperative interventions). Across all reviews, 14 (63.6%) made at least one recommendation to undertake a specific practice, while two reviews (9.1%) made at least one specific recommendation not to undertake a practice. In relation to recommendations for further research, insufficient s le size was the most predominant methodological issue (12/22) identified across reviews. The limited number of recommendations for pre-and-postoperative interventions reflects the paucity of high-quality evidence, suggesting a need for rigorous trials to address these evidence gaps in fundamentals of nursing care.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2023
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date: 13-03-2022
DOI: 10.3390/MD20030208
Abstract: This review highlights the underexplored potential and promises of marine bioactive peptides (MBPs) with unique structural, physicochemical, and biological activities to fight against the current and future human pathologies. A particular focus is given to the marine environment as a significant source to obtain or extract high-value MBPs from touched/untouched sources. For instance, marine microorganisms, including microalgae, bacteria, fungi, and marine polysaccharides, are considered prolific sources of amino acids at large, and peptides olypeptides in particular, with fundamental structural sequence and functional entities of a carboxyl group, amine, hydrogen, and a variety of R groups. Thus, MBPs with tunable features, both structural and functional entities, along with bioactive traits of clinical and therapeutic value, are of ultimate interest to reinforce biomedical settings in the 21st century. On the other front, as the largest biome globally, the marine biome is the so-called “epitome of untouched or underexploited natural resources” and a considerable source with significant potentialities. Therefore, considering their biological and biomedical importance, researchers around the globe are redirecting and/or regaining their interests in valorizing the marine biome-based MBPs. This review focuses on the widespread bioactivities of MBPs, FDA-approved MBPs in the market, sustainable development goals (SDGs), and legislation to valorize marine biome to underlying the impact role of bioactive elements with the related pathways. Finally, a detailed overview of current challenges, conclusions, and future perspectives is also given to satisfy the stimulating demands of the pharmaceutical sector of the modern world.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 11-2022
DOI: 10.1016/J.AUCC.2021.10.003
Abstract: Numerous systematic reviews have examined the impact of prone positioning on outcomes, including pressure injury (PI). The objective of this meta-review was to synthesise the evidence on the effect of prone positioning on the incidence and location of PIs in adult intensive care unit patients. This is a meta-review of published systematic reviews. Five databases were searched data were extracted by three authors and adjudicated by a fourth. The AMSTAR-2 tool was used to quality appraise the selected articles, which was completed by three authors with a fourth adjudicating. Ten systematic reviews were synthesised. The cumulative incidence of PI in 15,979 adult patients ranged from 25.7% to 48.5%. One study did not report adult numbers. Only one review reported the secondary outcome of PI location. PIs were identified in 13 locations such as the face, chest, iliac crest, and knees. Using the AMSTAR-2, three reviews were assessed as high quality, six as moderate quality, and one as low quality. The high incidence of PI in the prone position highlights the need for targeted preventative strategies. Care bundles may be one approach, given their beneficial effects for the prevention of PI in other populations. This review highlights the need for proactive approaches to limit unintended consequences of the use of the prone position, especially notable in the current COVID-19 pandemic.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 09-12-2022
DOI: 10.1111/IWJ.14030
Abstract: The aim of this study was to describe patients' experiences of, and preferences for, surgical wound care discharge education and how these experiences predicted their ability to self‐manage their surgical wounds. A telephone survey of 270 surgical patients was conducted across two hospitals two weeks after discharge. Patients preferred verbal (n = 255, 94.8%) and written surgical wound education (n = 178, 66.2%) from medical (n = 229, 85.4%) and nursing staff (n = 211, 78.7%) at discharge. The most frequent education content that patients received was information about follow‐up appointments (n = 242, 89.6%) and who to contact in the community with wound care concerns (n = 233, 86.6%). Using logistic regression, patients who perceived that they participated in surgical wound care decisions were 6.5 times more likely to state that they were able to manage their wounds at home. Also, patients who agreed that medical and/or nursing staff discussed wound pain management were 3.1 times more likely to report being able to manage their surgical wounds at home. Only 40% (107/270) of patients actively participated in wound‐related decision‐making during discharge education. These results uncovered patient preferences, which could be used to optimise discharge education practices. Embedding patient participation into clinical workflows may enhance patients' self‐management practices once home.
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Location: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
No related grants have been discovered for Professor Tom O'Connor.