Application of a nurse-led transitional care programme for patients discharged with T-tubes after biliary surgery.
Meng Wang, Jieyu Hua, Yanli Liu and 2 others
PMID 36864671WHAT IT FOUND
Total discharge readiness did not differ in patients discharged with T-tubes after biliary surgery who received nurse-led transitional care, but they reported better self-care, care transition quality, quality of life and fewer tube complications.
Key findings
01Patients in the nurse-led TCP group had higher self-care ability scores (131.8 of 172 vs 126.5) and transitional care quality scores (74.9 of 100 vs 71.9) than controls.
02The TCP group reported better quality of life (0.76 vs 0.64), satisfaction (87.5 vs 81.4), and fewer T-tube obstruction or related infection (1.2% vs 4.4%) and T-tube-related skin issues (1.2% vs 6.9%).
03Total discharge readiness scores did not differ significantly between groups (173.1 vs 172.3).
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This was a single-centre retrospective study, not a randomised trial, so differences between groups may reflect how patients were selected rather than the programme. Patients were grouped by whether they received the nurse-led programme, and consented patients may differ from those who did not consent. The nurse-led programme bundled several components, including a transitional care team, discharge planning and readiness assessment, WeChat communication, a patient group, and a nursing clinic, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated. Total discharge readiness did not differ significantly, and readmission and emergency visits within 90 days were not significantly different. The authors note possible bias from unequal group sizes and from implementation across three years. Some readiness subdimension values are reported inconsistently between the text and the table.
Declared interests
The authors declared no conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that nurse-led transitional care caused the improvements or should replace standard care. Patients were not randomised, total discharge readiness was not significant, and the programme combined several components, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.