Liver cirrhosis turns life into an unpredictable roller coaster: A qualitative interview study.

The study explored experiences in 20 Swedish adults and did not test whether any nursing care improves these problems. People with advanced co-morbidity or persistent symptomatic hepatic encephalopathy grade 2 to 4 were excluded, so it says little about those groups. Most informants had mild to moderate cirrhosis at interview, though some had previously been more severely ill. The sample had 10 men and 10 women, although liver cirrhosis is more common in men. Only one informant expressed signs of self-reformulation, so the study cannot say how common acceptance or new perspectives are. Participants were recruited from two outpatient clinics, so findings may not transfer to inpatient or primary care settings. The study did not evaluate whether information was hard to understand because of healthcare professionals, literature or health literacy.

The authors declared no conflict of interest.

Do not read the roller coaster theme as evidence that nurse-led person-centred care works. This was a qualitative interview study of 20 patients, not an intervention trial.