Aim:To describe nurses' decision-making, experiences and perceptions of escalating deteriorating patients to the treating medical team using urgent clinical review criteria. Design:A qualitative design comprising individual in-depth interviews with nurses from a major Australian metropolitan tertiary teaching hospital. Method:A purposive sample of 30 Registered Nurses from nine surgical and medical wards were interviewed in April 2018 using semi-structured interviews. An inductive thematic analysis was conducted.Results: Identified themes included: detecting the deterioration; countering the problem; getting a response; and challenges faced in the process of escalation. Nurses reported an important awareness, sense of responsibility, and critical thinking to ensure the safe management and escalation of deteriorating patients. However, barriers to escalation necessitated individual workarounds and organizational structures to mitigate patient risk. Conclusion:This study supports the importance of communication between clinical teams and recognizes that it is crucial to enable a fail-safe experience for patients and families. Recognition of disciplinary contributions to patients' goals of care is required to better understand and address the prevalence of deteriorating patients. Our study is among the first to explore the actual experience of nurses who articulate balancing uncertainty and managing complex team dynamics on wards for patients experiencing deteriorating health status. The information may assist in determining team training strategies and structures to facilitate patient management during deterioration.Impact: This is among the first study to investigate barriers influencing decisionmaking of RNs prior to escalation using qualitative methods. This study provides a foundation to inform and develop policies and strategies aimed at ensuring escalation occurs for deteriorating patients.

BackgroundThere is currently conflicting evidence surrounding the effects of obesity on postoperative outcomes. Previous studies have found obesity to be associated with adverse events, but others have found no association. The aim of this study was to determine whether increasing body mass index (BMI) is an independent risk factor for development of major postoperative complications.MethodsThis was a multicentre prospective cohort study across the UK and Republic of Ireland. Consecutive patients undergoing elective or emergency gastrointestinal surgery over a 4‐month interval (October–December 2014) were eligible for inclusion. The primary outcome was the 30‐day major complication rate (Clavien–Dindo grade III–V). BMI was grouped according to the World Health Organization classification. Multilevel logistic regression models were used to adjust for patient, operative and hospital‐level effects, creating odds ratios (ORs) and 95 per cent confidence intervals (c.i.).ResultsOf 7965 patients, 2545 (32·0 per cent) were of normal weight, 2673 (33·6 per cent) were overweight and 2747 (34·5 per cent) were obese. Overall, 4925 (61·8 per cent) underwent elective and 3038 (38·1 per cent) emergency operations. The 30‐day major complication rate was 11·4 per cent (908 of 7965). In adjusted models, a significant interaction was found between BMI and diagnosis, with an association seen between BMI and major complications for patients with malignancy (overweight: OR 1·59, 95 per cent c.i. 1·12 to 2·29, P = 0·008; obese: OR 1·91, 1·31 to 2·83, P = 0·002; compared with normal weight) but not benign disease (overweight: OR 0·89, 0·71 to 1·12, P = 0·329; obese: OR 0·84, 0·66 to 1·06, P = 0·147).ConclusionOverweight and obese patients undergoing surgery for gastrointestinal malignancy are at increased risk of major postoperative complications compared with those of normal weight.

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