Background Two of the most serious complications after stroke are pneumonia, and urinary tract infection. Liaison nurse, from hospital admission to discharge and then at home helps patients with complicated caring issues stroke. This study investigates the effect of liaison nurse management on the incidence of pneumonia and urinary tract infection in patients with stroke after discharge from the hospital. Methods This randomized controlled trial was conducted on 80 patients in a hospital in Iran. The intervention group was assessed and developed a caring program by the liaison nurse and the control group received routine care. Two weeks and two months after discharge, the patients were evaluated for the incidence of pneumonia and urinary tract infection. Collected data were analyzed using the Chi-square test. P < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results The two groups were homogenous in terms of mean age; gender frequently distribution, and having urinary catheter. The incidence of pneumonia in intervention and control groups (11.6% vs. 19.2%, P = 0.35) had no statistically significant differences, but there was a significant difference in the incidence of urinary tract infection (0% vs. 24.6%, P < 0.001). Conclusions With liaison nurse performance, there was a significant difference in the incidence of urinary tract infection, in two months after discharge from hospital, but the incidence of pneumonia had no statistically significant differences in two groups. Nurse's evaluation each patient individually according to needs, developing and monitoring the home-based care program, beyond overall education to these patients, could reduce some of complications of a stroke. Trial registration: This study is retrospectively registered by Iranian Registry of Clinical Trials with decree code: IRCT20170605034330N3 on April 4, 2018.

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Background & Aims: Worldwide, cerebrovascular accidents (stroke) are the second leading cause of death and the third leading cause of long-term and serious disabilities in adults. Motor and sensory impairments due to stroke cause common complications such as bedsores, constipation, and falls. In addition, strokes, directly and indirectly, affect the outcomes of patient treatment, including the duration of stay and death. Despite the rapid prevention and diagnosis and management of stroke, patients are still at high risk for complications. Given the prevalence of stroke complications, comprehensive nursing care during four weeks after a stroker plays a significant role in the decrease of the outcomes, disabilities, and mortality caused by the disorder. One of the most important roles of a liaison nurse is improving care quality by better preparing the patient for discharge. In fact, liaison nurse nurses are those who take care of patients with strokes after a holistic assessment and the application of technical and communication skills and improve their condition for discharge and continued care. Through coordination with other healthcare team members, they ensure that all the needs of patients and their families are met. In other words, the role of the liaison nurse is to improve pre-discharge planning, establish and improve communication between hospital staff and health care providers in the community, and provide home care facilities to assist hospital staff. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the effect of the performance of liaison nurses on the motor complications caused by a stroke after discharge. Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental research had a randomized trial design and was performed in a hospital in Shiraz, Iran in 2016-2017. In total, 80 patients were selected by purposeful convivence sampling and were randomly divided into two test (n=35) and control (n=45) groups. Patients in the test group were evaluated before discharge by the liaison nurse and care and educational program focusing on the needs of each patient was developed. During discharge, an educational booklet was given to the patients or their caretakers in the test group to prevent motor complications caused by stroke (constipation, falls, bed sores). If necessary, the liaison nurse would be present at the patient's bedside at home and would be in contact with the patients to resolve their problems. On the other hand, the subjects in the control group received routine ward care and were discharged. In this study, falls were determined based on the report of patients and their families two weeks and two months after discharge (any type of fall due to imbalance and physical weakness). In addition, bedsores were determined based on the diagnosis of the liaison nurse after examining the patients, and constipation was determined by the same expert using Rome3 criteria. Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using independent t-test (to compare the mean age and criteria for stroker) and Chi-square (to compare qualitative...

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