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Qualified nurses are accountable for selecting a suitable containment product for care home residents, which can be challenging for both the resident and health professional. Absorbent incontinence products are the most commonly used products for containing leakage. The purpose of this observational study was to review and understand how effective the Attends Product Selector Tool is when used to assess a resident for an appropriate disposable incontinence product and the in-use experience of products in relation to containment, product use and effectiveness. The study was undertaken in three care homes, with 92 residents who had an initial assessment undertaken either by an Attends Product Manager or a nurse trained in how to use the tool. A total of 316 products over a 48-hour period were individually assessed by the observer to check the time the pad was changed, the type of pad used, the voided volume in the pad and if the pad had leaked. The results showed that some residents had their products changed inappropriately. Not all residents were using the products that best suited their assessment; this mostly occurred at night. Overall, the tool was effective in enabling staff to select an appropriate style of containment product. However, when it came to selecting the absorbency, the assessor tended to choose a higher absorbency rather than starting at the lower absorbency in the product guide range. The observer found the assessed product was not always used and was sometimes changed inappropriately due to lack of communication and staff turnover. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An electrocardiogram (ECG), the recording of the electrical activity in the heart, is the most commonly performed cardiac test. It is carried out in a variety of clinical settings in hospitals and primary care, and its use is standard practice among high-risk, critically ill patients, and those who have undergone cardiac surgery. ECG recording is classified into two main categories: monitoring and diagnostic. 12-lead ECGs, which require electrodes to be placed on the chest and each limb, are used for diagnostic purposes, whereas 3- or 5-lead ECGs are used for rhythm monitoring. Cross-infection can arise from reusing ECG cables, even if they have been cleaned. Surgical site infection is a particular risk in patients who have undergone coronary artery bypass grafting, because ECG wires are placed on the chest close to the incision site. Single-use ECG leads, such as the Kendall DL™ ECG cable and lead wire system, reduce the risk of cross-contamination between patients and free nursing time for patient care because they are discarded after use and do not have to be cleaned and disinfected for use with another patient. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Several industry funded studies between 2001–2018 have compared the use of a single brand of baby wipes to cleansing with water and either cloth or cotton wool during nappy changes. All of these studies found that wipes were safe and effective from birth. Recommendations from these studies have included the need for brand or formula comparison but to date, no previous study has done this. Aims: The 'Baby skin integrity comparison survey' (BaSICS) study was designed to compare three brands of baby wipes to determine if there was any difference in the incidence of irritant diaper dermatitis (IDD or nappy rash) during the first eight weeks of life. Methods: Mothers who were allocated to a single brand of nappy but divided into three baby wipe allocation groups, collected and reported survey data on infant skin integrity during one nappy change daily with the use of a user-friendly smartphone application. Findings: All brands of wipes were acceptable to mothers and safe and effective when cleaning during nappy changes. The brand containing the fewest ingredients showed a clinically significant advantage of fewer incidents of rash than the other two brands. Conclusion: This study demonstrated that wipe formulation is a significant factor in prevention or reduction of IDD during the first eight weeks of life. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A group of continence care experts attended a round table to identify best practice for awarding a contract for disposable continence products. Here, Tracy Cowan, JWC Consultant Editor, describes the outcomes [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on intermittent self-catheterisation is rarely an easy one for patients for urology nurses can provide them with the clinical rationale and the goal of an appropriate regimen for almost every patient, the physical and psychological hurdles to reach that goal can be daunting and multifarious. Topics include the nurse is to equip the patient with the correct tools to overcome these difficulties, and the build a therapeutic relationship that can support them to integrate.

Outpatient parenteral antibiotic therapy (OPAT) is a growing area of practice that has numerous benefits for both patients and the healthcare system. In order for OPAT services to be successful, strategies need to be in place to maximise efficiency while providing safe, high-quality care. The use of elastomeric pumps to deliver intravenous (IV) antibiotics can have many benefits for OPAT services; they are cost-effective, easy to use and allow the patient to be fully ambulant. However, plans need to be put in place to make sure their use is safe and effective. This article discusses the use of elastomeric pumps by a UK-based OPAT team and the governance processes the team put in place to optimise patient safety when using elastomeric pumps to deliver IV antibiotics. Furthermore, with experience of using elastomeric pumps for more than 4 years the OPAT team was asked to evaluate an elastomeric pump new to the UK market: the Accufuser pump (Vygon (UK) Limited). By collecting data on its use it was found to be safe and easy to use. The team felt that the Accufuser pump ran to time in 96% of completed evaluations and considered it to be clinically acceptable in all responses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Case studies and clinical reviews support the use of negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) for managing a range of wound types, yet very few scientific studies fully support its effectiveness. However, it has been argued that NPWT can provide excellent symptom management, reduce the frequency of dressing changes and provide a cost-effective alternative to traditional wound therapies due to faster healing times, leading to a reduction in overall treatment costs. Use of NPWT within community environments is increasing as length of hospital in-patient stay decreases, and many patients who would have traditionally been admitted to an acute setting with a complex or highly exuding wound are now managed by community nurses. This article presents a narrative review of NPWT, identifies safety precautions that require consideration and explores the application of smaller/disposable NPWT systems that are now available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of leg ulcer specialist/tissue viability specialists from across the UK were invited to evaluate PICO (Smith and Nephew, Hull) as a treatment for venous leg ulcers also in conjunction with a variety of compression bandages and garments. Patients across 5 sites had PICO applied in conjunction with compression therapy. This group of treating clinicians were then asked to give feedback on the outcome of the patients on whom they had used the new device. All feedback was recorded at a meeting and this was used to create a guideline for use. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to investigate whether or not a website (www.health-e-space.com) could be used as a conduit to influence the public to change healthcare-related behaviours. The environmental and financial issues surrounding the use of disposable and reusable nappies was used as an example to investigate if providing information in a certain way could 'nudge' people to consider the possibility of using reusable nappies at the cost of convenience. An online survey was completed by staff and students at Moray College, Elgin. A total of 188 surveys were completed. The study found that showing responders the health-e-space website was an enabling process with 73.4% stating the website encouraged them to think about using reusable nappies in the future. Of those who said that they would use disposable nappies prior to viewing the online information, 39.1% said that they would now use reusables, with 30.5% willing to consider using this type of nappy. Of those who did not know if they would use reusables, after viewing the site, 36.4% said they would now use reusables, and 54.5% said they would now consider this method. Being able to tailor and bring together in one place 'kitemarked' information and links to online health care information which the user may find useful (a form of personalization) is a novel and promising way of promoting self-care through education and empowerment which could ultimately help make health care more sustainable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern endoscopes can be used to examine the whole of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. During these examinations, biopsies may be taken, or treatment provided via working channels in the endoscope. Demand for GI endoscopy is increasing because of the National Bowel Cancer Screening Programme and a rise in dyspepsia. Endoscopes are complex and expensive, so are reused. To prevent cross-infection and cross contamination, endoscopes need to be adequately decontaminated between patients; there are specific concerns around transmission of variant Creuztfeldt-Jakob disease. Endoscopes are sensitive to heat and cannot be autoclaved, so other methods of decontamination are needed. This article looks at endoscope decontamination processes, and the systems and management that need to be in place. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article focuses on the benefits of water exercise can now be accessible to everyone. It mentions that children struggling to deal with bladder and bowel leakage may be required to visit the swimming pool as a social or school activity; and also mentions that swimming in the sea can offer an ideal opportunity to get used to using some of these products because a small leak would be of no consequence.

Japan's Toyobo Co Ltd, which manufactures and sells natural and synthetic fibres, and Saline Water Conversion Corp (SWCC) – a government corporation that operates desalination plants and power stations in Saudi Arabia – have signed an agreement covering a joint pilot test aimed at accelerating the use of new membrane technology for reusing concentrated brine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Filtration, separation and purification systems company Pall Corp is developing technology that enables fully continuous biopharmaceuticals processing using single-use formats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses an area of urological nursing namely intermittent catheterisation (IC) particularly the selection of catheters for IC where evidence-based practice and patient choice are lacking. It cites the Mult/Cath research programme whose aim is to produce robust evidence as to whether mixed use of catheter is safe, acceptable and cost effective, scope the potential for increasing choice for patients and identify areas for innovation in intermittent catheters.

The article focuses on the benefits of disposable surgical equipment such as surgical face masks, surgical gloves and surgical scalpels. In the article the author offers his opinions on the use of disposable surgical equipment and suggests that while surgical equipment may be expensive, its use leads to fewer problems in surgery and shorter pre and post-surgical preparation time.

Millipore Corp used INTERPHEX 2009, which was held during March in New York, USA, as an opportunity to unveil its Mobius FlexReady Solutions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Reports that Doctor Liam Fox has called for public inquiry into the safety of single-use surgical instruments in Great Britain. Adverse incidents related to the use of single-use surgical instruments.