Survey on the actual number of nurses required for critical patients with COVID-19 in Japanese intensive care units: Preliminary report

Evaluation of COVID-19 Patient Safety Compared to Non-COVID-19 Patients and Predisposing Factors of Nursing Errors

Objectives: The present study aims to determine Patient Safety in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 compared to non-COVID-19 ones and find predisposing factors of nursing errors according to nurses’ perceptions. Methods: This descriptive-comparative research employed data from 800 nurses in eight Iranian hospitals in 2021 using three researcher-made questionnaires of sociodemographic, patient safety indicators, and predisposing factors of nursing errors, with high reliability and validity. The collected data were analyzed using ANOVA, independent t-test, and the SPSS22 software. Results: The mean patient safety scores in patients with and without COVID-19 were 3.42 ± 0.17 and 3.74 ± 0.06, respectively. The highest differences in patient safety were attributed to infection control (0.66) and patient fall (0.56) dimensions. The most common causes of nursing errors were related to management (2.67 ± 1.39), and the most common predisposing factors of nursing errors were high workload, low ratio of nurses to patients, and fatigue. Conclusions: COVID-19 patients have lower safety than non-COVID ones. Also, improper management and high workload lead to nursing errors. Therefore, the authorities must devise appropriate strategies to reduce the nurses’ workload and improve patient safety, especially in COVID-19 patients.

Workforce and Task Sharing of Nurses in the Japanese Intensive Care Unit-Cross-Sectional Postal Survey

This study aimed to estimate the number of nurses who independently care for patients with severe respiratory failure receiving mechanical ventilation (MV) or veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (VV-ECMO). Additionally, the study analyzed the actual role of nurses in the treatment of patients with MV and VV-ECMO. We performed a cross-sectional study using postal questionnaire surveys. The study included 725 Japanese intensive care units (ICUs). Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Among the 725 ICUs, we obtained 302 responses (41.7%) and analyzed 282 responses. The median number of nurses per bed was 3.25. The median proportion of nurses who independently cared for patients with MV was 60% (IQR: 42.3–77.3). The median proportion of nurses who independently cared for patients with VV-ECMO was 46.9 (35.7–63.3%) in the ICUs that had experience with VV-ECMO use. With regard to task-sharing, 33.8% of ICUs and nurses did not facilitate weaning from MV. Nurses always titrated sedative dosage in 44.5% of ICUs. Nurse staffing might be inadequate in all ICUs, especially for the management of patients with severe respiratory failure. The proportion of competent nurses to care for severe respiratory failure in ICUs should be considered when determining the workforce of nurses.

Survey on the actual number of nurses required for critical patients with COVID-19 in Japanese intensive care units: Preliminary report

Determining the number of nurses required for patients with coronavirus disease receiving mechanical ventilation and/or veno-veno extracorporeal membrane oxygenation is important to provide quality care. Therefore, we conducted this cross-sectional survey of 725 intensive care units in Japan. Data from 152 units with experience of managing patients with coronavirus disease who required tracheal intubation were analyzed. The median number of nurses required for a patient receiving mechanical ventilation or veno-veno extracorporeal membrane oxygenation was two. This number was more than that according to the Japanese standard determined by government. We conclude that more nursing staff is required for caring for patients critically ill with coronavirus disease in intensive care units.