Statements in which the resource exists as a subject.
PredicateObject
rdf:type
lifeskim:mentions
pubmed:issue
4
pubmed:dateCreated
2004-8-12
pubmed:abstractText
Patients with breast cancer who require axillary clearance traditionally remain in hospital until their wound drains are removed. Early discharge has been shown to improve clinical outcomes, but there has been little assessment of the psychosocial and financial impact of early discharge on patients, carers and the health service. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a nurse-led model of early discharge from hospital. Main outcome measures were quality of life and carer burden. Secondary outcomes included patient satisfaction, arm morbidity, impact on community nurses, health service costs, surgical cancellations and in-patient nursing dependency. A total of 108 patients undergoing axillary clearance with mastectomy or wide local excision for breast cancer were randomised to nurse-led early discharge or conventional stay. Nurse-led early discharge had no adverse effects on quality of life or patient satisfaction, had little effect on carer burden, improved communication between primary and secondary care, reduced cancellations and was safely implemented in a mixed rural/urban setting. In total, 40% of eligible patients agreed to take part. Nonparticipants were significantly older, more likely to live alone and had lower emotional well being before surgery. This study provides further evidence of the benefits of early discharge from hospital following axillary clearance for breast cancer. However, if given the choice, most patients prefer to stay in hospital until their wound drains are removed.
pubmed:commentsCorrections
pubmed:language
eng
pubmed:journal
pubmed:citationSubset
IM
pubmed:status
MEDLINE
pubmed:month
Aug
pubmed:issn
0007-0920
pubmed:author
pubmed:issnType
Print
pubmed:day
16
pubmed:volume
91
pubmed:owner
NLM
pubmed:authorsComplete
Y
pubmed:pagination
651-8
pubmed:dateRevised
2009-11-18
pubmed:meshHeading
pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Aged, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Axilla, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Breast Neoplasms, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Caregivers, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Cost of Illness, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Drainage, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Female, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Health Services, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Hospitals, Teaching, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Humans, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Length of Stay, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Lymph Node Excision, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Middle Aged, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Nurse's Role, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Patient Discharge, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Patient Satisfaction, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Quality of Life, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Social Support, pubmed-meshheading:15238983-Treatment Outcome
pubmed:year
2004
pubmed:articleTitle
Patient, carer and health service outcomes of nurse-led early discharge after breast cancer surgery: a randomised controlled trial.
pubmed:affiliation
School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Dundee, Dundee DD1 4HJ, UK. m.z.wells@dundee.ac.uk
pubmed:publicationType
Journal Article, Clinical Trial, Randomized Controlled Trial, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't