Fatma Güdücü Tüfekci

Turkish children loved distraction: using kaleidoscope to reduce perceived pain during venipuncture

AIM To assess the effect of distraction (looking through kaleidoscopes) to reduce perceived pain, during venipuncture in healthy school-age children. BACKGROUND Distraction has been noted to be an effective method to help children cope with painful procedures. In the studies carried out, although it was found out that distraction made with different distracters reduced the pain of venipuncture, there is only one study confirming analgesic effect of distracters. DESIGN The study was carried out as an intervention-control group design. METHOD Children (n = 206), in whom venipuncture was applied in a laboratory for examination between the dates January-September 2006, were included in the study. The data were obtained by a form determining introductory features of the children and Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale and Visual Analogue Scale evaluating the pain. Descriptive statistics was used in the assessment of the data and t-test was used in comparisons of dependent-independent groups. RESULTS Pain levels of the children according to both scales in intervention group were lower than those of control group. But, it was detected that the distinction between score averages of intervention and control group of Wong-Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale, not Visual Analogue Scale, was statistically significant (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION It was detected that the distraction made with kaleidoscope effectively reduced the pain related to venipuncture in healthy school children and that some features of the children influenced the perception of pain. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE Distraction with kaleidoscope is a method, which the nurse will be able to use for venipuncture to obtain optimal pain control. In addition, it is important for a nurse to know some features about the children for a pain free and positive experience.

Honey prevents oral mocositis in children undergoing chemotherapy: A quasi-experimental study with a control group

BACKGROUND There are numerous pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment options available in the treatment of oral mucositis. However, in spite of so many methods and products, medical professionals have not come to a consensus as to which of these offer the best results. OBJECTIVES This study was conducted to assess the effect of oral care with honey on children undergoing chemotherapy for the prevention and healing of oral mucositis. METHODS This quasi-experimental study was conducted on children undergoing chemotherapy. The study group consisted of 83 children who attended clinics and polyclinics for chemotherapy. All the children were included in the study period. The study was completed with a total of 76 children except for seven patients who were excluded from the study. The data were collected using a form and the World Health Organization Mucositis Assessment Index. The data were analyzed using percentage distributions, means, a chi-square test, a t-test, a variance analysis, and a Friedman test. Ethics approval of the study was obtained from the Institution Ethics Committee. RESULTS It was found that the severity of oral mucositis in the children in the experimental group was significantly less than the control group. The mucositis recovery period in the experimental group was significantly shorter than the control group. CONCLUSION Regular oral care with honey for children undergoing chemotherapy for hematological cancers prevents mucositis and also accelerates recovery of it when started after mucositis onset.

The Effect of Spiritual Care on Stress Levels of Mothers in NICU

Hospitalization of an infant is a difficult situation for the family, and parents require support from the health care team during this difficult time. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of spiritual care on levels of stress in mothers with infants in a neonatal intensive care unit. This spiritual care study was performed by comparing control and spiritual care pre- and posttest groups. The study population included 62 mothers. The Mother–Baby Introductory Information Form and the Parental Stressor Scale: Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (PSS:NICU) were used for data collection. Prior to spiritual care, no significant difference was found between the mothers’ PSS:NICU scores, whereas following spiritual care, there was a significant difference between PSS:NICU scores of the mothers, in favor of the spiritual care group (p < .05). Findings indicate that nurses should be aware and consider the spiritual needs of mothers and must identify and meet these needs.

Effect of Smelling Amniotic Fluid on Comfort and Crying in Preterm Infants During Peripheral Cannulation: A Randomized Controlled Trial

The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of smelling amniotic fluid on comfort and duration of crying caused by peripheral cannulation in preterm infants. This was a randomized controlled trial. The study sample consisted of 80 preterm infants meeting the case selection criteria. The infants were randomly assigned to experimental and control group. Upon exclusion of some infants from the study, total number of infants in both groups was 61. The infants in the amniotic fluid group smelled amniotic fluid for 15 minutes before, during, and for 15 minutes after the ap-plication of peripheral cannulation, whereas the infants in the control group did not undergo any in-tervention other than routine care. The level of comfort was significantly higher and the duration of crying lower in the infants from the amniotic fluid group as compared with control group before, during and after the procedure. The intervention of smelling amniotic fluid was found to be an effective practice that could be used for reducing the length of crying and increase comfort in preterm infants undergoing peripheral cannulation.

An endothelial dysfunction biomarker, ENDOCAN, and its link with pediatric metabolic syndrome.

The aim of this study was to compare serum endothelial cell‐specific molecule‐1 (endocan) in pediatric patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) and in healthy children, and to determine whether it can be used as an indicator of endothelium damage‐induced complications in pediatric MetS patients.