Signs and symptoms, apart from vital signs, that trigger nurses ’ concerns about deteriorating conditions in hospitalized paediatric patients: A scoping review

AbstractAimThis scoping review aimed to identify and map the signs and symptoms —apart from vital signs—that trigger nurses’ concerns about the deteriorating conditions of hospitalized paediatric patients.DesignA scoping review was conducted in accordance with the Joanna Briggs Institute methodology.MethodsSix databases, including MEDLINE, CINAHL, Embase, Scopus, Swemed and ProQuest Dissertations and Theses databases, were searched systematically. Of 5795 citations, seven matched the inclusion criteria.ResultsObjective observations, such as the patient's colour, pain-level changes, and behavioural observations, were identified as signs that would trigger nurses ’ concerns. Nurse's intuitive feelings or gut feelings when seeing a patient was also identified as an important factor for identifying a deteriorating paediatric patient. A “gut feeling” was described as both a reaction to patient signs and a feeling based on the nurse's intuition gained thro ugh experience. The signs or symptoms that would trigger this “gut feeling” were not identified.
Source: Nursing Open - Category: Nursing Authors: Tags: REVIEW ARTICLE Source Type: research