Challenges Faced by Apheresis Nurses in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Morbidity and mortality rates due to COVID-19 infection are increasing rapidly all over the world. Antifungal drugs, mechanical or non-invasive ventilation, antibiotics for secondary infections, anticoagulants, and supportive treatments are used in the treatment of COVID-19 patients. In addition to the treatment processes, apheresis treatment can be applied with plasma collected from individuals whose disease has completely recovered. The implementation of apheresis treatments brings great responsibilities and difficulties to apheresis nurses. Apheresis nurses have roles and responsibilities such as carrying out apheresis applications, evaluating the symptoms that patients frequently experience and the severity of these symptoms, effective symptom management, empowering and educating patients, emergency management, and infection control. Apheresis nurses witness patients whose health condition deteriorates immediately, provide symptom management, and work with personal protective equipment without interruption for a long time. Apheresis nurses need to be supported in terms of protecting their health, stress management, and professional self-care during the COVID-19 process. This review was made to examine the difficulties experienced by apheresis nurses in the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords

• Apheresis nurse
• COVID-19
• pandemic
• nursing

COVID-19 Pandemisinde Aferez Hemşirelerinin Yaşadıkları Zorluklar

Abstract

COVID-19 enfeksiyonuna bağlı morbitide ve mortalite oranları tüm dünyada hızla artmaktadır. COVID-19 hastalarının tedavisinde antifungal ilaçlar, mekanik veya noninvazif ventilasyon, sekonder enfeksiyonlar için antibiyotikler, antikoagülanlar ve destek tedavileri kullanılmaktadır. Tedavi süreçlerine ek olarak hastalığı tamamen iyileşen bireylerden toplanan plazmayla birlikte aferez tedavisi uygulanabilmektedir. Aferez tedavisinin uygulanması, aferez hemşirelerine oldukça büyük sorumluluklar ve beraberinde zorluklar getirmektedir. Aferez hemşirelerinin, aferez uygulamalarının yürütülmesi, hastaların sık yaşadıkları semptomların ve bu semptomların şiddetinin değerlendirilmesi, etkin semptom yönetimi, hastaların güçlendirilmesi ve eğitilmesi, acil durum yönetimi, enfeksiyon kontrolü gibi rol ve sorumlulukları bulunmaktadır. Aferez hemşireleri, sağlık durumu anında kötüleşen hastalara tanıklık etmekte, semptom yönetimi sağlamakta, uzun süre ara vermeksizin kişisel koruyucu ekipman ile çalışmaktadır. Aferez hemşirelerinin COVID-19 sürecinde sağlıklarının korunması, stres yönetimi ve mesleki öz bakım açısından desteklenmeleri gerekmektedir. Bu derleme, COVID-19 pandemisinde aferez hemşirelerinin yaşadıkları zorlukların incelenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır.

Keywords

• Aferez hemşiresi
• COVID-19
• pandemi
• hemşirelik

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