Bupa

Emergency laparotomy is a life-saving intervention for acute abdominal conditions, yet its impact on patients' long-term quality of life (QOL) remains poorly understood. This systematic review synthesizes evidence on QOL outcomes following emergency laparotomy, with a focus on emergency medicine perspectives, including recovery trajectories, influencing factors, and implications for clinical practice. A comprehensive search of PubMed/Medline, Embase, Web of Science, and Scopus was conducted following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines. In total, 11 studies were included, encompassing prospectiveand retrospective cohorts, cross-sectional surveys, and one randomized controlled trial. The risk of bias was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Scale and the Cochrane Risk of Bias tool. Narrative synthesis was performed due to heterogeneity in QOL measures. Key findings revealed significant variability in QOL recovery. Survivors of peritonitis without malignancy reported acceptable QOL, while cancer and advanced age predicted worse outcomes. Chronic pain affected 19-45% of patients, particularly after small bowel obstruction surgery, and was linked to long-term functional impairment. Laparoscopy improved QOL in elderly patients compared to laparotomy. Frailty and prolonged hospitalization were associated with declines in physical and social functioning. Patient-reported outcome measures were feasible in emergency settings but highlighted unmet needs in psychological and social recovery. Emergency laparotomy significantly impacts QOL, with recovery shaped by surgical approach, comorbidities, and postoperative pain. Standardized QOL assessment, integrated multidisciplinary care, and targeted rehabilitation are needed to optimize long-term outcomes. Future research should prioritize prospective studies with uniform QOL metrics to guide patient-centered interventions.

For years aged care nursing has been largely overlooked and marginalised from mainstream healthcare. COVID-19 brought both aged residential care and nursing into sharp focus for Aotearoa New Zealand. This paper provides a commentary on the work of executive nurses within the Nursing Leadership Group of the New Zealand Aged Care Association as COVID-19 spread into some ARC facilities in early 2020 and threatened the health and wellbeing of many residents and nurses. The group influenced the agenda and implementation of policies for Aged Residential Care and brought the voice of nursing and residents of aged care to the forefront at national and regional levels.

BackgroundThere are significant gaps in the implementation and uptake of evidence-based guideline recommendations for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes in Australian general practice. This study protocol describes the methodology for a cluster randomised trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a model that aims to improve the implementation of these guidelines in Australian general practice developed by a collaboration between researchers, non-government organisations, and the profession.MethodsWe hypothesise that the intervention will alter the behaviour of clinicians and patients resulting in improvements of recording of lifestyle and physiological risk factors (by 20%) and increased adherence to guideline recommendations for: the management of CVD and diabetes risk factors (by 20%); and lifestyle and physiological risk factors of patients at risk (by 5%). Thirty-two general practices will be randomised in a 1:1 allocation to receive either the intervention or continue with usual care, after stratification by state. The intervention will be delivered through: small group education; audit of patient records to determine preventive care; and practice facilitation visits adapted to the needs of the practices. Outcome data will be extracted from electronic medical records and patient questionnaires, and qualitative evaluation from provider and patient interviews.DiscussionWe plan to disseminate study findings widely and directly inform implementation strategies by governments, professional bodies, and non-government organisations including the partner organisations.