Assessment of Postoperative Nurse’s Intervention in Patients with Laparoscopic Cholecystectomy at Teaching Hospitals in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq

Abstract

Background: Laparoscopic cholecystectomy is the standard gold treatment for gallstones. However, its postoperative complications can be overcome through high-quality knowledge and practice of health care providers, especially nurses working at surgical wards that play major roles in post-operated patient management.   Objective: This descriptive cross-sectional study aimed to assess the postoperative nurses' intervention for patients with laparoscopic cholecystectomy and to determine the relationship between nurses' interventions and their sociodemographic characteristics.   Patients and Methods: A total of 65 experienced nurses at surgical wards in Sulaimaniyah Teaching Hospitals were included from March to August 2022 to determine nurses' intervention domains in laparoscopic cholecystectomy. For this purpose, a well-designed questionnaire was used to collect the participant's data, including sociodemographic data and clinical data.   Results: Most participating nurses (38.5%) were aged 30-39 years, females (66.2%), from the urban region (87.7%), married (66.2%), completed nursing institute (76.9%), and full-time hospital staff (66.2%). Also, most (36.9%) had 1-5 years of work experience and did not take part in training courses (50.8%). In comparison, 41.5% of them participated in the training courses for <6 months. Furthermore, most of the studied variables for the postoperative nurses’ intervention items were significantly/highly significantly associated between the first and second assessments. Moreover, a significant difference between gender, education, and residency in the overall assessment of postoperative nurses’ intervention in the first assessment and a significant association only for residency was reported for the second assessment.   Conclusions: Nurses who worked at surgical wards were professional in relieving pain, improving respiratory status, maintaining skin integrity/drainage, improving nutritional status, and monitoring/managing potential complications for patients who underwent laparoscopic cholecystectomy, regardless of their sociodemographic variables.