부산대학교 도서관

Objective: To determine the frequency of nursing intervention, physician treatment and hospital evaluation for women receiving outpatient management services for preterm labor. Methods: Outpatient services included: patient education; daily and as-needed nursing assessment of monitored uterine activity (MUA) and patient symptoms; treatment compliance; and physician notification for values exceeding established limits. We analyzed service data from women with singleton gestations at 20.0-34.9 weeks. Results: Overall, 307 249 days of data from 10 660 women were reviewed, and 634 983 hours of MUA was assessed. On 53 665 (17.5%) of monitored days, patients exhibited increased MUA and/or symptoms of preterm labor with nursing intervention and reassessment. Physician notification/intervention was required 7316 (13.6%) times, and hospital admission was needed for 3163 (43.2%) of these patients. In the hospital 1400 (44.3%) patients received tocolysis. The mean ( ± standard deviation) length of hospital stay was 3.2 ± 7.2 days, and 428 (13.5%) of women remained hospitalized until delivery, with 324 (10.2%) delivering within 48 h. Conclusion: In this population of women receiving outpatient preterm-labor management services, 95.1% of excessive MUA or patient-reported symptoms of preterm labor were managed on an outpatient basis. Outpatient management allowed for appropriate identification and triage of women requiring hospital admission. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]