Effect of the Performance of the Liaison Nurses on the Motor Complications in Stroke Patients after Discharge: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Background & Aims: Despite the rapid prevention, diagnosis, and management of stroke, the patients are still at a high risk of complications. From hospital admission to discharge and at home, liaison nurses help the patients with the complicated care issues caused by stroke. The present study aimed to investigate the effect of the performance of liaison nurses on the incidence of motor complications in stroke patients after discharge from the hospital. Materials & Methods: This quasi-experimental study was conducted on 80 patients in a hospital in Shiraz, Iran during 2016-2017. The patients were selected via purposive convenience sampling and randomly divided into two groups of intervention and control. Before discharge, the patients in the intervention group were examined, and a care and educational program was provided by the liaison nurse based on their needs and to prevent the incidence of motor complications (e.g., constipation, fall, bedsore). The educational contents were handed to the patients or their caregivers in the form of a booklet. If needed, the nurse would attend at the patient's bedside at home to address their problems, and the contact between the nurse and patients was maintained. The patients in the control group received routine care and were discharged. Two weeks and two months after discharge, the patients were followed-up in terms of the prevalence of bedsore or fall based on self-report or reports provided by their families. In addition, the prevalence of constipation was assessed based on the Rome 3 criteria. Data analysis was performed using Mann-Whitney U test and Chi-square. Results: The two groups were homogenous in terms of the mean age and stroke criteria, and the patients were distributed homogenously in terms of gender based on the Braden and Mors criteria. No significant difference was observed between the groups in terms of the frequency of bedsore (P=0.068), while they were significantly difference in terms of constipation (P<0.001) and fall (P=0.041). Conclusion: According to the results, the program involving the liaison nurse for the monitoring of stroke patients based on their individual needs after discharge could effectively decrease the incidence of constipation and fall following stroke.