Soft collar for acute cervical spine injury immobilisation-patient experiences and outcomes: A single centre mixed methods study
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Mitchell, Marion L
Walsham, James
Lockwood, David SR
Eley, Robert M
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Abstract
Background: Cervical collars are used as standard care for neck immobilisation after cervical spine injury. Although evidence for the most effective type of collar is lacking, there is evidence regarding adverse patient outcomes when managed in a semi or rigid collar. In response to the evidence of complications and adverse effects when using a hard collar, a large Australian adult trauma hospital that specializes in spinal care, changed its policy from hard to soft collars when managing acute cervical spine injury. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate patients’ experiences and outcomes when wearing a soft collar for acute cervical spine injury management in hospital. Method: A single centre mixed method sequential study design was used. Results: Medical records from 136 patients were examined and no adverse events resulting from collar use were recorded. Interviews with 20 patients revealed that they understood the value of wearing a soft collar. The soft collars were considered supportive and well tolerated, with good adherence to recommendations for use. Conclusions: Understanding the patients’ experiences informs better care management. This study suggests that soft collars are well tolerated, do not result in pressure injuries or other adverse events and are suitable for managing acute cervical spine injury.
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International Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing
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47
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© 2022 Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) License, which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
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Orthopaedics
Science & Technology
Life Sciences & Biomedicine
Nursing
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Jennings, FL; Mitchell, ML; Walsham, J; Lockwood, DSR; Eley, RM, Soft collar for acute cervical spine injury immobilisation-patient experiences and outcomes: A single centre mixed methods study, International Journal of Orthopaedic and Trauma Nursing, 2022, 47, pp. 100965