Effect of patient's compliance with nursing instructions on minimizing hepatic encephalopathy

Abstract

Background: Hepatic encephalopathy is a common complication occurs in 30-70% of cirrhotic patients. Aim: To evaluate effect of patient's compliance with nursing instructions on minimizing hepatic encephalopathy. Research design: Quasi- experimental design. Setting: Tropical Medicine and Gastroenterology department at El - Rajhi liver Hospital in Assuit University Hospital. Patients and Methods: Sixty adult patients child B or C liver cirrhosis. Tools: I: Structured interview patient questionnaire. II: Compliance assessment questionnaire. III: West-Haven criteria. Results: There was a statistically significant difference between study and control group patients regarding severity of hepatic encephalopathy through three months (p<0.005) and a highly significant relation was documented between compliance of patients with nursing instructions and severity of hepatic encephalopathy (p<0.001). Conclusion and recommendations: Hepatic encephalopathy was minimized among patients who complied with nursing instructions. Simplified illustrated and comprehensive Arabic language instructions hand book should be available for patients about preventive measures of hepatic encephalopathy.