Lateral hostilities (LHs) are "nasty, unkind, aggressive behavior between colleagues working at comparable organizational levels." When LHs occur "at least once a week for a period of not less than 6 months," they become "bullying." The frequency of lateral violence in health care literature varies from 5.7% to 65%. The aim of this study was to explore the extent of LH and the effects on the quality of lives of Italian nurses working in prehospital emergency medical system, emergency department, intensive care unit, and operating rooms. A descriptive study was conducted through an online survey in the Web site of the National Italian Association of Critical Care Nurses (ANIARTI). A total of 1504 nurses filled up the questionnaire, with 1202 valid data entries (79.9%). Of this group, 739 (61.5%) were women and 951 (79.1%) had experienced some form of LH at least once in the last 12 months, whereas 269 (22.4%) felt to be victims of bullying. The number of transfers to other departments/services due to LH was 43 cases (3.6%), and 829 (69%) experienced psychophysical disorders attributed to LH experienced in the span of the year. Lateral hostility is a frequent occurrence that calls for implementation of management policies to achieving an overall improvement of the work environment climate.

Background: Caring for patients with COVID-19 requires wearing a full set of personal protective equipment (PPE) to avoid contamination. Personal discomfort has been associated with use of PPE, and anecdotal reports describe pressure injuries related to wearing PPE. Objectives: To investigate the occurrence of device-related pressure injuries due to wearing PPE among Italian nurses caring for patients with COVID-19 in critical care settings. Methods: This descriptive study used an online survey investigating both the demographic characteristics of respondents and complications related to wearing PPE, including the development of pressure injuries. Results: A total of 266 nurses throughout Italy completed the survey; 32% of respondents were men. Nurses’ median age was 36 years (range 22-59 years), and the median time spent working in their current clinical setting (an intensive care or high-dependency unit) was 3 years (range 0-32 years). Personal protective equipment was worn for a median duration of 5 hours (range 2-12 hours). While wearing PPE, 92.8% of nurses experienced pain and 77.1% developed device-related pressure injuries, mainly on the nose, ears, and forehead. Pain was more frequent among nurses with such injuries. Transparent dressings, emollient cream, and no dressing were associated with development of device-related pressure injury. Conclusions: Pressure injuries related to PPE represent an important adverse effect for nurses caring for patients with COVID-19. This topic deserves study to determine adequate solutions for preventing and treating such injuries and their potential influence on nurses’ work tolerance.

This study reveals the persistent difficulty in pain management, while attempting contemporaneously to communicate the importance of the assessment, since adequate understanding of pain renders it possible to recognize and treat it.

Blood collection is one of the most common nursing procedures and is not devoid of complications. The order of draw during blood collection is a controversial theme. We aimed to define the efficacy of the order of draw during blood collection to guarantee an exact biochemical result. We carried out a systematic literature review on PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, CINAHL, Embase, Joanna Briggs Institute, Cochrane Library, and Google Scholar. Articles written in English and published from 2000 to 2020 were considered suitable. The analysis of the 11 articles included highlighted different opinions; however, the most recent evidence declares that the cross-contamination caused by the incorrect order of draw is a trait only in the open system of drawing. The most recent evidence affirms the negligible effect of the order of draw during blood collection when using the closed blood collection system, while it is recommended when using the open collection system.