Interferon and the fear of needles: a case report.

Maria López, Laura Moreno, Angelina Dosal, Marta Maria Pujol, Mercedes Vergara, Montserrat Gil

Day-Care Hospital of Digestive Diseases Department, Corporació Sanitaria Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Spain. mlopez@tauli.cat

Gastroenterology nursing : the official journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates 2011 Sep-Oct

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The treatment of viral hepatitis C infection uses a combination of pegylated interferon and ribavirin. Psychological preparation of the patient is vital to ensure adherence to the treatment. In our center, the nurse prepares this treatment according to an established educative protocol; however, some patients have special needs that require individualized attention. One such situation observed by the nurse is that the patients frequently admit to the fear of needle puncture (the peginterferon treatment is administered subcutaneously) and are unable to inject themselves. We describe a representative case and the care plan to manage the patient's fear so that the patient acquires confidence in his or her ability to self-inject. This facilitates autonomy and coresponsibility for the treatment, and the nurse can develop care approaches to combat the patient's fear of needles.

Citation

Maria López, Laura Moreno, Angelina Dosal, Marta Maria Pujol, Mercedes Vergara, Montserrat Gil. Interferon and the fear of needles: a case report. Gastroenterology nursing : the official journal of the Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates. 2011 Sep-Oct;34(5):384-8