IOSR Journal of Nursing and Health Science (IOSR-JNHS) e-ISSN: 2320–1959.p- ISSN: 2320–1940 Volume 9, Issue 3 Ser. V (May - June 2020), PP 41-52 www.iosrjournals.org DOI: 10.9790/1959-0903054152 www.iosrjournals.org 41 | Page Self-Care Practices among Adult Patients with Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube Nehad Abdel baset Buttisha 1 , Kawther Gaber Tolba 2 , Gehan Mohamed Desoky 3 , Doaa Amin Ahmed 4 1 (Clinical instructor, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University, Egypt) 2 (Professor of Medical-Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt) 3 (Assistant professor, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Alexandria University, Egypt) 4 (Lecturer, Medical-Surgical Nursing, Faculty of Nursing, Damanhour University, Egypt) Corresponding Author: Doaa Amin Ahmed Abstract: Percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) tube is used to decompress the obstruction in urinary tract and to restore the renal function. Many complications have been associated with PCN tube insertion, the nurse as a health care provider is concerned with preventing these complications through teaching healthy self-care practices. Aim: Assess self-care practices among adult patients with percutaneous nephrostomy tube. Design: A descriptive study design was used for this study. Setting: Outpatient urology clinics at the National Medical Institute of Damanhour, Egypt Subjects: A convenience sample of sixty adult patients who had percutaneous nephrostomy tube for ≥ 2 weeks. Tools: One tool was used “Self-Care Practices of Patients with Percutaneous Nephrostomy Tube interview schedule” Results: Fair overall self-care practices was found among (43.3%, 48.3%) of patients in the 1 st and 2 nd interview respectively. Conclusion: The highest percentage of the patients had poor self-care related to physical activities and daily measuring of intake and output, while elimination-related self-care practices and adherence to the prescribed medications were the highest percentage of good self-care practices. Recommendations: Provide patients’ educational programs for self-care practices regarding percutaneous nephrostomy tube that reinforce the importance of daily measurement of intake and output and physical activity with providing safe ways to avoid tube dislodgement Key words: Self-care practices, Adult patients, Percutaneous nephrostomy tube, Urinary tract obstruction. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date of Submission: 21-05-2020 Date of Acceptance: 08-06-2020 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I. Introduction Obstruction of the urinary tract initiates a complex series of reactions at the cellular level, complete urinary obstruction requires urgent procedures to relieve the blockage including; urethral or suprapubic catheterization, stenting the ureter or nephrostomy (1) . Placement of percutaneous nephrostomy (PCN) tube is usually done to decompress the obstruction and to restore the renal function (2) . The collecting system of the kidney is punctured percutaneously with a needle under fluoroscopic, ultra-sonographic, or computed tomography (CT) guidance (3) . Many complications may result either from insertion procedure or presence of catheter in the body. These complications may include; major complications which are bleeding, sepsis, and even bowel perforation and pneumothorax (3,4) , or minor complications which are microscopic hematuria, pain, and urine extravasation (5,6) , as well as catheter-related problems which are obstruction, malposition, and dislodgement (6,7) . Frequently, challenges associated with teaching and engaging patients and their caregivers in managing their condition result in problems due to a lack of understanding the care required for maintenance of PCN catheters. Patients who do not have the resources or skills to effectively manage their condition are subjected to the resulting PCN complications (8) . The World health organization (WHO) has defined self-care as " the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a health-care provider " (9) . According to Dorothea Orem's conceptual framework of nursing, self-care means the practice of activities that individuals initiate and perform on their behalf for maintaining life, health and wellbeing. These self-care practices are performed to meet self-care requisites or needs. The self-care requisites are classified into three groups; universal, health deviation and developmental