OBJECTIVE To study the strategies for treatment, nursing and prevention of monkeypox so as to optimize the nursing practice and improve the prognosis of patients.

METHODS A total of 4 patients with monkeypox who were treated in the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, SunYat-sen University in Jul. 2023 were enrolled in the study. The clinical data and results of laboratory tests and nursing evaluation were collected from the patients. The comprehensive nursing strategies were carried out for the nursing of monkeypox skin pustules, observation of complications, psychological support and control of hospital-acquired infections.

RESULTS No secondary skin infections or complications occurred among the patients during the hospital stay after the multiple nursing strategies, including skin nursing, prevention of complications, psychological support and control of infections, were carried out for the patients, the condition of anxiety and depression was improved, and hospital-acquired cross-infections did not occur.

CONCLUSIONS The nursing of monkeypox involves multiple aspects, the secondary skin infections and ocular complications are the common problems, to which close attention should be paid and standardized nursing should be carried out. The psychological support is extremely important for the populations that are vulnerable to be stigmatized such as men who have sex with men (MSM) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. The psychological interventions such as mindfulness therapy show great potential in relieving the anxiety and depression. In addition, rigid infection control measures, including early identification, epidemiological survey and medical separation, can effectively reduce the risk of hospital-acquired transmission. Future studies should be focused on exploration of individualized nursing strategies targeting certain populations and development of evidence-based nursing guidelines so as to raise the nursing quality, improve the prognosis of the patients and effectively respond to the challenge.