The Journal of neuroscience nursing : journal of the American Association of Neuroscience Nurses
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Creative art has been found to be beneficial to some patients with chronic illness. Little is understood about how creative art can benefit individuals living with multiple sclerosis (MS). ⋯ The creative art program was found to be effective and had a positive influence on self-esteem, hope, social support, and self-efficacy to function and control MS. Creative art has the potential to enhance the lives of those living with MS and should be investigated with a larger sample of participants.
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A major goal in the care of patients with neurological problems is to prevent or minimize episodes of increased intracranial pressure (ICP). Elevations in ICP in response to nursing interventions have been acknowledged since the 1960s when ICP monitoring was first introduced in the clinical setting. Until recently, few studies have specifically examined the effect of oral care on ICP, and oral care and other hygiene measures were combined or not specified, prohibiting a direct interpretation of the influence of oral care alone on ICP. ⋯ The mixed-effect repeated measures analysis of variance model indicated that there was a statistically significant increase in ICP in response to oral care (p = .0031). There was, however, no clinically significant effect on ICP. This study provides evidence that oral care is safe to perform in patients in the absence of preexisting elevated ICP.
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Chronic low back pain is a common, disabling, and costly condition, and advanced practice registered nurses (APRNs) must carefully evaluate patients before considering long-term opioid therapy as a management strategy. APRNs should refer patients suspected of having a serious condition, or identifiable etiology, for specialist evaluation, as many patients improve with physical therapy, interventional pain management procedures, or surgical intervention. ⋯ Such prescribing necessitates careful patient selection; informed consent; prudent opioid dosing and titration; and monitoring for response to treatment, adverse effects, and aberrant drug-taking behavior. Treatment and regulatory guidelines can assist APRNs in providing safe and effective care to patients with chronic low back pain.