Nursing research
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Psychosocial nursing therapy following sudden cardiac arrest: impact on two-year survival.
Although psychosocial therapy has been shown to reduce mortality after myocardial infarction, it is unknown whether the benefits of psychosocial therapy on mortality reduction extend to out-of-hospital sudden cardiac arrest, a main cause of cardiovascular mortality. ⋯ Psychosocial therapy significantly reduced the risk of cardiovascular death in sudden cardiac arrest survivors.
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The cognitive capacity to direct attention (CDA) is essential for self-care and independent functioning. Older women may be more vulnerable to fatigue-related losses in CDA following surgery for breast cancer. Normal functional variations in CDA associated with aging might affect attentional responses in older women newly diagnosed with breast cancer, and factors such as extent of surgery or symptom distress might influence CDA over time. ⋯ Reduced performance in a cognitive function was observed before treatment and found to persist over an extended interval in older women newly diagnosed with breast cancer.
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Comparative Study
Attitudes toward physician-nurse collaboration: a cross-cultural study of male and female physicians and nurses in the United States and Mexico.
Inter-professional collaboration between physicians and nurses, within and between cultures, can help contain cost and insure better patient outcomes. Attitude toward such collaboration is a function of the roles prescribed in the culture that guide professional behavior. ⋯ Collaborative education for medical and nursing students, particularly in cultures with a hierarchical model of inter-professional relationship, is needed to promote positive attitudes toward complementary roles of physicians and nurses. Faculty preparation for collaboration is necessary in such cultures before implementing collaborative education.
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Clinical Trial
Development of a reliable and valid bedside test for bilirubin and its utility for improving prediction of feeding tube location.
The addition of laboratory bilirubin readings to an algorithm based on pH alone improves prediction of feeding tube location; although reliable pH-teststrips are available, there is no bedside test to measure bilirubin in feeding tube aspirates. ⋯ The newly developed VBIL scale is effective in determining the bilirubin content in feeding tube aspirates. Furthermore, compared with predicting tube location from pH-paper alone, dichotomized readings from the VBIL scale/bilirubin teststrip used in combination with a pH-teststrip improved the ability to differentiate between respiratory and gastrointestinal tube placement, as well as between gastric and intestinal tube placement. Refinement of the VBIL scale is indicated to increase its accuracy.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Dyspnea management in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency: effect of oxygen administration.
A deficiency of alpha-1 antitrypsin (AAT) can lead to pulmonary disease in middle-aged adults in whom dyspnea management can be a significant issue. ⋯ O2 administration may be useful for reducing dyspnea during exercise in selected populations.