W Indian Med J
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This study aimed to evaluate the levels of the adipokines, resistin and adiponectin in normotensive and high normal blood pressure patients. ⋯ High normal blood pressure patients have increased levels of resistin and lower values of adiponectin when compared with age-matched non-diabetic normotensive subjects. This may explain why those patients showed more progression to hypertension, atherosclerosis and cardiovascular risk than normotensive subjects.
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To determine current red cell transfusion practices, transfusion indications and their relationship to patient outcome in intensive care unit (ICU) patients at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI). ⋯ The mean haemoglobin for transfusion at the ICU, UHWI, is 7.3 g/dL, just above the recommended trigger of 7.0 g/dL in a restrictive transfusion practice. Transfusion policies are needed to better allocate a scarce commodity and minimize complications associated with blood transfusion.
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To institutionalize an evidence-based policy/protocol adapted from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) national medication standards for managing telephone medication orders (TMO) and to determine the impact of the policy/protocol on the number of telephone medication errors (TME) on two medical units of a small private hospital in Jamaica. ⋯ Kotter's eight-step framework of organizational change was a successful strategy in institutionalizing and sustaining adherence to the TMO policy/protocol, reducing the number of TMEs and positively influencing the organizational culture.