Annual review of nursing research
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Review Comparative Study
The Neurotoxicity of General Anesthetic Drugs: Emphasis on the Extremes of Age.
A substantial body of research suggests that anesthetic exposure to patients who are very young or very old may impair cognitive, behavioral, and emotional development or recovery. In lower animal models of pre- and postnatal age, anesthetic exposure may impact inflammation, synaptogenesis, neuronal apoptosis, and glial cell development. To date, research in humans is inconclusive regarding the long-term cognitive and behavioral sequelae of general anesthesia in the young child. ⋯ Existing neurological degenerative processes and other comorbidities in combination with the stress of surgery make evaluating the independent impact of anesthetic exposure difficult. Advances in research, imaging, and partnerships have enhanced the potential for understanding the impact of anesthetic exposure. In both populations, the resulting data and limitations faced in initial research efforts are catalysts for current prospective studies.
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Cannot intubate/cannot ventilate (CICV) situations during anesthesia are rare, potentially catastrophic to the patient, and difficult to predict. Widely adopted practice guidelines advocate an algorithmic approach to CICV situations in which the anesthetist: (a) recognizes the CICV situation, (b) calls for help, (c) steadily progresses through a variety of methods to ventilate the patient and secure the airway, (d) restores ventilation via an infraglottic airway if the patient cannot be safely awakened prior to becoming moribund. Despite widespread consensus that rapid progression to placement of an infraglottic airway is critical to the survival of the patient in a CICV situation, the rarity of CICV is a substantial barrier for anesthetists attempting to gain and maintain skill at placing infraglottic airways. ⋯ These findings have implications for how nurse anesthetists should learn and sustain the skill of infraglottic airway placement. Nurse anesthetists should undergo initial training that requires the repetitive placement of infraglottic airways, and receive sustainment training every 6 to 12 months thereafter. Although rarely used, the skill of an anesthetist in infraglottic airway placement can mean the difference between life and death for the patient in a CICV situation.
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Symptom management research is a core area of nursing science and one of the priorities for the National Institute of Nursing Research, which specifically focuses on understanding the biological and behavioral aspects of symptoms such as pain and fatigue, with the goal of developing new knowledge and new strategies for improving patient health and quality of life. The types and volume of data related to the symptom experience, symptom management strategies, and outcomes are increasingly accessible for research. Traditional data streams are now complemented by consumer-generated (i.e., quantified self) and "omic" data streams. ⋯ The purposes of this chapter are to (a) briefly summarize the current drivers for the use of big data in research; (b) describe the promise of big data and associated data science methods for advancing symptom management research; (c) explicate the potential perils of big data and data science from the perspective of the ethical principles of autonomy, beneficence, and justice; and (d) illustrate strategies for balancing the promise and the perils of big data through a case study of a community at high risk for health disparities. Big data and associated data science methods offer the promise of multidimensional data sources and new methods to address significant research gaps in symptom management. If nurse scientists wish to apply big data and data science methods to advance symptom management research and promote health equity, they must carefully consider both the promise and perils.
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Our objective is to review the most widely used biomarkers and gene studies reported in pediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI) literature, to describe their findings, and to discuss the discoveries and gaps that advance the understanding of brain injury and its associated outcomes. Ultimately, we aim to inform the science for future research priorities. ⋯ Understanding recent advances in biomarker and genomic studies in pediatric TBI is important because these advances may guide future research, collaborations, and interventions. It is also important to ensure that nursing is a part of this evolving science to promote improved outcomes in children with TBIs.
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The long-term effects and significant impact of the full spectrum of traumatic brain injury (TBI) has received increased attention in recent years. Despite increased research efforts, there has been little movement toward improving outcomes for the survivors of TBI. TBI is a heterogeneous condition with a complex biological response, and significant variability in human recovery contributes to the difficulty in identifying therapeutics that improve outcomes. ⋯ The focus of this review chapter is to describe the current state of the science in genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic research in the TBI population. There have been some advancements toward understanding the genomic, transcriptomic, and epigenomic processes in humans, but much of this work remains at the preclinical stage. This current evidence does improve our understanding of TBI recovery, but also serves as an excellent platform upon which to build further study toward improved outcomes for this population.