Recruitment maneuvers in acute respiratory distress syndrome: The safe way is the best way

Acute respiratory distress syndrome(ARDS) represents a serious problem in critically ill patients and is associated with in-hospital mortality rates of 33%-52%. Recruitment maneuvers(RMs) are a simple, low-cost, feasible intervention that can be performed at the bedside in patients with ARDS. RMs are characterized by the application of airway pressure to increase transpulmonary pressure transiently. Once non-aerated lung units are reopened, improvements are observed in respiratory system mechanics, alveolar reaeration on computed tomography, and improvements in gas exchange(functional recruitment). However, the reopening process could lead to vascular compression, which can be associated with overinflation, and gas exchange may not improve as expected(anatomical recruitment). The purpose of this review was to discuss the effects of different RM strategies- sustained inflation, intermittent sighs, and stepwise increases of positive end-expiratory pressure(PEEP) and/or airway inspiratory pressure- on the following parameters: hemodynamics, oxygenation, barotrauma episodes, and lung recruitability through physiological variables and imaging techniques. RMs and PEEP titration are interdependent events for the success of ventilatory management. PEEP should be adjusted on the basis of respiratory system mechanics and oxygenation. Recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses suggest that RMs are associated with lower mortality in patients with ARDS. However, the optimal RM method(i.e., that providing the best balance of benefit and harm) and the effects of RMs on clinical outcome are still under discussion, and further evidence is needed.     

性活动场所与男男性行为者艾滋病高危行为关系的 研究

摘要:目的　了解江苏省男男性行为人群特征,为制定切实有效的干预措施提供依据。方法　采用横断面调查研究的方法,对2013年江苏省男男性行为人群（MSM）进行匿名问卷调查,采集血液进行 HIV和梅毒抗体检测。结果　2013年共招募4208例MSM,样本量以酒吧/歌舞厅/茶室/会所（BDT）1561例最多;MSM以本地未婚青壮年为主,但各亚组间分布差异有统计学意义（P＜0.001）;同性近6个月无保护性肛交发生率以PTG组最高;异性性行为安全套坚持使用率以ELSE组最好;近1年STD患病率以BSM（9.0%）最高;HIV阳性率以ELSE（11.9%）最高;HIV相关危险因素及服务,HIV阳性率方面各亚组分布差异有统计学意义（P＜0.001）。结论　江苏省不同性活动场所的MSM人群在人口学、高危性行为、HIV阳性率方面存在显著差异,提示在制定MSM的干预措施应该有所侧重。     

Understanding intention to leave amongst new graduate Canadian nurses: A repeated cross sectional survey

Background

Previous studies indicate that new graduate nurses’ first year of work is both stressful and difficult. The turnover rate of this group is particularly high. There is a need to increase our understanding of why new graduate nurses intend to leave their current employer.

Objectives

The purpose of this study is to examine what proportion of new graduate nurses intends to leave their current position and to examine the relationship between transition programs, empowerment, work environment and intent to leave.

Design

Survey data was collected with new graduate nurses over a 5-year period, beginning in 2004 and ending in 2008. A total of 348 new graduate nurses were surveyed in eastern Canada.

Results

The results showed that 49.6% of the new graduate nurses did not intend to leave their current employer, whereas 4.9% were definitely planning to leave and 45.5% expressed different levels of uncertainty. Regression analysis indicated that a component of the work environment, foundations for quality nursing care, and a component of psychological empowerment, goal internalization explained, 24% of the variance of intent to leave.

Conclusion

This study provides a more comprehensive understanding of factors that influence intent to leave. It also supports the importance of a good working environment for the retention of new graduate nurses.     

Phrenic motor unit recruitment during ventilatory and non-ventilatory behaviors

Phrenic motoneurons are located in the cervical spinal cord and innervate the diaphragm muscle, the main inspiratory muscle in mammals. Similar to other skeletal muscles, phrenic motoneurons and diaphragm muscle fibers form motor units which are the final element of neuromotor control. In addition to their role in sustaining ventilation, phrenic motor units are active in other non-ventilatory behaviors important for airway clearance such as coughing or sneezing. Diaphragm muscle fibers comprise all fiber types and are commonly classified based on expression of contractile proteins including myosin heavy chain isoforms. Although there are differences in contractile and fatigue properties across motor units, there is a matching of properties for the motor neuron and muscle fibers within a motor unit. Motor units are generally recruited in order such that fatigue-resistant motor units are recruited earlier and more often than more fatigable motor units. Thus, in sustaining ventilation, fatigue-resistant motor units are likely required. Based on a series of studies in cats, hamsters and rats, an orderly model of motor unit recruitment was proposed that takes into consideration the maximum forces generated by single type-identified diaphragm muscle fibers as well as the proportion of the different motor unit types. Using this model, eupnea can be accomplished by activation of only slow-twitch diaphragm motor units and only a subset of fast-twitch, fatigue-resistant units. Activation of fast-twitch fatigable motor units only becomes necessary when accomplishing tasks that require greater force generation by the diaphragm muscle, e.g., sneezing and coughing.     

Cell therapy and satellite centers: The cardiovascular cell therapy research network experience

Due to the changing population in patients with myocardial infarction, recruiting patients in clinical trials continues to challenge clinical investigators. The Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) chose to expand the reach and power of its recruitment effort by incorporating both referral and treatment satellite centers. Eight treatment satellites were successfully identified and they screened patients over a two year period. The result of this effort was an increase in recruitment, with these treatment satellites contributing 30% of the patients to two of the three Network studies. The hurdles that these satellite treatment centers faced and how they surmounted them provide instruction to clinical research groups eager to expand to satellite systems and to health care practitioners who are interested in taking part in multicenter clinical trials.     

Usage of an online healthy lifestyle program by pregnant women attending midwifery practices in Amsterdam

OBJECTIVE: To determine reach, attrition and program engagement and their associations with user characteristics for an online healthy lifestyle program for pregnant women. METHODS: From March to August 2006, 1382 pregnant women visiting 20 midwifery practices in Amsterdam were invited to enroll in a healthy lifestyle program through registration on the program website (at home). User characteristics were self-reported upon enrollment, while program use was objectively monitored until January 2007. RESULTS: Seventeen percent (n=238) of the women who received information from their midwife enrolled. Most women were highly educated (68%) and already had a healthy lifestyle. About half of them (52%) continued to use the program throughout their pregnancy. Less lower than higher educated women continued using the program (45% vs. 63%, p=0.02). When e-mails were opened almost all lifestyle topics were accessed (85%), but links to related websites were used less often (12%). CONCLUSION: The healthy lifestyle program did not reach a substantial proportion of the target population. Only 9% of those invited continued to use the program throughout their pregnancies. In addition to that there was selective enrollment and selective attrition. This research confirms that disadvantaged women, who need the intervention most, are least easily reached.     

乡镇无偿献血招募措施探讨

对石家庄市17个县区及下辖乡镇无偿献血宣传招募工作实践经验进行总结,宣传招募措施包括转变组织管理模式,依托县区卫生主管部门推动;抓住关键人物,强化宣传招募;宣传方式多样化;利用网络面向年轻人进行宣传招募等。促进了乡镇无偿献血工作模式的改进,保障了临床用血需求。     

Is the grass any greener? Canada to United States of America nurse migration

Aim:  Little or no attempt has been made to determine why nurses leave Canada, remain outside of Canada, or under what circumstances might return to Canada. The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of Canadian-educated registered nurses working in the USA.
Data sources:  Data for this study include the 1996, 2000 and 2004 USA National Sample Survey of Registered Nurses and reports from the same time period from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.
Findings:  This research demonstrates that full-time work opportunities and the potential for ongoing education are key factors that contribute to the migration of Canadian nurses to the USA. In addition, Canada appears to be losing baccalaureate-prepared nurses to the USA.
Discussion:  These findings underscore how health care policy decisions such as workforce retention strategies can have a direct influence on the nursing workforce. Policy emphasis should be on providing incentives for Canadian-educated nurses to stay in Canada, and obtain full-time work while continuing to develop professionally.
Conclusion:  Findings from this study provide policy leaders with important information regarding employment options of interest to migrating nurses.
Study limitations:  This study describes and contrasts nurses in the data set, thus providing information on the context of nurse migration from Canada to the USA. Data utilized in this study are cross-sectional in nature, thus the opportunity to follow individual nurses over time was not possible.     

Italian–Moldovan international nurse migration: rendering visible the loss of human capital

PALESE A., CRISTEA E., MESAGLIO M. & STEMPOVSCAIA E. (2010) Italian–Moldovan international nurse migration: rendering visible the loss of human capital. International Nursing Review 57 , 64–69
Aim:  To describe the process of the migration of Moldovan nurses to Italy.
Background:  Formerly a part of the Soviet Union, the Republic of Moldova gained independence in 1991. Currently, there are 25 848 nurses (60.6 per 10 000 inhabitants) working mainly in the public health system. Each year, around 2000 nurses leave the country in search of better working conditions and a better quality of life.
Methods:  A longitudinal study design was adopted (2006–2007). In the first phase, we contacted all known nurses living in Moldova and their available colleagues following a snowball sampling strategy. Inclusion criteria were nurses who had decided to migrate to Italy and had already prepared the migration documents and/or were awaiting their departure. In the second phase, we interviewed the same sample of nurses on arrival in Italy.
Findings:  After one year, only 25 nurses out of the 110 initially interviewed (22.7%) had arrived in Italy; none were working as nurses. The cost of the migration process incurred by each nurse was around 3278 euros, and the waiting time from the decision to leave until arrival was around 24 months.
Conclusions:  All Moldovan nurses involved in this study, once they arrived in Italy, ceased to exist from an official perspective. Policy and recommendations need to be developed to ensure the integration of Moldovan-educated nurses into the health-care system and to monitor the amount of human capital (in terms of care drain, brain drain and youth drain) that this process risks wasting.