Parental needs assessment: a design for clinical nurse specialist practice

Parents of children with orthopedic illness or disability were asked to identify their needs and their children's needs for education and support. Their responses were used to shape the clinical nurse specialist's practice. Information about the child's diagnosis and its effect on growth, development, and sexuality were the areas of greatest needs identified by parents in this study. Incorporation of these perceived needs into practice is described.     

护理层级管理在临床实践中的应用与效果

目的探讨护理层级管理在临床实践中的应用效果。方法实施护士长-高级责任护士-初级责任护士-助理护士层级管理,采用连续排班的方法,为患者提供有效的护理服务。在实施前后采用问卷调查法评价满意度。结果护理层级管理实施后患者的满意度、医生对护士满意度及护士自我满意度均提高（P〈0．01或P〈0．05）。结论护理层级管理能充分利用现有的护理人力资源,激发各层级护士潜能,调动护士工作积极性,提高护理服务质量,保证护理安全.     

New directions in cardiovascular risk assessment: the role of secondary risk stratification markers

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk screening is performed by multivariate methods relying on calculators derived from the Framingham study, other epidemiological studies or primary care records. However, it only identifies 70% of individuals at risk for CVD events and there has been interest in adding other risk factors to improve its predictive capacity. The addition of a family history of premature CVD is well established and there is evidence for adding lipoprotein (a) in some populations and possibly C-reactive protein may be suitable for general use in CVD risk assessment. Most new biochemical and imaging markers have been assessed in the context of improving risk classification in intermediate-risk groups rather than in the general population. There is evidence that N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide and coronary artery calcium score add significantly to risk prediction. The data for carotid intima-media thickness, ankle-brachial index are less strong and high sensitivity troponins look promising, but have had only limited data to date. Large scale meta-analyses ideally of pooled primary patient data will be required to determine the best additional markers to add to conventional risk prediction and in what groups to apply them.     

Establishing assessment criteria for clinical reasoning in orthopedic manual physical therapy: a consensus-building study

Objectives:

Clinical reasoning (CR) represents one of the core components of clinical competence in Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapy (OMPT). While education standards have been developed to guide curricular design, assessment of CR has not yet been standardized. Without theory-informed and rigorously developed measures, the certification of OMPTs lacks credibility and is less defensible. The purpose of this study was to use a theory-informed approach to generate assessment criteria for developing new assessment tools to evaluate CR in OMPT.

Methods:

A list of assessment criteria was generated based on international education standards and multiple theoretical perspectives. A modified Delphi method was used to gain expert consensus on the importance of these assessment criteria for the assessment of CR in OMPT. The OMPTs from 22 countries with experience in assessing CR were invited to participate in three rounds of online questionnaires to rate their level of agreement with these criteria. Responses were tabulated to analyze degree of consensus and internal consistency.

Results:

Representatives from almost half of the OMPT member organizations (MO) participated in three rounds of the Delphi. High levels of agreement were found among respondents regarding the importance and feasibility of most assessment criteria. There was high internal consistency among items within the proposed item subgroupings.

Discussion:

A list of assessment criteria has been established that will serve as a framework for developing new assessment tools for CR assessment in OMPT. These criteria will be important for guiding the design of certification processes in OMPT as well as other episodes of CR assessment throughout OMPT training.     

Risk stratification for inhibitor development at first treatment for severe hemophilia A: a tool for clinical practice

Summary. Background: Replacement therapy in severe hemophilia A patients is complicated by formation of inhibitory antibodies against factor VIII (inhibitors) in around 25% of children. Management of bleeds and eradicating inhibitors is complicated, costly and not always successful. Objective: To develop a simple score that stratifies untreated patients with severe hemophilia according to their risk of developing inhibitory antibodies. Methods: The study population consisted of 332 children, with severe hemophilia A, selected from a retrospective multicentre cohort (the CANAL study). The score was based on risk factors available at the first treatment episode. The score was validated in an external population. Results: A total of 87 patients (25%) developed inhibitory antibodies. The selected risk score comprised positive family history (two points), high risk factor VIII gene mutations (two points), and intensive treatment at initial treatment (three points). Inhibitor incidence was 6% (six of 95) in patients without risk factor, 23% (38 of 170) in those with two points, and 57% (38 of 67) in patients with three points or more. The discriminative ability of the score was good (area under the receiver operating curve 0.74). The score performed equally well in the external validation population. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the development of inhibitory antibodies in untreated patients with severe hemophilia A can validly be predicted with the presented risk stratification score.     

Whole-genome scanning by array comparative genomic hybridization as a clinical tool for risk assessment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) provides a powerful method for simultaneous genome-wide scanning and prognostic marker assessment in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In the current study, commercially available bacterial artificial chromosome and oligonucleotide array CGH platforms were used to identify chromosomal alterations of prognostic significance in 174 CLL cases. Tumor genomes were initially analyzed by bacterial artificial chromosome array CGH followed by confirmation and breakpoint mapping using oligonucleotide arrays. Genomic changes involving loci currently interrogated by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) panels were detected in 155 cases (89%) at expected frequencies: 13q14 loss (47%), trisomy 12 (13%), 11q loss (11%), 6q loss (7.5%), and 17p loss (4.6%). Genomic instability was the second most commonly identified alteration of prognostic significance with three or more alterations involving loci not interrogated by FISH panels identified in 37 CLL cases (21%). A subset of 48 CLL cases analyzed by six-probe FISH panels (288 total hybridizations) was concordant with array CGH results for 275 hybridizations (95.5%); 13 hybridizations (4.5%) were discordant because of clonal populations that comprised less than 30% of the sample. Array CGH is a powerful, cost-effective tool for genome-wide risk assessment in the clinical evaluation of CLL.     

Acceptance of biomarker-based tests for application in clinical practice: criteria and obstacles

The journey from the discovery of a biomarker to its implementation in clinical practice is long and complex. There are many obstacles along the way, including lack of consistent evidence, inadequate validation of the biomarker, inadequate evidence of clinical utility, operational barriers to clinical implementation, and inadequate evidence of operational effectiveness or impact in clinical care. Multipronged approaches, incorporating input from many disciplines working together, will be required to overcome the obstacles to the clinical implementation and to allow the progression of clinical practice from the current paradigm of a one-size-fits-all strategy to more personalized treatment pathways that are more predictable in terms of health gains.     

Appropriate use criteria in clinical routine practice: implications in a nuclear cardiology lab

The efforts for a broad application of the appropriate use criteria to reduce inappropriate nuclear stress testing have frequently been unsuccessful and the reported rates of inappropriateness have varied widely between studies. We sought to analyze the criteria of clinical appropriateness of a cohort of consecutive patients referred to our nuclear cardiology laboratory to perform stress myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) and to assess the relationships between test appropriateness and the evaluation of ischaemia. A cohort of 251 consecutive patients, admitted to our Institute from January to March 2015, who underwent stress/rest MPI on a dedicated cardiac camera equipped with cadmium–zinc–telluride detectors, was selected. The level of clinical appropriateness of each MPI test was categorized in each patient according to the AUC criteria. According to the accepted criteria, the majority of the MPI stress-tests could be classified as clinically appropriate (218 of 251, 87 % of the tests), while only 16 (6 %) and 17 (7 %) resulted of uncertain appropriateness or clearly inappropriate, respectively. Of the 251 appropriate tests, 22 (10 %), 65 (30 %), and 131 (60 %) showed the presence of a mild (SDS < 4), moderate (4 ≥ SDS < 7), and severe (SDS ≥ 7) ischemic burden, respectively, while none of the inappropriate test showed moderate-to-severe ischaemia (P < 0.001 for comparisons). The rate of inappropriate MPI tests is considerably low in a high-volume laboratory. Appropriate and inappropriate studies identify patients at high and low probability of significant ischemia, respectively, providing insights on the effects of the level of appropriateness on stress-test results.     

Critical components of a sleep assessment for clinical practice settings

Disturbed sleep affects multiple aspects of an individual's life, including daytime activity, social interactions, mood, and quality of life. Individuals with mental health issues often experience disturbed sleep, and particular attention must be given to underlying lifestyle, family issues, and health problems that may perpetuate a sleep complaint. In addition to patients' medical conditions, clinicians should ask patients about their sleep-wake patterns and medication use, since these factors contribute to disturbed sleep and adverse mental health outcomes. This article provides advanced practice nurses with a brief sleep assessment guide for use in psychiatric practice with adults or children.     

Development of clinical assessment criteria for postgraduate nursing students

This paper explores the development and implementation of specific criteria to determine the level of clinical performance of postgraduate nursing students during the first year of a Master of Nursing course. The authors describe two commonly used clinical skill assessment tools and identify limitations of these tools for postgraduate nursing students. As a result of these limitations, Clinical Assessment Criteria (CAC) utilising the framework of Benner (1984) was developed. Inherent within the CAC is four levels of clinical nursing performance, which enable the nurse teacher and student to monitor the progression from novice to proficient levels of practice within a specialty area. Following a successful pilot study, the CAC was incorporated into clinical assessments in nine specialty postgraduate courses. Furthermore, the framework developed for the CAC can also be integrated into a variety of professional development domains.     

Inherited risk factors for venous thromboembolism: implications for clinical practice

Each year, thrombosis in the deep veins of the lower extremities occurs in 1 of every 1000 Americans (1). Although most cases of venous thrombosis are not fatal, death from pulmonary embolism can be expected in 1% to 2% of all patients, and as many as 25% of patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) will suffer the chronic effects of postthrombotic syndrome. Thus, identification of high-risk patients with genetic predispositions to thrombosis is an important clinical goal, particularly among individuals with recurrent DVT.     

Inherited risk factors for venous thromboembolism: implications for clinical practice

Each year, thrombosis in the deep veins of the lower extremities occurs in 1 of every 1000 Americans (1). Although most cases of venous thrombosis are not fatal, death from pulmonary embolism can be expected in 1% to 2% of all patients, and as many as 25% of patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT) will suffer the chronic effects of postthrombotic syndrome. Thus, identification of high-risk patients with genetic predispositions to thrombosis is an important clinical goal, particularly among individuals with recurrent DVT.     

Quantitative ultrasound assessment of the rat cervix.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this research was to detect cervical ripening with a new quantitative ultrasound technique. METHODS: Cervices of 13 nonpregnant and 65 timed pregnant (days 15, 17, 19, 20, and 21 of pregnancy) Sprague Dawley rats were scanned ex vivo with a 70-MHz ultrasound transducer. Ultrasound scatterer property estimates (scatterer diameter [SD], acoustic concentration [AC], and scatterer strength factor [SSF]) from the cervices were quantified and then compared to hydroxyproline and water content. Insertion loss (attenuation) was measured in 3 rats in each of the 6 groups. Discriminant analysis was used to predict gestational age group (cervical ripening) from the ultrasound variables SD, SSF, and AC. RESULTS: Differences were observed between the groups (SD, AC, and SSF; P < .0001). Quantitative ultrasound measures changed as the cervix ripened: (1) SD increased from days 15 to 21; (2) AC decreased from days 15 to 21; and (3) SSF was the greatest in the nonpregnant group and the least in the day 21 group. Cervix hydroxyproline content increased as pregnancy progressed (P < .003) and correlated with group, SD, AC, and SSF (P < .001). Discriminant analysis of ultrasound variables predicted 56.4% of gestational group assignment (P < .001) and increased to 77% within 2 days of the predicted analysis. Cervix insertion loss was greatest for the nonpregnant group and least for the day 21 group. CONCLUSIONS: Quantitative ultrasound predicted cervical ripening in the rat cervix, but before use in humans, quantitative ultrasound will need to predict gestational age in the later days of gestation with more precision.     

Bishop score and transvaginal ultrasound for preinduction cervical assessment: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: To compare transvaginal ultrasound with the Bishop score in assessment of cervical ripening for choice of induction agent. METHODS: Eighty women were randomized to have preinduction cervical assessment for choice of induction agent based on either Bishop score or transvaginal ultrasound. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of women who were administered prostaglandin as a preinduction agent. The criteria for considering the cervix as unripe and thus for using prostaglandin were either a Bishop score < 6 or a cervical length > 30 mm with cervical wedging of < 30% of the total cervical length. Secondary outcome measures included interval to active phase, interval to delivery and rate of Cesarean section. RESULTS: While 85% of women received prostaglandin in the Bishop score group, only 50% of them did in the transvaginal ultrasound group (P = 0.001). The interval to active phase, interval to delivery and rate of Cesarean section were similar in both groups. CONCLUSIONS: With the suggested cut-off values of a Bishop score < 6 or a cervical length > 30 mm and wedging < 30%, the use of transvaginal ultrasound instead of Bishop score for preinduction cervical assessment to choose induction agent significantly reduces the need for intracervical prostaglandin treatment without adversely affecting the success of induction.