Baby massage: a dialogue of touch

The significance and benefits of touch and massage for preterm infants in Neonatal Intensive Care Units and in the community are discussed. The article emphasises the value of massage in helping parents to bond with their baby and as part of family-centred care. A bibliography is included.     

Accuracy of short-duration creatinine clearance determinations in predicting 24-hour creatinine clearance in critically ill and injured patients

BACKGROUND: We hypothesized that measured 2-hour (CrCl2), 6-hour (CrCl6), and 16-hour (CrCl16) urine creatinine clearance accurately reflect measured (CrCl24meas) and calculated 24-hour CrCl (CrCl24calc) in critical illness. METHODS: Urine was collected in consecutive specimens from 7 am to 9 am (CrCl2), 9 am to 3 pm (CrCl6), and 3 pm to 7 am (CrCl16) at surgical intensive care unit admission and weekly thereafter. CrCl2 and CrCl6 were added to obtain CrCl8, which was then added to CrCl16 to obtain CrCl24meas. CrCl24calc was estimated using the Cockcroft-Gault equation. RESULTS: One hundred patients (45 with trauma) had 131 sets of CrCl2, CrCl6, and CrCl16. Trauma patients were younger; had a lower mean body surface area; and had higher CrCl2, CrCl6, and CrCl16 (all p < 0.0001). Correlation percentages (r2) comparing CrCl2, CrCl6, CrCl8, CrCl16, and CrCl24calc with CrCl24meas in trauma patients were 0.597, 0.760, 0.815, 0.958, and 0.670, respectively. In nontrauma patients, r2 values were 0.516, 0.693, 0.807, 0.946, and 0.649, respectively. CONCLUSION: CrCl2, CrCl6, and CrCl24calc are unreliable for clinical decision making. A minimum collection period of at least 8 hours is recommended for determination of urine creatinine clearance.     

Impaired Acroneuria sp. (Plecoptera, Perlidae) Populations Associated with Aluminum Contamination in Neutral pH Surface Waters

Our aim was to quantify impairment to invertebrate predator populations, particularly to Acroneuria sp. (Plecoptera, Perlidae), downstream of an acid mine drainage-impacted tributary to the North Fork of the Powell River, southwestern Virginia. Predatory insects comprised 9.0 ± 1.3% of the total abundance at the three stations upstream of the impacted tributary, but were significantly reduced (p = 0.0039) downstream (3.9 ± 0.6%). Acroneuria sp. populations followed the same trend, with the upstream average (2.3 and 2.8%) being significantly higher (p < 0.05) than the downstream averages (0.2 and 0%) during 1999 and 2000, respectively. Using correlation analysis, we evaluated the relationship between the percent abundance of Acroneuria sp. throughout this reach and metal concentrations in water, sediment, and biological tissues (invertebrate predators and primary consumers). Water column aluminum (Al) concentration was the only parameter that was significantly correlated with percent Acroneuria sp. abundance, with correlation coefficients of −0.845 and −0.873 during 1999 and 2000, respectively. While this correlation exists, it may not indicate a causal relationship, and experiments should be conducted to determine the long-term toxicity of various Al species to perlid stoneflies. Received: 13 August 2001/Accepted: 21 December 2001     

Diabetes disease management program for an indigent population empowered by telemedicine technology

Mercy Health Center in Laredo, Texas implemented a Telemedicine Diabetes Disease Management Program to determine the impact of a web-based patient interface technology as part of a diabetes disease management program. The program featured the use of the Health Hero iCare Desktop and the Health Buddy appliance. The Mercy Health Center outcomes study aimed to assess the effect of telemedicine technology on the health of indigent border residents with diabetes. The study was conducted in calendar year 2000-2001 using comparative cohort data from calendar year 1999. Using the technology, patients were monitored daily at home, and to ensure early intervention, nurses were alerted if patients reported abnormalities. The goals of the program were to decrease hospital-based resource utilization, improve patient compliance with treatment plans, improve the level of patient satisfaction with healthcare services, and improve patients' perceived quality of life. Objective outcomes, including inpatient admissions, emergency room visits, postdischarge care visits, and outpatient visits, as well as charges for healthcare services, were all measured on a per patient per year basis. Subjective outcomes, including quality of life and patient satisfaction, were estimated from surveys conducted before, quarterly for two quarters within the program, and at the end of the study period. For each measure except for quality of life, comparisons were made between the year just prior to and the year of Health Buddy utilization. Quality of life was compared for the year just prior to Health Buddy utilization and at the end of the second quarter. After 1 year, reductions in overall utilization and charges, as well as improvements in quality of life, were demonstrated. Patients in the program showed reduced overall charges of 747 dollars per patient per year. Inpatient admissions were reduced 32% (p < 0.07), emergency room encounters were reduced 34% (p < 0.06), postdischarge care visits were reduced 44% (p < 0.28), and outpatient visits were reduced 49% (p < 0.001). Quality of life was assessed using the Medical Outcomes Study 12-item Short Form health survey. The mean improvement in the mental component after 6 months in the program was 2.8, from 45.1 preprogram to 47.9 within the program (p < 0.0264). The mean improvement in the physical component after 6 months in the program was 2.1, from 41.7 preprogram to 43.8 within the program (p < 0.0518). The reductions in utilization and improvement in quality of life can likely be attributed to the patient's enhanced self-management behaviors and the nurse's ability to intervene in a timely manner when warranted. Without technology and daily remote monitoring, standard patient care is based on episodic encounters between patients and their care providers, which does not allow for prevention, education, or early intervention. This program bridged the gap between office visits for the patients. The early intervention ultimately reduced the cost of care.     

Death at the end of the 20th century: individual processes and developmental tasks in old age

In this article, we address the topic of death from historic and contemporary perspectives. In the first section, we describe the changes in life expectancy, personal experience, and public awareness of death that have occurred over the past century. In the next section, we examine the impact these changes have had on the mastery of the two developmental tasks in adulthood, acceptance of one's own mortality and coping with the death of a spouse. We describe select findings from the literature on attitudes, fear or acceptance of death, and grief processes. Implications for research, practice, and social change are considered.     

Use of E mu-PIM-1 transgenic mice short-term in vivo carcinogenicity testing: lymphoma induction by benzo[a]pyrene, but not by TPA

E mu-pim-1 transgenic mice are predisposed to develop lymphomas. Due to their low spontaneous tumour incidence and their increased sensitivity towards the lymphomagen ethylnitrosourea these mice may present an interesting model for short-term carcinogenicity testing. Here, we report on the further exploration of this transgenic mouse model with two additional carcinogens known to have, among others, the lymphohaematopoietic system as target, i.e. benzo[a]pyrene (B[a]P) and 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). B[a]P, given three times a week (by gavage) for 13 weeks at 4.3, 13 or 39 mg/kg body weight, resulted in a dose-related increase in lymphomas up to a 90% incidence in E(mu)-pim-1 mice during the observation period of 40 weeks. B[a]P also induced tumours of the forestomach within this observation period, though at a lower incidence and apparently equally effective in wildtype and transgenic mice. TPA, on the other hand, was unable to induce lymphomas (or tumours in any other organ) in either transgenic or wildtype animals within the observation period of 44 weeks, when applied dermally at the maximum tolerated dose of 3 microg/mouse, twice a week for 35 weeks. Molecular analysis showed that B[a]P-induced lymphomas in transgenic mice were of T-cell origin, 80% of which had elevated levels of c-myc expression. None of the lymphomas had increased N-myc expression and mutation analysis of the ras-gene family revealed a K-ras mutation in only one out of eight tumours investigated. Also, none of the lymphomas showed aberrant expression of p53 as determined by immunohistochemistry. It is concluded that the E mu-pim-1 mouse model will not be very suitable for short-term carcinogenicity testing in general: only genotoxic chemicals that have the lymphohaematopoietic system as target for carcinogenesis in wild- type mice, appear to be efficiently identified.