The relationship between maternal needs and priorities in a neonatal intensive care environment

AIM: The aim of this study was to investigate the nature and organization of maternal needs and priorities in a neonatal unit. BACKGROUND: The relationship between maternal needs and priorities appears to be an under studied area in neonatal nursing. METHODS: A quantitative survey was carried out based on 209 mothers with premature infants. Two self-assessment schedules were used: critical care maternal needs inventory (J. Leske, Heart and Lung 15, 27-42) and a ranking scale. The data were analysed with multivariate analysis. FINDINGS: Data analysis revealed clear priorities in maternal needs. In particular the need for accurate infant related information was a priority for 93% of the mothers. Good communication practices with professionals were also valued. The mothers displayed altruistic behaviour, and self-related needs took second place. It is proposed that maternal needs demonstrate a hierarchical organization. CONCLUSION: It is important for nurses to consider the individual needs of the mothers, simply because the satisfaction of these needs is essential for maternal well-being.     

Development and testing of the Assessment of Living Skills and Resources (ALSAR) in elderly community-dwelling veterans

The Assessment of Living Skills and Resources (ALSAR), an innovative instrumental activities of daily living tool, systematically evaluates the accomplishment of 11 tasks by separately rating patient skill and resource levels for each task and combining these levels to determine risk. The ALSAR was administered to 75 elderly veterans in a home care program. It predicted change to more supportive living arrangements and a more structured living environment, nursing home placement, hospitalization, and death during the 6-month study period. The ALSAR has proven useful for interdisciplinary problem solving and treatment planning.     

Early life experiences linked to diabetes mellitus: a study of African-American migration.

African Americans experienced massive internal migrations that shifted more than 6 million Southern-born blacks to other sections of the United States over the past century, a trend that only recently has been reversed. Whenever mass migration takes place, there is an opportunity to examine the role of the native and relocated environments in the development of disease. This article examines those relationships for diabetes mellitus, a group of diseases that disproportionately affect African-Americans relative to other racial and ethnic groups in the United States. Age-specific and age-adjusted rates with 95% confidence intervals were calculated for males and females for combinations of five regions of birth and four regions of residence at time of death. Southern-born males had statistically significantly higher death rates from diabetes than did their counterparts who died in the same regions in 9 of 16 comparisons. For females, those born in the South had statistically significantly higher rates in 15 of 16 comparisons. The results of this study indicate that place of birth and early life experiences are statistically associated with diabetes mortality among African Americans regardless of place of residence at time of death.     

Adverse impact of interstitial pulmonary fibrosis on prognosis in polymyositis and dermatomyositis

Interstitial pulmonary fibrosis occurs in approximately 9% of patients with PM/DM, yet its effect on the course of PM/DM has been scarcely noted. In this report, two patients with PM/DM and IPF were presented to highlight the fact that pulmonary disease can overshadow the primary muscle disorder and progress despite therapy with corticosteroids and nonsteroidal immunosuppression. Our patients were added to previously reported cases and an overview of PM/DM and IPF was presented. Sixty-seven patients with the diagnosis of PM/DM and IPF, with a mean age of 60 +/- 18 years, were identified. Pulmonary complaints were present in 64 cases. Fever was present in 18, arthritis or arthralgias in 11, and Raynaud's phenomenon in 9. Forty percent died after followup of 31 +/- 32 months. This mortality was significantly higher (P less than .05) than that in 745 historical controls with PM/DM without IPF. Progressive IPF was the immediate cause of death in 58% of those who died. A subgroup of 29 patients who had histologic documentation of both myositis and IPF had a mortality of 62% after 22 +/- 25 months. In this latter group, six patients had RP; five of these died. Patients who were not treated with corticosteroids also appeared to fare worse but, given the small number of patients involved, definite conclusions cannot be drawn. We conclude that patients with PM/DM can be adversely affected by the presence of IPF and that this negative impact may be exaggerated by RP and perhaps by lack of treatment.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

The frequency of vitamin D deficiency in adults with Crohn's disease.

BACKGROUND: Vitamin D deficiency is a putative, pathogenic cofactor in the increase in osteopenia and osteoporosis seen in patients with Crohn's disease. OBJECTIVE: To determine the frequency of low serum 25-hydroxy-vitamin D3 (25-OHD) levels and the associated alterations in bone mineral density in a cohort of adults with Crohn's disease. METHODS: 25-OHD levels were determined in 242 consecutive patients with Crohn's disease seen in two tertiary inflammatory bowel disease referral centres. Bone mineral density was assessed by dual energy x-ray absorptiometry. RESULTS: Nineteen (8%) patients exhibited vitamin D deficiency (25-OHD less than 25 nmol/L) and 52 (22%) patients exhibited vitamin D insufficiency (25-OHD less than 40 nmol/L). Mean T-scores at the lumbar spine, femoral neck, total hip and ultradistal radius in the group with low 25-OHD did not differ from those of the normal 25-OHD group. Serum alkaline phosphatase and parathyroid hormone levels were higher in the low 25-OHD group than in the normal group. Decreased red blood cell (RBC) folate predicted low 25-OHD in male patients, while smoking, RBC folate and serum iron predicted low 25-OHD in female patients. The rate of low 25-OHD deficiency in the winter was significantly higher than that in the summer (11.9% versus 2.8%, respectively). CONCLUSION: Vitamin D-deficient Crohn's disease patients exhibit biochemical evidence of metabolic bone disease, without detectable differences in bone mineral density. Sunlight exposure, nutrition and smoking status were predictors of vitamin D deficiency in this patient cohort.     

Computed tomographic findings in cerebral toxoplasmosis in adults

The clinical and computerized tomographic (CT) findings in 10 patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis are reviewed. All patients with cerebral toxoplasmosis were homosexuals and/or intravenous drug users, and all patients had other manifestations of AIDS. Two presented with focal seizures, 4 presented with focal neurological deficit which progressively worsened, and 4 had evidence of diffuse neurological dysfunction (altered consciousness, generalized seizures). CT showed a single lesion in 3 patients and multiple lesions in 7 patients. Two patients had hypodense nonenhancing lesions(s). Eight patients had hypodense lesions with peripheral or nodular enhancement. The lesions were more commonly located in the cerebral hemispheres and subcortical gray matter nuclear masses (thalamus, basal ganglia). The finding of a hypodense lesion with a central slightly hyperdense noncalcified region that showed dense nodular homogeneous enhancement was quite characteristic of cerebral toxoplasmosis, but this pattern may also be seen in other neurological conditions including brain lymphomas.