Safety and tolerability of Kinesio<Superscript>®</Superscript> Taping in patients with arm lymphedema: medical device clinical study

Purpose

The aim of this study is to assess the safety and tolerability of Kinesio^® Taping (KT) in patients with arm lymphedema.

Method

Medical device clinical study in women with arm lymphedema. Kinesio^® Tex Gold bandage was applied by the KT technique. Assessments and interviews were carried out both at the beginning and 4 days after intervention. Skin disorders, reported tolerance and modification of limb volume and function after intervention were assessed. Changes in limb volume and functionality before and after intervention were compared by the Student’s t test and the Wilcoxon Signed-Rank test, considering significant p value <0.05.

Results

Twenty-four women were studied. After intervention, no patient had cutaneous lesions, vesicle or limb hyperthermia, and 4.2 % presented skin peeling and redness. Most patients reported no change in social life and that they felt safer in the daily activity and were very pleased with the treatment. The patients presented improvement of upper limb functionality after intervention (p?<?0.001). No difference of limb volume was found after intervention (p?=?0.639).

Conclusions

Kinesio^® Tex Gold bandage by the KT technique proved to be safe and tolerable in patients with lymphedema, with improved functionality and no change of the affected limb volume.

     

An exploration of four web-based open and flexible learning modules in post-registration nurse education

This paper presents an exploratory evaluation of four newly developed web-based modules for post-registration nurses. The topics for the modules were: dermatology; diabetes; mentorship; and prescribing. STUDY OBJECTIVE: To explore the students' perceptions of the web-based modules before and after completing the modules. DESIGN: A pre-post test design using questionnaires and group interviews. PARTICIPANTS: 39 students enrolled on the modules, pre-module data were collected on 74% (n = 29) and post-module data on 71% (n = 28). None of students had previous web-based education experience. 79% (n = 31) completed and 66% (n = 26) passed the modules. Students level of IT skills prior to commencing the modules were important in explaining module completion and outcome. The modules were rated highly in terms of achieving learning outcomes with moderate ratings for level of support and utility of learning materials. The content analysis of the interviews highlighted the importance of preparing students ensuring they have the IT and independent learning skills necessary to participate in web-based learning programmes, together with a number of issues relating to the accessibility of the learning materials. The perceived benefits of this mode of learning were that they offered flexible and resource rich learning. The downside was that the learning can be isolating. CONCLUSIONS: This form of learning may not be suited to all groups of nurses or all educational topics. Further research is required to establish the educational benefits of different approaches to e-learning.     

Providing residential care to older Australians: issues for registered nurses

Contemporary nursing in residential aged care facilities poses many challenges. Issues impacting on registered nurses providing care to older Australians living in residential aged care settings are explored and described in this paper. Five broad themes emerged from the analysis of thirty interviews with Registered Nurses, eleven focus groups with participants who worked with registered nurses in the residential aged care facilities selected in the sample, and five nominal groups which consisted of key stakeholders from the aged care industry and professional nursing forums. These themes were: a changing and increasingly complex role; perceptions of the registered nurse in residential aged care and how to deal with them; the need for strategies to work with others; coping with the everyday demands; and dealing with a sense of powerlessness and lack of control. The identified themes form the basis of the discussion to follow.     

Increased serum maternal levels of the HER2 oncoprotein p105 ectodomain in preeclampsia.

HER2/ERBB2 protein is a 185 kDa transmembrane growth factor receptor whose extracellular domain, a 105 kDa fragment (p105), can be released from cell surfaces by proteolytic cleavage. The aim of our study was to compare serum p105 concentrations in normal and pathological pregnancies and to determine whether any correlation exists between preeclampsia and p105 levels. Serum p105 was assayed in 96 non-pregnant women and 89 pregnant women (26 normotensive, 14 normotensive with a history of preeclampsia or fetal hypotrophy, 10 with chronic hypertension, 10 with gestational hypertension and 29 with preeclampsia). Median serum p105 levels (median; 95% confidence interval) were higher in the preeclampsia group (13.9 microg/l; 12.8-16.1 microg/l) than in the normotensive (11.7 microg/l; 10.6-13.3 microg/l; p < 0.05) or non-pregnant groups (9.3 microg/l; 8.9-9.6 microg/l; p < 0.001). There were no significant differences between the other pregnancy groups. In the normotensive group, serum p105 was correlated with the number of gestations (r = 0.46; p < 0.05), parity (r = 0.39; p < 0.05) and placenta weight (r = 0.61; p < 0.05). In preeclamptic women, serum p105 correlated with parity (r = 0.46; p < 0.05). Serum p105 concentrations above 11.9 microg/l were associated with a high odds ratio (OR) for onset of preeclampsia (after adjustment for parity OR = 9.0; 95% CI = 2.3-36.0; p < 0.005). Preeclampsia is associated with increased serum p105 concentrations, which may be related to increased fetomaternal cell traffic.     

Nursing, healthcare, and culture: a view of the year 2050 from Germany and the United kingdom

This column presents a dialogue with German nurse scholar Gerd Bekel and United Kingdom nurse scholars, Francis C. Biley and Kirstin Fragemann, who share their respective visions and understanding of each country's vision of nursing, healthcare, and quality of life in the year 2050.     

Systematic review and meta-analysis of primary healthcare interventions on health actions in people with intellectual disability

Background People with intellectual disability have substantially more unidentified health needs than the general population. We systematically reviewed the effectiveness of primary healthcare interventions intended to increase health actions for people with intellectual disability.

Methods Electronic databases were searched on 16 September 2014. Randomised and non-randomised studies with a concurrent control group were identified. Study quality was assessed and, where possible, meta-analysis was undertaken.

Results Five studies (3 randomised controlled trials, 1 matched cohort study, and 1 cohort study) with a total of 1,570 participants were included. General practitioner-led health checks were the most effective intervention and resulted in significantly more clinical activities, such as vision testing (risk ratio [RR]?=?3.3, 95% CI [2.3, 4.7]) and hepatitis B vaccinations (RR?=?2.4, 95% CI [1.7, 3.4]).

Conclusions Health checks were the only intervention to significantly increase short-term health promotion and disease prevention activity. The long-term effect of any intervention remains unknown.