Measuring the effect of patient comfort rounds on practice environment and patient satisfaction: A pilot study

Hourly rounding in the acute hospital setting has been proposed as an intervention to increase patient satisfaction and safety, and improve the nursing practice environment, but the innovation has not been adequately tested. A quasi-experimental pretest post-test non-randomized parallel group trial design was used to test the effect of hourly patient comfort rounds on patient satisfaction and nursing perceptions of the practice environment, and to evaluate research processes and instruments for a proposed larger study. A Patient Satisfaction Survey instrument was developed and used in conjunction with the Practice Environment Scale of the Nursing Work Index. Results on patient satisfaction showed no significant changes. Significant changes were found for three of the five practice environment subscales. Consistent with the aim of a pilot study, this research has provided important information related to design, instruments and process that will inform a larger sufficiently powered study.     

The voltage-gated calcium channel CaV1.2 promotes adult oligodendrocyte progenitor cell survival in the mouse corpus callosum but not motor cortex

Throughout life, oligodendrocyte progenitor cells (OPCs) proliferate and differentiate into myelinating oligodendrocytes. OPCs express cell surface receptors and channels that allow them to detect and respond to neuronal activity, including voltage-gated calcium channel (VGCC)s. The major L-type VGCC expressed by developmental OPCs, CaV1.2, regulates their differentiation. However, it is unclear whether CaV1.2 similarly influences OPC behavior in the healthy adult central nervous system (CNS). To examine the role of CaV1.2 in adulthood, we conditionally deleted this channel from OPCs by administering tamoxifen to P60 Cacna1c ^fl/fl (control) and Pdgfrα-CreER:: Cacna1c ^fl/fl (CaV1.2-deleted) mice. Whole cell patch clamp analysis revealed that CaV1.2 deletion reduced L-type voltage-gated calcium entry into adult OPCs by ~60%, confirming that it remains the major L-type VGCC expressed by OPCs in adulthood. The conditional deletion of CaV1.2 from adult OPCs significantly increased their proliferation but did not affect the number of new oligodendrocytes produced or influence the length or number of internodes they elaborated. Unexpectedly, CaV1.2 deletion resulted in the dramatic loss of OPCs from the corpus callosum, such that 7 days after tamoxifen administration CaV1.2-deleted mice had an OPC density ~42% that of control mice. OPC density recovered within 2 weeks of CaV1.2 deletion, as the lost OPCs were replaced by surviving CaV1.2-deleted OPCs. As OPC density was not affected in the motor cortex or spinal cord, we conclude that calcium entry through CaV1.2 is a critical survival signal for a subpopulation of callosal OPCs but not for all OPCs in the mature CNS.     

Optical absorption and scattering of bovine cornea,lens and retina in the visible region

Optical properties of bovine ocular tissues were determined at laser wavelengths in the visible region. The inverse adding doubling (IAD), Kubelka–Munk (KM), and inverse Monte Carlo (IMC) methods were applied to the measured values of the total diffuse transmission, total diffuse reflection, and collimated transmission to determine the optical absorption and scattering coefficients of the bovine cornea, lens and retina at 457.9 nm, 488 nm, and 514.5 nm laser lines from an argon ion laser. The optical properties obtained from these three methods were compared, and their validity is discussed.     

Is hyperbilirubinaemia in appendicitis a better predictor of perforation than C-reactive protein? — a prospective study

Purpose  

To compare the performance for the prediction of perforated appendicitis of total bilirubin versus C-reactive protein (CRP), white blood cell count, the time period of symptoms’ evolution, and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS).     

Indications for catheter ablation and results in Andalusia,Spain

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: We report the results of the first Catheter Ablation Registry of the Arrhythmia Working Group of the Andalusian Society of Cardiology (AWGASC) for 2000. METHODS: The register includes information about the ablation procedures performed in 2000, which was collected retrospectively and submitted voluntarily by four out of six cardiac electrophysiology laboratories of the AWGASC. A total of 424 patients (mean age 45 18 years; 50% men) were included. Twelve patients underwent two different ablation procedures, bringing the total number of procedures to 436. The overall success rate (based on current criteria), success rate by procedure, in-hospital mortality, and major complications are reported. RESULTS: The type and distribution of the ablation procedures were atrioventricular nodal re-entry tachycardia ablation, 34%; accessory pathway ablation, 39%; ventricular tachycardia ablation, 8%; atrial tachycardia ablation, 3%; atrioventricular junctional ablation, 9%, and cavo-tricuspid isthmus ablation, 9%. The overall success rate was 94% (range 97.8% to 87.4% in different laboratories), rate of major complications 1.1% (range 0% to 3.7%), and overall mortality 0.23% (1 patient). CONCLUSIONS: These findings summarize the indications and results of catheter ablation procedures performed in 2000 at four cardiac electrophysiology laboratories in Andalusia. This is the first multicenter registry in Spain.