Significant others benefit from preoperative information

Little attention has been given to the preparation of the patient's family prior to surgery, even though nurses' clinical experience suggests that family members are often more anxious than the patient. This study explored the knowledge and anxiety of spouses and significant others of patients preparing for cardiac surgery. The subjects were selected by convenience from a preoperative class offered at the hospital where surgery was to occur. Before and after the class, the subjects completed a cardiac-surgery knowledge test and an anxiety test. The significant others were significantly more anxious than the patients prior to the class. The anxiety level of significant others was significantly reduced after the class. There were no statistically significant differences between patients and significant others on the cardiac-surgery knowledge test. These results suggest that significant others may benefit from preoperative instruction.     

脱氢氯甲睾酮人体内代谢研究

本文叙述了用GC-MS联用技术研究脱氢氯甲睾酮人体内代谢的方法。尿样中的甾体化合物经大孔树脂吸附提取后,酶解。浓缩并衍生化,进行GC-MS分析。在服药后8～30h的尿样中,检出了脱氢氯甲睾酮原型,并发现了七个代谢产物。分析色谱和质谱数据,得到了这些代谢物的结构及其浓度变化趋势,推测了脱氢氯甲睾酮可能的体内代谢模式,确定了筛检尿中脱氢氯甲睾酮的特定代谢物和特征检测离子,比较了不同的样品处理方法对分析结果的影响。     

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Neurodevelopmental Approach

TOPIC. Attention-deficitlhyperactivity disorder is frequently overdiagnosed when a complete evaluation by a knowledgeable clinician is not undertaken. Because of the recent negative media campaign regarding psychos t im ulan t medication, it becomes more imperative that a thorough and accurate evaluation be completed before starting children and adolescents on psychostimulant medications.
PURPOSE. To describe the neurodevelopmental perspective in the assessment and treatment of ADHD.
SOURCES. Published literature and clinical experience.
CONCLUSION. It is useful in practice to conceptualize the dmelopmental path of children with ADHD not as disordered but as delayed, and to build on each child's strengths. The neurodmeloprnental approach provides the child psychiatric nurse a child-focused framework for assessment and development of individualized interventions.     

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in Children: Controversies and Unresolved Issues

TOPIC: Questions regarding how severely traumatized children may meet diagnostic criteria for an accurate diagnosis of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), the comorbidity of PTSD with many other psychiatric illnesses, and the possibility that PTSD is not a valid diagnostic formulation as it has been applied to children and adolescents demonstrate that the currently held concept of PTSD may not be operationally sound. PURPOSE: To explore recent empirical studies to demonstrate the current state of controversy and postulate future direction of the conceptual framework. SOURCES: Selected published literature. CONCLUSIONS: PTSD in children and adolescents, as it is popularly understood as a conceptual framework, is found to be undergoing a conceptual metamorphosis.     

Adjustment Difficulties of Adolescents With Sickle Cell Disease

TOPIC: The psychosocialfactors that affect adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD). PURPOSE: To explore whether specific psychosocial factors can provide clues to the future adjustment of this population. SOURCES: Ovid Web, Medline, Psychinfo, and CINAHL databases for the years 1997 to 2001. CONCLUSIONS: Promoting effective psychosocial functioning is as important as managing the medical aspects of SCD, yet this is an area of care that is commonly overlooked. Nurses, therefore, have an opportunity to have a significant impact on the lives of adolescents with SCD if they intervene in ways to promote both biological and psychosocial adjustment.