Integrating Self Blood Pressure Monitoring Into the Routine Management of Uncontrolled Hypertension: Translating Evidence to Practice

Improving hypertension control is a public health priority and could reduce health disparities. Self blood pressure monitoring (SBPM) is effective but not widely integrated into clinical care. A pragmatic study distributing blood pressure (BP) monitors was conducted to assess its effectiveness in the management of uncontrolled hypertension under conditions consistent with clinic resources. Patients, predominantly black and Hispanic adults from clinics in low‐income, medically underserved communities with uncontrolled BP were enrolled. Follow‐up assessments were conducted 9 months after enrollment. Approximately half (53%) of the patients had controlled hypertension at follow‐up. Systolic and diastolic BP decreased by 18.7 mm Hg and 8.5 mm Hg, respectively, at follow‐up. Although attenuated, decreases persisted after adjustment for regression to the mean. Clinicians were supportive of the program, although collecting follow‐up data from enrolled patients was a common challenge. The integration of SBPM into routine management of uncontrolled hypertension demonstrated substantial improvements in control. Systems to identify and track patients who are self‐monitoring may increase impact. J Clin Hypertens (Greenwich). 2013;00:00–00. ©2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Impact of the palliative care clinical nurse specialist on patients and relatives: a stakeholder evaluation

Within the last decade, there has been a rapid expansion in the United Kingdom of clinical nurse specialists (CNSs), yet there has been limited evidence of their effectiveness. The clinical area of palliative care has one of the largest numbers of CNSs which has particularly started to escalate in the acute hospital setting. Following the Calman-Hine Report and the more recent NHS Cancer Plan, it is anticipated that the number of CNSs in palliative and cancer care is likely to grow. In light of the current policy emphasis of Clinical Governance and Clinical Effectiveness, there is an urgent need to demonstrate the contribution that CNSs make. This paper presents the qualitative findings of an evaluation study on the impact of the CNS within a palliative care team in a large acute hospital in the North-West of England. A stakeholder evaluation that encompassed tape-recorded semi-structured interviews to explore how the stakeholders saw the impact of the CNS within palliative care was performed. Twenty-seven interviews were conducted with stakeholders across the hospital setting including senior nurses, consultants, junior doctors and nurses representing the different grades. Data were analysed for emerging themes utilizing a case and cross-case analysis. The results indicated that the CNSs within palliative care in an acute hospital are seen to be potentially beneficial for both patients and relatives. This paper will focus on exploring these perceived benefits, which included symptom control, psychological care and being an advocate for patients and relatives.     

医院获得性与社区获得性耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌耐药性差异

目的对比分析某院医院获得性与社区获得性耐甲氧西林金黄色葡萄球菌(MRSA)的耐药性,为临床治疗和合理应用抗菌药物提供参考。方法收集并分析2013年5月—2014年6月某院分离的金黄色葡萄球菌,采用VITEK2 Compact全自动微生物鉴定仪及药敏系统进行鉴定和药物敏感性试验,并结合临床资料进行医院与社区获得性感染的诊断。结果共分离MRSA84株(医院获得性61株、社区获得性23株),医院获得性与社区获得性MRSA对青霉素G、苯唑西林的耐药率均为100.00%;对氨苄西林/舒巴坦的耐药率分别为100.00%和95.65%;对复方磺胺甲口恶唑的耐药率分别为39.34%和34.78%。医院获得性MRSA对庆大霉素、四环素、红霉素、克林霉素、左氧氟沙星、环丙沙星、莫西沙星、呋喃妥因、利福平的耐药率均高于社区获得性MRSA,差异均有统计学意义(均P0.001)。结论医院获得性与社区获得性MRSA的耐药性均比较严重,应加强监测,临床治疗中要根据药敏试验合理选择抗菌药物。     

火针对脑卒中偏瘫患者肢体功能的康复效果Meta分析

目的:通过Meta分析评价火针对脑卒中痉挛性偏瘫患者肢体功能康复的影响.方法:计算机检索Cochrane Library、 Medline、Web of Science、EMbase、Ovid、Pubmed、中国生物医学文献数据库、中国知网、维普数据库、万方数据库中火针对脑卒中痉挛性偏瘫患者肢体功能进行干预的随机对照试...     

Outpatient Initiation of Insulin: A Nurse Practitioner Protocol

Noninsulin dependent diabetes (type II diabetes) is a chronic disease characterized by hyperglycemia. Clients can generally be controlled by diet and exercise or a combination of diet, exercise, and oral hypoglycemic agents. When this therapy is not effective in controlling the hyperglycemia, the health care provider must choose to initiate insulin therapy. Outpatient initiation of insulin is an alternative to hospitalization in the type II diabetic client. Clinical guidelines for the initiation of insulin on an outpatient basis and management of the diabetic client are presented.     

A SURVEY OF CONCURRENT DRUG THERAPY AMONG DAY UNIT PATIENTS

SUMMARY In order to assess the reliability of drug information supplied by day-stay cases, 85 consecutive patients were interviewed. A comparison of the interview answers with the details previously volunteered during the admission procedure showed an increase of 80% in the information given by the patient. While the detailed interviewing technique is time-consuming and may not be infallible, this substantial increase in information highlights problems in the current routine.     

Autoantibodies inhibit interleukin-7-mediated proliferation and are associated with the age-dependent loss of pre-B cells in autoimmune New Zealand Black Mice

Surface IgM+B220+ B cell precursors can be categorized as either leukosialin (CD43/S7) negative (late stage pre-B cells) or positive (pro-B/early pre-B cells). In autoimmune New Zealand Black (NZB) mice, bone marrow small pre-B cells (IgM-CD43-B220+) and pro-B/early pre-B cells (IgM-CD43+B220+) declined significantly with age. In particular, subpopulations of pro-B/early pre-B cells expressing the heat stable antigen (HSA) were found in lower proportions with age. Significant decreases in interleukin-7 (IL-7) colony forming units (CFU) were also seen in NZB mice by 6 to 8 months of age and accompanied alterations in the numbers of pro-B and pre-B cells in bone marrow. Concomitant with reduced numbers of B lineage precursor cells and IL-7 CFU in vivo, NZB mice produced serum IgM antibodies that strongly inhibited IL-7 CFU responses in vitro. Two monoclonal IgM antibodies (5G9, 2F5) derived from LPS stimulated 10-month-old NZB splenocytes recognized pre-B cell surface antigens on both pre-B cell lines and on IL-7 stimulated bone marrow pro-B/pre-B cells. However, these monoclonal antibodies (MoAb) failed to significantly stain ex vivo bone marrow cells. The 5G9 and 2F5 MoAbs also partially inhibited IL-7 CFU in vitro. These results suggest that NZB bone marrow becomes increasingly deficient in B cell precursors and especially in IL-7 responsive pre-B cells with age. IgM serum antibodies and monoclonal IgM antibodies derived from older NZB mice inhibit pre-B cell growth to IL-7. The production of such autoantibodies may interfere with B cell development in aging NZB mice by preventing IL-7-mediated proliferation.