Analysis of the circumstances at the end of life in children with cancer: Symptoms, suffering and acceptance

BACKGROUND: In an effort to improve the quality of life of children with cancer, this study analyzes the signs and symptoms at the end of life in such children. It is hoped that these data will contribute to the development of appropriate programs to address the challenges faced by these children. PROCEDURE: Between 1994 and 2000, 28 children died after treatment for cancer at Hamamatsu University Hospital, Japan. The circumstances, signs and symptoms at the end of life of these children were analyzed through their medical records. RESULTS: Of the 28 children, the underlying diseases were leukemia/lymphoma (LL group; n=11), brain tumors (BT group; n=7), and other solid tumors (OST group; n=10). Records showed poor appetite (100%), dyspnea (82.1%), pain (75.0%), fatigue (71.4%), nausea/vomiting (57.1%), constipation (46.4%) and diarrhea (21.4%) among these children. Anxiety was reported in 53.6% of the entire group of 28 children; however, no child in the BT group manifested anxiety. However, disturbance of consciousness was reported in all children in the BT group, which was significantly greater than in the other groups. Awareness, fear or acceptance of the imminence of his/her own death as indicated by verbal expression was reported in nine children (32.1%). CONCLUSIONS: Using the data obtained in the present study, we describe situations faced in the terminal care of children. It is important to address the problems revealed by this analysis in order to achieve improvements in both the physical and psychological care of children with terminal cancer.     

宁波普通高中教师职业压力、社会支持与亚健康躯体症状的典型相关分析

目的 探讨宁波市普通高中的教师心理压力,社会支持与亚健康状态的相关关系.方法 采用职业压力问卷、社会支持量表与亚健康躯体症状自评量表对随机抽取的128名宁波市普通高中教师进行相关关系分析.结果 当存在社会支持变量时,2组变量的典型相关系数达0.563,0.471( P <0.01).职业压力的增大与社会支持水平的减少都将导致教师亚健康躯体症状的增多.当撤去社会支持变量后,典型相关系数为0.497( P <0.01).典型变量ξ中"考试压力","工作负荷"与"职业期望"的因子负载分别增大为0.801,0.855,0.726.典型变量η中的"疲劳感觉"与"睡眠障碍"的因子负载分别增大为0.774,0.859.结论 社会支持水平在职业压力与亚健康躯体症状之间可能具有中介调节作用.     

普外科住院患者营养状况评价

目的　调查本院 2 0 0 2～ 2 0 0 3年间普外科住院患者的营养状况。方法　采用多项营养评价指标测定 4 0 12例非急诊住院患者营养状况 ,分析年龄、疾病等因素与营养状况之间关系。结果　各项指标进行营养评价得出本院普外科非急诊患者营养不良的发生率分别是 :BMI 2 1 3% ,TSF5 0 6 % ,MAC 2 0 5 % ,AMC 2 1 2 % ,SGA 38 0 % ,MNA 2 0 8% ,ALB 2 4 2 % ,PA 35 4 % ,TLC 5 5 8%。 >6 0岁组老年患者、消化道疾病患者及恶性肿瘤患者营养不良发生率分别高于≤ 6 0岁患者、消化道外疾病患者及良性疾病患者 ,差异有显著性 (P <0 0 5 )。结论　本院普外科住院患者的营养不良发生率为 2 0 5 %～ 5 5 8% ,不同的营养评价指标得出的营养不良发生率不同。     

Caring for the patient with fibromyalgia: the rehabilitation nurse's role.

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a chronic, potentially disabling, cluster of symptoms that manifests as pain for 3 months or more and pain with pressure on 11 of 18 tender points throughout the body. Because there is no known cause, and therefore, no cure, treatment focuses on the control or relief of symptoms. Many patients are referred to rehabilitation settings for physical or exercise therapy. While exercise is helpful in the control of the pain, stiffness, fatigue, sleep disorders, and mood changes, a holistic approach to treatment is more effective. Rehabilitation nurses provide major support for patients with FM. Validation of the patients' experiences is essential for achieving quality of life. Many patients have a history of being undertreated because of a lack of credibility and invisibility of the illness. This article provides background information about FM, summarizes the FM trajectory, reviews approaches to management, and discusses the role of rehabilitation nurses in a holistic approach to care of clients with FM.     

两种不同方法测定低水平压力支持通气时气道阻断压与自主呼吸时常规方法测定值的相关性分析

目的 拟比较以两种不同方法测定低水平压力支持通气（pressure support ventilation，PSV）病人的气道阻断压（P0．1）与自主呼吸时常规方法测定值的相关性。方法 12例机械通气病人，断开呼吸机自主呼吸时以常规方法测定P0．1得到P0．1-SB：在PSV水平为5cmH20，以常规方法和按压呼气末暂停键测定P0．1分别得到P0．1-PSV5和P0．1-PSV5eeo．分析后二者与前者之间的相关性。结果 P0．1-SB与P0．1-PSV5之间差异无显著性，P0．1-PSV5ee0分别小于P0．1-SB与P0．1-PSV5，差异有显著性；P0．1-PSV5eeo与P0．1-PSV5和P0．1-SB之间的相关系数均为0．97。结论 按压呼气末暂停键测定PSV水平为5cmH2O的P0．1值与常规方法测定的PSV水平为5cmH2O以及自主呼吸时的测定值相比，其值偏小,但前者与后二者之间具有良好的相关性。     

Drug Education: Supporting Parents to Support Children

Such research evidence as exists on effective drug strategies in prevention and education draws attention to the importance of involving parents along with other community agencies and school governors. Much depends nevertheless on the way in which 'involvement' is interpreted and the assumptions that are made about parents' knowledge of drugs and drug education as well as their attitudes to drug issues. As the age of initial experimentation and contact with drugs continues to fall, the importance of enskilling parents to support drug education programmes for 5 year olds and upwards continues to rise. This paper reports the first wide ranging survey of parents' knowledge of drugs and drug issues across an entire English county embracing younger as well as older children. The need for more coordinated, informed and systematic guidance to parents is established.     

Elements of psychological support in nursing care

The paper presents the results of a pilot study which involved 50 nurses from several departments of internal medicine of The State Clinical Hospital of the Collegium Medicum, Jagiellonian University in Cracow. The results are based on the Statement Response Questionnaire. They show that the most common responses of the nurses in the face of anxiety expressed by patients are cheering up the patient, collecting information about the symptom, and offering explanation of the symptom. The least common responses included expressing one's own positive emotions and showing empathy towards the patient.     

同伴支持、父母支持和青少年自我价值感初探

目的：探讨实际的同伴支持、感知到的同伴支持、感知到的父母支持、对同伴支持的重要性评价、对父母支持的重要性评价和自我价值感之间的关系。同时也考察了青少年的同伴接受性。方法：用社会测量法和自我报告法对285名青少年进行集体测试。结果：①社会测量法表明青少年也可以被分为受欢迎的、被拒绝的、被忽略的、和有争议的；②感知到的同伴／父母支持和自我价值感之间存在显著正相关；高低实际同伴支持两组被试在感知到的同伴支持上存在显著差异。但在自我价值感上不存在显著差异；（固在所有被试中，只有对初三学生来说，对同伴／父母支持的重要性评价在感知到的同伴／父母支持和自我价值感之间起到调节作用。结论：感知到的同伴／父母支持可以用来预测青少年的自我价值感：对初三学生来说，对同伴／父母支持的重要性评价可以在感知到的同伴／父母支持和自我价值感之间起到调节作用。