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Biomedical subjects

A Pearson

Publications and source records attributed to A Pearson.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2001

Intensive care nurses' experiences of caring for brain dead organ donor patients.

This study was designed to identify the feelings and experiences of critical care nurses who have been involved in nursing brain dead patients prior to organ donation. The purpose of the study was to generate knowledge which informs the discipline of nursing. A number of themes relating to nurses' experiences of caring for brain dead organ donor patients were uncovered in this interpretative study. Overall, caring for patients who are diagnosed as brain dead is a challenging experience for nurses and they are intensely involved in a search for meaning in each event. The interpretative analysis in this study has revealed a range of meanings articulated by the nurses involved. However, the primary focus of care--as identified by the participating nurses--was the donor family.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

Systematic reviews: gatekeepers of nursing knowledge.

The past few decades have seen a considerable increase in the number of available health care products and interventions. This growth has been matched by a similar expansion in the health care literature. As a result of these factors, the demand for evidence to support practice is growing, but finding the best evidence is becoming increasingly difficult. In response, the use of systematic reviews is increasing and they are starting to replace the primary research as the basis for health care decisions. To date, these reviews have focused predominantly on effectiveness and so have been limited to randomized controlled trials. As a result of this, the interpretive, observational and descriptive research methods that are utilized by nursing have commonly been either excluded from the review or are classified as 'low level' evidence. To address this, nursing must participate in the development of systematic review methods that better answer the questions posed by the profession.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2001

Contemporary nurses' uniforms---history and traditions.

This paper explores the literature related to the history and traditions of contemporary nurses' uniforms. It also presents the views of nurses about uniforms following the abandonment of a prescribed uniform for nurses working in a Professorial Nursing Unit in a large Hospital in Victoria. The literature dealing with the question of uniforms focuses on professionalism, status and power, infection control, identity, modesty, symbolism and occupational health and safety. The nurses who participated in the study expressed many of these themes.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed2001

Impact of rural living on the experience of chronic illness.

This paper concentrates on the specific impact that living in rural Australia has on the experience of chronic illness, and draws on data collected in a larger phenomenological study. Eighteen rural Australians in New South Wales described their experiences and referred particularly to issues that related to their rural context. A secondary analysis of the data revealed three sub-themes related to the concept of rural, choice of doctor, travelling and life style. The shortfalls in service identified by these participants deserves further investigation and could become fertile ground for an expanded nursing service.

Chronic Disease↗
PubMed2001

Functional similarity between electrograms recorded from an implantable cardioverter defibrillator emulator and the surface electrocardiogram.

Clinical use of stored electrogram (EGM) configurations currently used in ICDs is limited. The hypothesis that EGMs recorded from electrodes on the ICD surface may improve diagnostic capabilities of the device was tested in the present study. The Buttons on Active Can Emulator (BACE), an ICD-sized device containing four button electrodes, was temporarily placed into a subcutaneous or submuscular left pectoral pocket in 16 patients during ICD implantation. Simultaneous recordings were obtained from the ECG lead II, bipolar EGMs using BACE electrodes, and a bipolar atrial EGM during sinus rhythm (SR), ventricular pacing (VP) at cycle lengths of 500 and 400 ms, and VT. Visible P waves were present in all patients during SR (n = 15), in 5 (33%) of 15 patients during VP, and none of the patients during VT (n = 4) using BACE EGMs and lead II. P and QRS amplitudes and the P:QRS ratio during SR in BACE EGMs were significantly lower than those in lead II. BACE EGMs showed prominent changes in QRS morphology and duration during VP and VT compared to SR, and the magnitude of QRS prolongation during VP was similar to that in lead II. Measurements of PR, QRS, and QT duration during SR showed good agreement between BACE EGMs and lead II. In conclusion, EGMs recorded from electrodes embedded on the ICD housing may potentially improve visual discrimination between supraventricular and ventricular arrhythmias. They also may be useful as a surrogate of the ECG for analysis and monitoring of different components of P-QRS-T complex.

Defibrillators, Implantable↗
PubMed2001

An assessment of the potential value of endoscopic ultrasound as a cost-minimizing tool in dyspeptic patients with persistent symptoms.

STUDY AIMS: To quantify resource utilization in dyspeptic patients with persistent symptoms and to determine whether using both the endoscopic and ultrasound capabilities of endoscopic ultrasound could reduce costs. METHODS: Consecutive patients with persistent dyspepsia, after a minimum 1-month trial of acid suppression, underwent endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) and upper endoscopy using the GF-UM20 echo endoscope. Assuming EUS could replace imaging tests which had been requested in addition to upper endoscopy, the hypothetical costs of the EUS-based and upper endoscopy-based strategies were compared. RESULTS: 116 patients with persistent dyspepsia underwent EUS, of whom 64.6 % had > or = 2 imaging procedures, most commonly computed tomography (CT) (70.6 %) and abdominal ultrasound (64.7 %). The number of tests did not correlate strongly with any demographic variables. The fiberoptic echo endoscope provided an adequate endoscopic and ultrasound examination but was damaged by retroflexion. Direct hospital costs were lowest for the EUS-based strategy. Total avoidable cost for 116 patients was $ 4137 to $ 14 121 (or $ 36 to $ 122 per patient), depending on whether upper endoscopy was performed in the non-EUS strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with persistent dyspepsia may undergo multiple abdominal imaging procedures. Clinical variables do not predict the need for additional testing. An EUS-based strategy may reduce overall costs if it prevents additional testing.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMed2001

Effect of increased intracellular melanin concentration on survival of human melanoma cells exposed to different wavelengths of UV radiation.

PURPOSE: To investigate the effect of intracellular melanin content on cell survival of G361 human melanoma cells following exposure to UV radiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Cells were cultured in medium containing elevated concentrations of L tyrosine phosphate and L glutamine to increase their melanin content. Cell survival was assessed by colony-forming ability in treated and untreated cells following exposure to 254 nm germicidal UVC radiation (0-60 J m(-2)), 311 nm UVB radiation (0-5 kJ m(-2)), or broadband UVA radiation (Sellamed 4000, maximum output between 350 and 450 nm) (0-1.2 MJ m(-2)). RESULTS: Treated cells, with a 2-fold increase in total melanin concentration and an increased ratio of eumelanin to pheomelanin, were marginally more resistant than untreated control cells to cell killing by 311 nm UVB radiation, but treatment had no effect on killing by germicidal UVC or broadband UVA radiation. CONCLUSIONS: There was no evidence of any photosensitizing effect of increased melanin on human melanoma cell survival following exposure to UVC, UVB or broadband UVA radiation. The slight protective effect seen following exposure to UVB radiation may have been due to increased scavenging of reactive-oxygen species, particularly by eumelanin, at this wavelength.

Cell Survival↗
PubMed2000

c-Jun promotes neurite outgrowth and survival in PC12 cells.

We investigated the function of c-Jun in PC12 cells by transfecting them with a plasmid containing a c-Jun cDNA transcription cassette. Transfected cells expressed high levels of c-Jun mRNA and protein and demonstrated an increase in both AP-1 DNA binding and gene activation. The c-Jun over-expressing cells showed marked neurite outgrowth but no evidence of spontaneous cell death. In fact, c-Jun over-expressing cells were more resistant to okadaic acid-induced apoptosis. The process outgrowth was not indicative of a full neuronal differentiation response as the transfected PC12 cells did not display action potentials when examined with whole-cell patch-clamping. The phosphorylation of c-Jun on serine 73 appears to be important for this neurite sprouting effect as mutagenesis at this site reduced sprouting whereas a serine 63 mutant tended to increase sprouting. Thus, in PC12 cells c-Jun expression does not induce apoptosis, but rather functions as a neurite outgrowth and neuronal survival signal.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2000

A receptor for phosphatidylserine-specific clearance of apoptotic cells.

cytosis of cellular corpses. During apoptosis, the asymmetry of plasma membrane phospholipids is lost, which exposes phosphatidylserine externally. The phagocytosis of apoptotic cells can be inhibited stereospecifically by phosphatidylserine and its structural analogues, but not by other anionic phospholipids, suggesting that phosphatidylserine is specifically recognized. Using phage display, we have cloned a gene that appears to recognize phosphatidylserine on apoptotic cells. Here we show that this gene, when transfected into B and T lymphocytes, enables them to recognize and engulf apoptotic cells in a phosphatidylserine-specific manner. Flow cytometric analysis using a monoclonal antibody suggested that the protein is expressed on the surface of macrophages, fibroblasts and epithelial cells; this antibody, like phosphatidylserine liposomes, inhibited the phagocytosis of apoptotic cells and, in macrophages, induced an anti-inflammatory state. This candidate phosphatidylserine receptor is highly homologous to genes of unknown function in Caenorhabditis elegans and Drosophila melanogaster, suggesting that phosphatidylserine recognition on apoptotic cells during their removal by phagocytes is highly conserved throughout phylogeny.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Prevalence and treatment of pressure ulcers in northern New South Wales.

This paper reports on a small, cross-sectional study of 18 hospitals in northern New South Wales. The objectives of this study were to collect baseline data on: (i) the prevalence and type of pressure ulcers in a variety of rural hospitals; and (ii) the range of nursing and medical interventions that are used to prevent/treat pressure ulcers. Using a cross-sectional design, the study found that pressure ulcer prevalence, which was 6%, was within the range found by previous reports (4-15%). Pressure ulcer prevention and treatment practices were varied, ranging from turning of the patient and occlusive dressings, to such creative methods as exposure to sunshine and airing the wound. This study demonstrates that despite years of attention to pressure sore prevention and treatment, the prevalence of ulcers is still a significant problem in northern New South, Wales hospitals.

Aged↗