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Biomedical subjects

D G Ross

Publications and source records attributed to D G Ross.

68 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Rejection of prospective blood donors due to systematic errors in hematocrit measurement.

Following a change from earstick to fingerstick hemoglobin estimations, donor deferrals increased from 8.8% to 13.6%. Coincident with the change to fingersticks, hematocrit measurement with miniature centrifuges was begun as the reference method to verify donor rejection by the copper sulfate test. A study of 525 donors deferred for fingerstick hematocrits showed that 46.7% were deferred inappropriately as determined by venous hematocrit measurements. The difference between fingerstick and venous hematocrits persisted even after an intensive staff inservice on technique. In further studies, no significant difference was found between venous and fingerstick hematocrits measured on the same centrifuge, but there was a significant difference between measurements on the miniature centrifuges versus a standard laboratory microhematocrit centrifuge. This small error resulted in the loss of 3.8% of presenting donors during the study period. Hematocrit measurements have now been replaced by a fingerstick cyanmethemoglobin method.

Blood Donors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Subjective data related to altered bowel elimination patterns among hospitalized elder and middle-aged persons.

This exploratory study reports subjective data about bowel elimination pattern(s) (BEP) for elders admitted to an acute care hospital. This sample of a population from northern New England (n = 303) was collected from a small rural hospital and a large university hospital. A comparison group of 149 middle-aged subjects (40 to 64 years) was used to highlight responses of the elders (> or = 65 years). Data were collected through interviews and questionnaires and analyzed via content analysis. More than twice as many elders as middle-aged subjects reported a regular bowel habit as important to health. Significant changes in BEP were found to occur in both hospitalized elders and middle-aged subjects. Nurses need to pay careful attention to the BEP of these patients. Nurses should actively investigate BEP of subjects with increased risk and intervene with patient education or appropriate therapy as needed.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Altered bowel elimination patterns among hospitalized elderly and middle-aged persons: quantitative results.

Changes in bowel elimination patterns (BEP) for elders admitted to an acute care hospital is essentially unknown. This exploratory study compared a group of 154 elderly with 149 middle-aged subjects from two northern New England hospitals. Interviews, diaries, questionnaires, chart reviews, the Nagley VAS for Confusion, Katz Index of ADL and MEDISGRPS were used in data collection. Analysis included descriptive statistics, t-tests, and multiple regression. During hospitalization, the BEP of both groups changed significantly, but there was no difference between groups on the degree of change. Multiple regression analysis was used to examine the effects of diet and activity on degree of change in BEP while controlling for effects of gender, severity of illness, functional status, and cognitive status; producing a significant coefficient for only the elderly subjects (R2 = .13, p, .01). Therefore, these results support the supposition that activity and diet play a greater role in changes in BEP for elderly patients than middle-aged patients admitted to an acute care hospital.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Corticosteroids and anterior cruciate ligament repair.

A two group (N = 62) historical comparative design was used to study patients undergoing ACL repair. This retrospective study examined the effect of corticosteroids on analgesic use during hospitalization, the length of hospitalization, and the 1st day of ambulation. Thirty-one ACL repair patients receiving a standard protocol of intravenous intraoperative and oral postoperative corticosteroids (experimental group) were compared to 31 similarly aged ACL repair patients who received similar surgical repair and medical therapy but no steroids (control group). Patients with chronic disease or current steroid use were not included in the study. Even though the experimental group had a higher incidence of coincidental injuries of the knee (meniscal and/or collateral ligament injuries), the group used 50% less analgesics while hospitalized (means = 14.19 doses) than the control group (means = 21.29). Similarly, the experimental group had a length of stay 59% less long (means = 3.61 days versus means = 5.74 days) and ambulated 38% more quickly (means = 1.93 days versus means = 2.67 days) than the control group. No differences were noted between groups in incidence of postoperative infection or problems with wound healing after a 1 year followup.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Paget's disease.

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Combined Modality Therapy↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Chronic compartment syndrome.

Chronic compartment syndrome (CCS) is a possible explanation of leg pain in the exercising patient. This review article provides background information on CCS, focusing on its most frequent site of occurrence, i.e., the lower leg. Clinical history, diagnosis, compartmental tissue pressure measurement, conservative therapy, surgical intervention, postoperative nursing care and rehabilitation are discussed.

Chronic Disease↗