Shaping nursing practice through research-based protocols.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to E Carter.
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PURPOSE: To determine whether intravenously administered theophylline, when added to frequently nebulized albuterol and intravenously administered methylprednisolone, benefits children hospitalized with severe asthma. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, double-blind study. SETTING: Inpatient pediatric service at a tertiary-care teaching hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-one children 5 to 18 years of age. INTERVENTIONS: All patients received 2.5 to 5.0 mg of nebulized albuterol every 20 minutes to every 6 hours, intravenously administered methylprednisolone (1 mg/kg every 6 hours), and either intravenously administered theophylline (as aminophylline) or placebo for 36 hours. Serum theophylline concentrations were maintained between 55 and 110 mumol/L (between 10 and 20 micrograms/ml) by adjusting loading doses and continuous infusion rates. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Forced expired volume in 1 second (FEV1) and clinical score were measured at 0, 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, and 36 hours after the start of each individual study. The total number of nebulizations, total albuterol dosage, adverse effects, and duration of hospital stay were recorded. Twelve children received theophylline and nine received placebo. The two groups did not differ significantly in age, sex, or baseline FEV1. In both groups, clinical score significantly improved from baseline by 12 hours, and FEV1 by 24 hours (p < 0.05). There were no significant differences between the groups in FEV1 or clinical score at any of the measured time points. There were no significant differences in rate of improvement in FEV1, total number of nebulizations, total albuterol dosage, or duration of hospital stay. Adverse effects were mild and infrequent and did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: Theophylline, at therapeutic concentrations, did not additionally benefit children hospitalized with severe asthma who were being treated frequently with nebulized albuterol and with methylprednisolone intravenously.
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This article explores the gap that currently exists between nursing research and nursing practice. The aim is to promote the conversion of new knowledge into practical innovations. Barriers to research utilization in practice settings come from both the academic and clinical arenas. Innovative models and strategies are needed to overcome these barriers. The purposes and value of research utilization and the clinical and academic strategies that facilitate research are discussed. Supporting clinical studies are provided as exemplars.
The present study examined the value of laboratory tests in predicting condom breakage for 20 lots of latex condoms which differed in age, storage history and laboratory test performance. Two-hundred-sixty-two participating U.S. couples used a total of 4589 latex condoms (mean = 229 condoms per lot, range 224-235). Breakage rates ranged from 3.5 percent for a brand new condom lot to 18.6 percent for a lot that was 81 months old at the time of the study. The statistical predictor models, separately using ultimate elongation from the tensile test, the Condom Quality Index from the airburst volume test, and the percent of condoms failing the airburst volume test as the independent variables and the condom breakage rate as the dependent variable, all appear to have a high level of accuracy in predicting condom breakage in use. The three models had correlation coefficients (R2s) of 0.81, 0.74 and 0.69, respectively. Perhaps the most unexpected result was that the age of the condom lot was the best predictor of condom breakage during use (correlation coefficient (R2) = 0.92). Although the present investigation does not provide sufficient justification to use age as the only factor for decisions on condom lot disposition, it does provide some guidance.
In addressing what constitutes nursing research in the 1990s, approaches to conducting nursing research and examples of studies are discussed in the context of historical forces. The early studies were characteristically educational in focus and quantitative by design. Nursing research has come a long way in regard to foci of the questions asked, diversity of approaches to knowledge development, and sophistication of research methods. Three approaches are described to illustrate the diversity in nursing research: quantitative, qualitative, and triangulation.
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As the nursing profession expands its unique scientific body of knowledge, it is essential that all professional nurses become capable of evaluating the scientific and clinical merits of this information generated by nursing research. Three developmental levels of research critique skills are delineated by the nurse reader's competencies: novice, intermediate, and advanced. Each developmental level is described in relation to five cognitive skills which underlie the proposed competencies: knowledge, comprehension, analysis, evaluation, and synthesis.
Anthropometric measurements of 691 white and 550 black 12-, 14-, and 16-year-old girls from three income groups, residing in the southern United States, were evaluated, Heights, weights, mid-upper arm circumferences, and arm muscle areas of 14-year-old girls were significantly higher than those of 12-year-old girls and significantly lower than those of girls 16 years of age; triceps skinfolds, arm fat areas, and body mass indexes of 12-year-olds were significantly lower than those of older subjects. Blacks had significantly higher weights, body mass indexes, and arm muscle areas than whites. Black 12-year-old girls were significantly taller than white 12-year-old girls but significantly shorter than older girls of either race; white 16-year-old girls were significantly taller than blacks of that age. Body mass indexes of black 12-year-olds and white 14-year-olds were significantly higher than those of white 12-year-olds, and significantly lower than those of black 14- and 16-year-olds. Medium-income blacks and whites of all income levels had lower (usually significantly) weights, body mass indexes, mid-upper arm circumferences, arm muscle areas, and arm fat areas than low- and high-income blacks did. Anthropometric values of white, but not of black, girls were generally similar to those reported in surveys of primarily white girls.
In order to inform decisions about nursing research and health care policy, the Council on Nursing Research of the New York State Nurses Association (NYSNA) conducted a Delphi survey to identify the priorities for nursing research in New York state. The Delphi technique is a method of eliciting judgements from experts for the purpose of short-term forecasting and planning. The survey was conducted by mail in three rounds during 1988. Round I required participants to identify three primary research priorities for the nursing profession. In Round II participants ranked the 37 most frequently identified categories from Round I. The highest 16 categories from Round II were ranked by participants in Round III to provide the final 10 nursing research priority categories for New York state. All members of the New York State Nurses Association holding a minimum of a master's degree in nursing were invited to participate. The response rates were: Round I, 34% (N = 872); Round II, 38% (N = 985); Round III 37% (N = 974). Of the 10 nursing research priority categories identified in the final round, 5 relate to nurses, 2 relate to nursing, and 3 relate to clients. None of the high-risk conditions or populations with whom nurses work appear in the top 10, and only 2 of these are ranked in the top 15 priority categories. These priority categories will be used by the NYSNA Council on Nursing Research to influence its future agenda and activities. They can be used by the nursing profession and others for planning, policy making, and establishing nursing research funding priorities.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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Blood pressure levels, anthropometric parameters, and dietary intakes were assessed in 1981 and 1983 in a population of black (n = 236) and white (n = 296) adolescent girls, aged 14 and 16 years in 1983. The 14-year-old black girls exhibited significantly higher mean systolic and diastolic blood pressures than whites in both years. Body weight and Quetelet index were more strongly associated with blood pressure than were height and triceps skinfold thickness. Correcting blood pressures for weight, Quetelet index, 2-year changes in height, and age at menarche decreased in each case (but did not negate) the observed race differences in blood pressure. Dietary calcium and potassium intakes were inversely related to blood pressure, and a race difference in the intake of these nutrients (whites greater than blacks) was observed. Covariate adjustment for calcium, but not for potassium, decreased the magnitude of race differences in blood pressure. Family type (single-parent vs nuclear) and place of residence (urban vs nonurban) appeared to be the most important confounding variables for race differences in blood pressure, since differences largely were eliminated by controlling for these factors. Conflicting reports in the literature regarding the age range during which race differences in blood pressure become apparent may be partially attributed to the complex interrelationships among these factors and the potential influence of other genetic-environmental interactions that may also play a role in blood pressure regulation.
Sources of nutrients were determined in diets of teenaged girls, a group generally thought to be at nutritional risk. This study of Southern adolescent girls of two races examines intakes of energy, energy-yielding nutrients, vitamins, minerals, and other components of various food groups. Effects of race, age, place of residence, and per capita income on nutrients furnished by food groups were determined from two 24-hour dietary recalls from each of 1,195 girls, aged 12, 14, or 16. Of the food groups examined, foods of low nutrient density provided the most energy, fat, and carbohydrate. The meat group provided the most protein. Dairy products, which supplied the largest amounts of six vitamins and minerals of any food group, were used less by black, rural, or older teenagers than by white, urban, or younger girls. Blacks obtained more vitamin A from vegetables and more thiamin from meat than whites. Amounts of meat, starchy, and low-nutrient-density subgroups also varied with race, age, and/or place of residence. As income increased, consumption of starches (especially breakfast cereals) and eggs decreased and that of fruit increased.
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In the successful treatment of maxillo-facial injuries, the assessment of the damage sustained, the surgical management and post-operative follow-up will always remain the concern of a number of medical disciplines and therefore early consultation between various specialities is to be encouraged to ensure the best result for the patient. Of paramount importance in dentistry. Emphasis has not been placed on the psychological problems relating to various degrees of loss of body image which must accompany every severe facial injury nor to the value of the specialized care provided by dietary consultants and nursing personnel. Respect for the abilities of allied professions and early involvement of all in an inter-disciplinary team approach eliminates many management problems. This survey clearly indicates that no one specialist, regardless of whether he be dental or medical, should work alone but rather should work in willing cooperation with others. Post-operative occlusal problems can be avoided if the dental team is consulted early; in-patient management can be trouble-free if treatment planning is coordinated and based on the individual needs of the patient, not those of an individual specialist. Thus the dental surgeon must clearly understand the problems which may be encountered by other disciplines involved in the total management of the patient. The opinions expressed herein are based upon first hand experience. They may be of interest and value to clinicians called upon to manage patients with maxillo-facial injuries and stimulate thought and discussion concerning this important field of clinical practice.