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K Murphy

Publications and source records attributed to K Murphy.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

Variation in training programmes for Resident Assessment Instrument implementation.

BACKGROUND: this paper provides an overview of the Minimum Data Set/Resident Assessment Instrument (MDS/RAI) training programmes in eight countries where the system has been introduced into nursing homes. Formal education and training in the skills of assessment and care planning of nursing home personnel is reputed to be poor. In response to this problem several researchers and clinicians view MDS/RAI implementation as an opportunity to upgrade staff knowledge in care of elderly people. RESULTS: the courses in the eight countries varied in content and length according to the different goals each interRAI researcher planned when the MDS/RAI was implemented. As expected the greatest differences in training approach were between the USA and other countries. In the USA, where the MDS/RAI was mandated for use in all nursing homes, tens of thousands of professionals had to be oriented to use the system in a relatively short period of time in order to comply with the law. The training programmes therefore tended to be very short compared with those that emerged in countries where the MDS/RAI was freely chosen and implemented.

Aged↗

Rehabilitation in nursing homes: a cross-national comparison of recipients.

OBJECTIVE: to examine the prevalence of therapy use in nursing homes in selected countries and to describe the characteristics of nursing home residents who receive therapy. DESIGN and SAMPLING: the design of the study is cross-sectional, using Minimum Data Set (MDS) assessments of nursing home residents. The sample includes all nursing home residents in six US states (n = 273491), in Copenhagen, Denmark (n = 3451), Reyjkavik, Iceland (n = 1254), and selected locations in Italy (n = 1089) and Japan (n = 1255). METHOD: we determined who had received physical or occupational therapy treatments in the last 7 days. Demographic and clinical characteristics of recipients were compared relative to other nursing home residents within each country. RESULTS: in the five countries, the prevalence of receiving therapy was 31% (Iceland), 30% Japan), 23% (Denmark), 14% (Italy) and 11% (USA). Substantial proportions of the recipients were over the age of 85, were clinically stable and had been in the nursing home for longer than 90 days. Across all countries, residents with poorer activities of daily living (ADL) scores but good cognitive scores were more likely to receive therapy than other residents. Rehabilitation nursing, an adjunct to therapy, was concentrated on residents with poor ADL scores. CONCLUSIONS: substantial numbers of long-stay residents receive therapy in nursing homes, including those over the age of 85 years and those with cognitive impairment. Hence, future rehabilitation outcome studies can involve these previously understudied patient populations.

Activities of Daily Living↗

VP7: an attachment protein of bluetongue virus for cellular receptors in Culicoides variipennis.

The importance of VP7 of bluetongue virus (BTV) in the binding of BTV to membrane proteins of the BTV vector Culicoides variipennis was investigated. Core BTV particles, prepared from whole viruses, lacked outer proteins VP2 and VP5 and had VP7 exposed. More core particles and whole viruses bound to membrane preparations of adults of C. variipennis and KC cells, which were cultured from this vector insect, than to membrane preparations of Manduca sexta larvae. More core particles than whole viruses bound to membrane preparations of adults of C. variipennis and KC cells. Polyclonal anti-idiotypic antibodies (anti-Id), which were made against an antigen-combining region of an anti-BTV-10 VP7 antibody and functionally mimicked VP7, bound more to the membrane preparations of adults of C. variipennis and KC cells, and less to cytosol preparations. In Western overalay analysis, the Culicoides plasma membrane preparation reduced binding of an anti-VP7 monoclonal antibody to VP7. Whole and core BTV particles and the anti-Id bound to a membrane protein with a molecular mass of 23 kDa that was present predominantly in membrane preparations of adults of C. variipennis and KC cells. This protein was present in much lower concentrations in membrane preparations of C6/36 and DM-2 insect cells.

Animals↗

A commitment to change: revision of HCFA's RAI.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the reliability of new assessment items and their clinical utility as judged by experienced nurse assessors, based on the results from the field test of Version 2.0 of the Resident Assessment Instrument (RAI). DESIGN: Independent dual assessment of residents of nursing facilities by staff nurses using a draft of Version 2.0 of the minimum data set (MDS). SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: A total of 187 randomly selected residents from 21 nursing homes in seven states volunteered to test Version 2.0 of the MDS. MEASUREMENT: The full array of MDS assessment items included measures in the following areas: Background information, cognitive patterns, communication/hearing, vision, mood and behavior, psychosocial well-being, physical functioning and structural problems, continence, disease diagnoses, health condition, oral/nutritional status, dental status, skin condition, activity pursuit patterns, medications, special treatments and procedures, and discharge potential and overall status. RESULTS: Evaluative data address issues of MDS item utility and reliability. For new items, almost all achieved a reasonably high-weighted Kappa interrater reliability; revised items also surpassed earlier items, and with the updated training materials, even the non-changed items had higher average reliability levels. Based on the success of the field test and the positive response of the industry, Version 2.0 of the RAI has been adopted, and HCFA has initiated a more long-range process to update further the RAI when necessary. CONCLUSION: Findings support the reliability and clinical utility of the new and revised assessment items incorporated by HCFA in Version 2.0 of the MDS.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Criteria for enrolling dementia patients in hospice.

OBJECTIVE: Because survival time varies greatly, it is difficult for dementia patients to meet a key criterion for eligibility for the Medicare hospice benefit: a 6-month survival time. We have developed criteria for the Medicare hospice benefit that include the characteristics of advanced dementia and related medical complications. The purpose of the study was to determine survival time among dementia patients who met these criteria. Additionally, because the National Hospice Organization (NHO) developed its own guidelines while the study was in progress, we retrospectively examined the application of these guidelines to our sample. DESIGN: Two cohorts of hospice patients were studied longitudinally, each for 2 years. SETTING: Nine Midwestern hospice programs. PARTICIPANTS: Forty-seven patients were enrolled in home hospice and institutional hospice settings. MEASUREMENTS: Survival time consisted of the number of days between enrollment in the hospice program and death or the end of the study. Other measures included Activities of Daily Living, ratings of Appetite, Nourishment, and Mobility, Functional Assessment Staging (FAST), a Medical Complications Checklist, and a care plan concerning the use of medications for acute illness. RESULTS: Our hospice enrollment criteria predicted a median survival time of 4 months and a mean survival time of 6.9 months; 38% of patients survived for more than 6 months. FAST scores and Mobility ratings were significantly related to survival time. However, 41% could not be scored on the FAST as their disease progression was not ordinal. Among patients who could be scored on the FAST and who had reached Stage Seven C, their mean survival time was 3.2 months compared with 18 months among those who could be scored and had not reached this stage and 8.6 months among patients whose disease progression was not ordinal, P < .001. When the palliative care plans were examined, less aggressive care plans resulted in shorter survival times, P < .01. CONCLUSION: Our hospice enrollment criteria identified a group with a median survival time of 4 months and a mean survival time of 6.9 months. Using NHO criteria relying on the FAST allows the identification of a subgroup with very high mortality and a short time until death. Although the FAST can identify a subgroup of appropriate candidates for hospice, sole reliance on this measure might decrease access to hospice care for many dementia patients.

Activities of Daily Living↗

A survey of grief and bereavement in nursing homes: the importance of hospice grief and bereavement for the end-stage Alzheimer's disease patient and family.

OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of grief and bereavement services in nursing homes. To highlight the importance of grief and bereavement as provided in the Medicare hospice benefit for the end-stage Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patient and family residing in long-term care facilities. DESIGN: Telephone survey of nursing homes. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred twenty-one nursing homes in the Lower Peninsula of the state of Michigan. MEASUREMENTS: The facilities were asked questions about on-site grief and bereavement services, services routinely offered by licensed hospice agencies. RESULTS: Fifty-five percent of the homes sent sympathy cards after the patients death. Ninety-nine percent of the facilities surveyed did not provide materials to the family or primary caregiver on the grieving process or bereavement after the death. None of the facilities sent a letter after the patients death informing them of local, community or on-site bereavement support group meetings. Seventy-six percent of the homes were not able to offer a referral to a counseling or psychiatric professional when bereavement intervention was deemed appropriate. Fifty-four percent of the homes usually went to the funeral home or the funeral of a patient who died it their facility. Ninety-eight percent of the nursing homes neither visited, made phone calls, nor provided written communication (i.e., bereavement newsletter) to the family members after the patients death. CONCLUSION: The study demonstrated few grief and bereavement services for families of patients residing in long-term care facilities. Because grief and bereavement is part of the career of most Alzheimer's caregivers, access to the Medicare hospice benefit should be encouraged for families of patients with end-stage Alzheimer's Disease residing in nursing facilities.

Alzheimer Disease↗

Cerebral areas associated with motor control of speech in humans.

We have defined areas in the brain activated during speaking, utilizing positron emission tomography. Six normal subjects continuously repeated the phrase "Buy Bobby a poppy" (requiring minimal language processing) in four ways: A) spoken aloud, B) mouthed silently, C) without articulation, and D) thought silently. Statistical comparison of images from conditions A with C and B with D highlighted areas associated with articulation alone, because control of breathing for speech was controlled for; we found bilateral activations in sensorimotor cortex and cerebellum with right-sided activation in the thalamus/caudate nucleus. Contrasting images from conditions A with B and C with D highlighted areas associated with the control of breathing for speech, vocalization, and hearing, because articulation was controlled for; we found bilateral activations in sensorimotor and motor cortex, close to but distinct from the activations in the preceding contrast, together with activations in thalamus, cerebellum, and supplementary motor area. In neither subtraction was there activation in Broca's area. These results emphasize the bilaterality of the cerebral control of "speaking" without language processing.

Adult↗

Reversibility of T helper 1 and 2 populations is lost after long-term stimulation.

Commitment of T helper 1 (Th1) or Th2 populations developing during an immune response to a pathogen, or an inappropriate immune response to an allergen or autoantigen, may determine the difference between health and chronic disease. We show that strongly polarized Th1 and Th2 populations assessed by immunoassay are heterogeneous using flow cytometry to detect single cells producing interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and interleukin 4 (IL-4). Th1 populations arising after 1 wk of stimulation in IL-12 plus anti-IL-4 antibodies could convert to Th2 cells when restimulated in IL-4. Th2 populations resulting from stimulation for 1 wk in IL-4 could give rise to Th1 cells upon restimulation in IL-12 plus anti-IL-4. In contrast, the cytokine profiles of long-term Th1 and Th2 populations arising originally from repeated stimulation in IL-12 or IL-4 appeared more homogeneous and were not reversible, although IL-4 dramatically reduced the number of IFN-gamma-producing Th1 cells. This may explain previous reports that Th1 cells can be converted to Th2 cells.

Allergens↗

Control of breathing in man; insights from the 'locked-in' syndrome.

Control of breathing was studied in a patient with a lesion in the ventral pons; no volitional behaviour, including voluntary breathing acts, was possible (locked-in syndrome, LIS). Spontaneous breathing via a tracheostomy maintained a normal PETCO2 of 39-40 mmHg. Variability of ventilatory parameters awake was similar to that seen in five tracheostomized control subjects during stage IV sleep but much smaller than during resting wakefulness. Emotion associated with laughter caused disturbances of breathing. The ventilatory response to CO2 was normal and was associated with 'hunger for air' when the PETCO2 was 49-50 mmHg. Mechanical ventilation to reduce PETCO2 by as little as 1 mmHg resulted in apnoea when the ventilator was disconnected; breathing resumed when PETCO2 crossed the threshold of 39-40 mmHg. These results demonstrate the functional dependence of the human medullary respiratory oscillator on a threshold level of PCO2 in the absence of cortico-bulbar input, even during wakefulness. The absence of such input may explain the regularity of breathing.

Adult↗

Site of facilitation of diaphragm EMG to corticospinal stimulation during inspiration.

The electromyographic response of the diaphragm to (a) transcutaneous electrical stimulation (TCES) of the spinal cord at C5 and above, (b) transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the motor cortex and (c) transcutaneous electrical stimulation of the phrenic nerve in the neck (TPNS), was recorded in six normal subjects at the antero-lateral chest wall. The compound motor evoked potentials (cMEPs) recorded in response to both TMS and TCES were facilitated to a similar extent during volitional inspiration; this facilitation was greater than any change seen in response to TPNS with inspiration. The results show that facilitation of the response in the diaphragm to TMS during volitional inspiration is due to increased excitability at synapses associated with the spinal motoneurone pool, but they do not exclude a component due to increased higher centre excitability. We conclude that it is unsafe to assign a cortical contribution to 'automatic' inspiration on the sole basis of facilitation of the electromyographic response in the diaphragm to TMS.

Adult↗

Development, testing, and validation of two scales measuring nursing home management of subjects with mental disorder.

This paper describes the development, testing, and validation of summary scales measuring nursing processes commonly used in caring for elderly nursing home residents with cognitive, mood, and behavior problems, or other markers of mental disorder. Data were obtained from a cross-sectional study of 1017 residents from a proportionate random sample in Delaware nursing facilities, to determine the prevalence of mental disorders and to describe distinguishing characteristics and treatments. An exploratory factor analysis was performed on 11 frequently encountered nursing management strategies as applied to 808 subjects with some indicator of mental disorder. Two factors emerged, which were subsequently conceptualized as separate scales (composed of six and five elements, respectively) that measure the basic approaches termed Encouragement and Control. Alpha reliability levels determined internal consistency for each scale. Cognitive, behavioral, and mood correlates were identified for each scale using multiple regression. Replication and validation were achieved when similar findings were obtained using a random sample of 290 residents at Hebrew Rehabilitation Center for Aged, a 725-bed long-term care facility in Boston. LISREL analyses confirmed the presence of at least two dimensions in behavior management strategies. The identification of these approaches is significant in providing non-pharmacologic and non-restraint alternatives to managing elderly residents with symptom distress.

Aged↗

Adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: assessment and treatment considerations.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has, historically, been viewed as a childhood disorder which would be outgrown by adulthood. More recent findings have established that the disorder often persists into adult-hood in a significant number of those diagnosed as children. Due to increased awareness and media attention being focused on ADHD in adults, greater numbers of adults are seeking evaluation and treatment for this disorder. The symptoms of ADHD are common to a variety of other psychiatric disorders including learning disabilities, so clinicians need to update their knowledge of assessment, treatment, and differential diagnosis issues regarding this often misunderstood disorder. This article discusses some current methods used in the assessment and treatment of adults with ADHD.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity↗

Hospice services.

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Alzheimer Disease↗

Inspiratory coactivation of the genioglossus enlarges retroglossal space in laryngectomized humans.

To investigate the relationship between the electrical activity of the genioglossus (GG-EMG) and associated tongue movement, seven laryngectomized subjects breathing through a tracheal stoma (without pressure or flow change in the upper airway) were studied in the supine position. Tongue movement, with the use of lateral fluoroscopy, and GG-EMG expressed as a percentage of maximum voluntary genioglossal activation were monitored simultaneously during 1) spontaneous inspiration (SI), 2) resistive loaded inspiration (LI), and 3) rapid inspiration (RI). Tongue position during each maneuver was compared with its position during spontaneous expiration. Peak GG-EMG during the three maneuvers was significantly different from each other (SI: 5.4 +/- 1.6, LI: 11.9 +/- 1.8, and RI: 51.6 +/- 9.4 (SE) %, respectively). Associated forward movement of the posterior aspect of the tongue was minimum during SI; however, significant movement was observed during LI, and this was increased during RI. Significant covariance existed between peak GG-EMG and this movement. Genioglossal coactivation with inspiration enlarges the glossopharyngeal airway, particularly in its caudal part. In subjects with intact upper airways, this activation may protect or enhance upper airway patency in an effort-dependent manner.

Aged↗

Eicosanoids and lipocortin-1 in BAL fluid in asthma: effects of smoking and inhaled glucocorticoids.

Both smoking and asthma are associated with inflammatory changes in the lung, which may be suppressed with the help of exogenous anti-inflammatory drugs or by the endogenous defense system. Lipocortin-1 (LC-1; annexin-1) is an anti-inflammatory protein present in respiratory tract secretions. We report an inverse correlation between extracellular LC-1 concentration and the bronchoconstrictor prostaglandin (PG) D2 [n = 15, Spearman rank correlation coefficient (rS) = -0.597, P < 0.05] in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) from allergic asthmatic patients, together with positive correlations between extracellular LC-1 per milliliter BALF and the prostacyclin (PGI2) metabolite 6-keto-PGF1 alpha (n = 15, rS = 0.480, P < 0.05) and between LC-1 per milliliter BALF and concentration of histamine causing a 20% decrease in forced expired volume in 1 s (n = 15, rS = 0.720, P < 0.01) in these subjects. We found no significant difference between the LC-1 concentration in BALF from nonsmoking asthmatic patients who were receiving inhaled glucocorticoid therapy (2 x 100 micrograms beclomethasone 4 times/day for 2.5 yr; median 186 ng LC-1/mg albumin; n = 6) and those who were not (median 126 ng LC-1/mg albumin; n = 12), perhaps because inhaled drugs deposit predominantly in central airways, which are poorly represented in bronchoalveolar lavage. Both asthmatic and healthy volunteers who smoked had higher levels of LC-1 in their BALF than did their nonsmoking counterparts (e.g., asthmatic smokers, median 317 ng LC-1/mg albumin, n = 10; asthmatic nonsmokers, median 162 ng LC-1/mg albumin, n = 18; P < 0.05), perhaps because smokers' lungs contain more alveolar macrophages, cells that release LC-1. We observed a positive correlation between BALF LC-1 and bronchoalveolar lavage cell number (n = 16, rS = 0.821, P < 0.001). Increased extracellular LC-1 may be part of a protective response of the lung to inflammatory insult. Regulation of prostanoid levels might be one mechanism by which LC-1 suppresses inflammation.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha↗

Human cerebral activity with increasing inspiratory force: a study using positron emission tomography.

Human cerebral activity with increasing inspiratory force: a study using positron emission tomography. J. Appl. Physiol. 81(3): 1295-1305, 1996.--The major aim of this study was to use positron emission tomography (PET) to assess dose-dependent effects of inspiratory loads on relative regional cerebral blood flow as an indication of neuronal activation and recruitment. Six normal men underwent H2 15O-PET scanning during unloaded breathing and with external inspiratory loads (generating mouth pressures of -5, -10, and -15 cmH2O); positive-pressure ventilation against relaxed respiratory muscles acted as control. During unloaded breathing, the supplementary motor area was significantly activated. With the addition of the smallest load, activations also occurred in the right premotor area and bilaterally in the superolateral motor cortex (MI) in areas previously shown to be activated with deeper breathing. There was little further change in these areas with greater loads. Additional force-related activations occurred in the inferolateral sensorimotor cortex, parietal cortex, and midbrain/hypothalamus. The results suggest that volitionally induced increases in inspiratory muscle force are achieved via a complex integration of neuronal activations in cortical and subcortical regions associated with motor control.

Adult↗