Appropriate use of nursing resources in the pediatric hematology and oncology inpatient settings demands a patient acuity system that is easy to use and accurate, and that objectively measures nursing care needs of a specialized patient population. Structured survey of 13 comprehensive cancer centers and a review of the literature show no valid and reliable acuity tools for this pediatric population. The purpose of this project was to study the validity and reliability of a newly developed pediatric hematology and oncology acuity system designed to quantify patient care needs. A new acuity tool for this pediatric population was developed based on the patient classification tool used at Johns Hopkins Hospital Oncology Center (JHHOC). The levels of care from the JHHOC tool were adopted, with therapeutic indicators modified to reflect nursing diagnoses relevant to the pediatric inpatient. Nursing care hours required for each level of care were also identified. Validity was studied using a content validity index (CVI). Experts from the pediatric unit where the tool would be used were asked whether each therapeutic indicator was assigned to the correct level of care (1 thru 5) based on patient care hours. CVIs for items ranged from .5 to 1.0; the overall CVI for the tool was .93. Interrater reliability was studied using two raters from the unit. Data were collected for 150 patient observations on a 12-bed pediatric hematology and oncology inpatient and short-stay outpatient unit. The resulting Pearson correlation coefficient was r = .97 (P less than .001).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Humans↗

PubMed1991

[Alignment of malpositioned canines].

This article presents a system for aligning impacted canines. The base of this system is the lingual arch, a rigid reaction unit of four teeth, molars and premolars. From this base unit an impacted canine can be extruded, moved distally, jumped over the occlusion and derotated by segment arches, coil springs and elastic ligatures. The efficiency of this appliance is due to the elimination of undesired reactive forces, the safe moving of teeth, the possibility of an exact force application and the simple manipulation; also the esthetic inconvenience is minimal. All this results in a better prognosis and an essentially shorter treatment time. This appliance can be used in the upper and the lower jaw. Schematic drawings and clinical examples demonstrate this method.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1990

Drug marketing practices criticized.

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