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Biomedical subjects

S Phillips

Publications and source records attributed to S Phillips.

At least 271 records · Page 15Linked to original sources
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Teaching students for whom English is a second language.

Nursing students for whom English is a second language (ESL) are now found in greater numbers in nursing schools. Their presence in nursing contributes to the diversity of the profession, but the language difficulties these students experience may influence academic achievement. Nurse educators can assist ESL students in reaching their career goal by being aware of the special language problems the students can encounter in academic settings and by instituting early and appropriate retention interventions.

Communication↗
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Anxiety and endocrine responses to surgery: paradoxical effects of preoperative relaxation training.

It has been argued that surgery is a form of psychological stress, and that the response to it should therefore be modifiable by psychological means. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the effect of preoperative relaxation instructions on endocrine, cardiovascular, and subjective responses in 21 patients undergoing minor abdominal surgery. Controls (N = 19) received general procedural information. In the relaxation group only, there was a significant increase in cortisol and adrenaline concentration from immediately before induction of anesthesia to immediately after surgery. Noradrenaline values were unaffected by relaxation. In contrast, relaxation reduced state-anxiety on the preoperative day and the two postoperative days; maximal peroperative systolic and diastolic blood pressures were also reduced. The results are consistent with previous evidence that adrenaline and cortisol responses to surgery are greater in less anxious patients.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
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Legal issues in nonrelated infant adoption: nursing implications.

PURPOSE: To highlight the legal issues surrounding nonrelated infant adoptions. POPULATION: Parties in the adoption triad--the infant, the biological parent(s), and the adoptive parent(s). CONCLUSIONS: Current adoption laws have been influenced by a historical stigmatization of adoption by society, states' sovereignty rights, and individual's constitutional rights. Controversies surrounding nonrelated infant adoptions have highlighted the inadequacies of the present system of adoption laws and regulations. Nurses can take a proactive role in their practice by acquiring a clear understanding of the legal issues surrounding adoption. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Knowledge about state adoption laws, regulations, and resources, as well as the legal issues surrounding infant adoption, will allow the nurse to take a proactive role in formulating and providing supportive interventions that assist all parties through the process.

Adoption↗
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What is the cost of admitting patients with transient ischaemic attacks to hospital?

Financial constraints at our institution prompted us to evaluate the management of patients referred to the Acute Stroke Service because of transient ischaemic attack (TIA). We analysed age, gender, length of stay, hospital costs, discharge disposition and stroke recurrence for all cases of TIA admitted to the Acute Stroke Service between January 1, 1994, and December 31, 1996. During this time, 110 cases of TIA were admitted. All had a CT head scan, 60% had carotid Doppler ultrasound, and 30% had transthoracic echocardiography. No patients admitted with TIA died, and 92% were discharged home. The average annual cost of in-patient management of TIA was 328,000 Canadian dollars, of which 95% were accounted for by the cost of the hospital bed alone. If hospitalisation of patients with TIA could be reduced, significant cost-savings could be realised.

Aged↗
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Expression of HLA class II in colorectal cancer: evidence for enhanced immunogenicity of microsatellite-instability-positive tumours.

Microsatellite-instability-positive (MSI+) colorectal cancers are characterised by an accumulation of deletion and insertion mutations at simple repeated sequences caused by inactivation of mismatch repair proteins. They share several clinicopathological features, including a better prognosis and a pronounced stromal inflammatory reaction. We have used suppression subtraction hybridisation between normal colonic epithelium and paired carcinomas to generate differential gene expression profiles in MSI+ and MSI- tumours. Following reverse northern blotting analysis, 11 genes were found to be up-regulated in the MSI+ tumour, and one of these specified the HLA-DM gene. This was in contrast to the MSI(-) tumour screen, where none of the clones analysed expressed this class of gene. Our results confirm that MSI(+) tumours may have a greater potential for the efficient presentation of antigens to the helper arm of the immune system and lend further support to the theory that the better prognosis of patients with MSI+ tumours may be linked to an enhanced immunogenicity of these tumours.

Base Sequence↗
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Volume of blood required to obtain central venous catheter blood cultures in infants and children.

To determine how much blood must be discarded before one can obtain a reliable central venous catheter blood culture, we prospectively cultured the blood (from 96 patients) that is ordinarily discarded before obtaining blood for such a culture. We then compared the prospective culture results with those of the actual blood culture. Three sequentially drawn aliquots of blood were aspirated from the central venous catheter and cultured. The culture results of the second aliquot were comparable to those of the third (the portion usually cultured) in overall sensitivity (94.4%), specificity (94.9%), and positive predictive value (80.9%). Thus, the amount of blood that must be discarded (infants: 0.3 mL; children: 1.0 mL) before one can obtain an accurate central venous catheter culture is less than was previously thought.

Bacteremia↗
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A clinical assessment strategy for maternal acquaintance-attachment behaviors.

The Acquaintance-Attachment Assessment Strategy for Maternal Behaviors (AASMB) is a strategy for assessing maternal attachment in the clinical area. The strategy is based on an eclectic conceptual framework and reflects the progressional nature of the attachment process. A review of the literature summarizes the phases of the attachment process--acquaintance, attachment, and bonding--and the maternal behaviors associated with each phase. The acquaintance and attachment phases are found during the first year of the infant's life and are of interest to the nurse who is assessing the maternal-infant relationship. These phases form the basis for constructing the Opportunity and Proximity-Seeking subscales of the AASMB. The AASMB can be easily utilized by nurses in clinical settings to assess mother-infant dyads for which early maternal-infant separation during the first year is common, such as occurs with premature or ill infants.

Age Factors↗
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Parents who utilize private infant adoption: an ethnographic analysis.

The purpose of this study was to gain insight into the feelings and perceptions of parents undergoing the process of private infant adoption in Western society. Ten individuals were interviewed and, through ethnographic analysis, categories and themes were derived. Participants moved sequentially through seven phases, from the choice to adopt to receiving the legal birth certificate. Adoptive parents described the phases as laden with fears and anxieties. The participants considered themselves to be risk-takers. Major themes that emerged from this study were uncertainty, unpreparedness, and commitment to an unguaranteed investment. Additional themes were isolation, competition, judgment, and ostracism from a variety of sources. Health professionals can support these parents by assisting them in establishing coping strategies and through educating them during each phase of the process.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
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Government policies as a threat to health: findings from two Toronto community quality of life studies.

Community members, service providers, and elected representatives in two Toronto communities were asked to identify community factors influencing the health of community members. Many of the identified barriers to health related to government policies and actions. Cutbacks in federal transfers to provinces and provincial cutbacks in funding for agencies, reductions in social assistance, ending of new social housing, and other policy changes were seen as negatively impacting the health of the community and its members. These perceptions were remarkably consistent with emerging findings concerning the determinants of health. Implications for public health practice were considered.

Attitude to Health↗
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Antinociceptive action of dopamine agonists in the nucleus raphe magnus of rats is mediated by D2 receptors.

We have shown previously that the dopamine agonist apomorphine is antinociceptive when injected into the nucleus raphe magnus of rats, presumably via stimulation of descending antinociceptive pathways. We have now extended the investigation to receptor-specific agonists. We measured nociception in conscious Sprague-Dawley rats, using the latency of the first flexor response following tail immersion in water at 49 degrees C, before and after injection of agonists into the nucleus raphe magnus through chronically implanted cannulae. The D2 agonist PPHT HCl produced an increase in latency, i.e. hypoalgesia, for 30 min after injection of doses of 10 and 20 nmol. The lowest dose of the D1 agonist SKF 38393 produced no change in latency, but a bimodal response was found at the higher two doses (20 and 200 nmol), with hypoalgesia at 15 min, followed by a sustained hyperalgesia. The dopamine autoreceptor agonist R (+)-3PPP produced a significant hypoalgesia at 10 and 20 nmol 15 min after injection, with no subsequent hyperalgesia. Our results are consistent with the hypothesis that the antinociceptive action of dopamine in the rat nucleus raphe magnus is mediated by the D2 receptor.

Analgesics↗
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Severe ocular trauma without corneal rupture after radial keratotomy: case reports.

The vulnerability of the ocular coat to trauma following radial keratotomy is an issue of concern to both patients and physicians. Herein, we report two cases of eyes which were exposed to severe trauma after previously undergoing radial keratotomy procedures. In the first case, a woman sustained multiple facial bone fractures in a fatal airplane crash. In the second case, a man was involved in a case of blunt ocular trauma involving a high velocity racquetball. Rupture of the ocular coat did not occur in either case.

Accidents, Aviation↗
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Supporting the patient with inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a term that describes Crohn's disease, colitis and proctitis. This paper considers the nurse's role in patient education, information and support for people with these conditions.

Humans↗
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Gut reaction.

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Adult↗