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Transitions in pharmacy practice, part 3: effecting change--the three-ring circus.

The prerequisites for a change in practice in individual pharmacists, as framed by the Holland-Nimmo practice change model, are discussed. The Holland-Nimmo practice change model comprises three components, all of which must be addressed by a pharmacy's leadership if a change in practice is to be achieved. The first component is the practice environment, which must be conducive to implementation of the new form of practice. The second component is the availability of appropriate training for individual practitioners. The third component is an appropriate set of motivational strategies to be applied by the manager. All three components must be present at the same time; no one or two components by themselves are sufficient. The practice change model is equally applicable to pharmacy department managers in health-system settings and to community pharmacy owners and managers. To maximize the potential for individual pharmacists to change their practice, managers must create an environment conducive to the new form of practice, identify needed learning resources, and motivate practitioners to change.

Humans↗

Circus movement in the canine atrium around the tricuspid ring during experimental atrial flutter and during reentry in vitro.

A Y-shaped lesion in the right atrium allows induction of atrial flutter in dogs. We recorded the activation sequence during this tachycardia from 96 endocardial bipolar electrodes using intracavitary electrode arrays during 12 separate episodes in three isolated perfused hearts. In each case a reentrant impulse circulated around the tricuspid valve orifice in either a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction. Cutting the pathway terminated the rhythm and prevented its reinduction. There was no discrete segment of markedly slow conduction in the reentrant circuit. The tachycardia cycle length was decreased by methacholine and increased by lidocaine. Reentry was also induced in atrial tissue around the tricuspid orifice when this structure was isolated and superfused in vitro. Tachycardia cycle lengths varied from 205 to 399 msec, depending on the circumference of the ring and temperature. Induction of tachycardia by premature stimulation depended on differences in the duration of the effective refractory period among parts of the ring. Conduction velocity was relatively uniform and was slower during tachycardias than during pacing at long cycle lengths. Analysis of the response to premature stimuli that reset the tachycardia provided evidence for incomplete recovery of excitability between depolarizations during the tachycardia. Fast-response action potentials were recorded throughout the pathway and up to six to eight cell layers deep. Histologic studies showed the supravalvular lamina, a circumferential band of fibers several cell layers below the endocardial surface, to be continuous around the tricuspid orifice. Propagation through this layer best explains the conduction velocities observed in the intact heart during flutter in this preparation.

Action Potentials↗

Circus movement atrial flutter in canine sterile pericarditis model. Activation patterns during entrainment and termination of single-loop reentry in vivo.

BACKGROUND: Recently, we used a custom designed "jacket" electrode with 127 bipolar electrodes in a flexible nylon matrix to map the total atrial epicardial surface in the in situ canine heart. Atrial flutter in dogs with sterile pericarditis was shown to be due to a single wave front circulating around a combined functional/anatomic obstacle, with the arc of functional conduction block contiguous with one or more of the atrial vessels. METHODS AND RESULTS: In the present study, this model was used to analyze the activation pattern during pacing-induced entrainment and termination of single reentrant loops in a syncytium without anatomically predetermined pathways. Sustained atrial flutter was induced in five dogs with 3-5-day-old sterile pericarditis. Atrial pacing at a cycle length 5-30 msec shorter than the spontaneous cycle length entrained the arrhythmia and could result in a "classical" activation pattern, characterized by an antidromic stimulated wave that collided with the reentrant orthodromic wave front of the previous beat at a constant site. However, two variations of this classical activation pattern were also observed: 1) Pacing at short cycle lengths could lead to localized conduction block in antidromic direction, forcing a change in the pathway of the antidromic wave front. This could prevent the expected shift of the site of collision in antidromic direction. 2) The stimulated orthodromic wave front could also use a pathway different from that of the original reentrant impulse, so that a different circuit was active during the pacing period. Termination of atrial flutter by rapid atrial stimulation was associated with progressive slowing and finally blocking of the paced orthodromic wave front and a progressive shift of the site of collision in antidromic direction. The occurrence of conduction block was determined by the cycle length of stimulation and the number of stimulated beats. A longer train at the critical cycle length or the critical number of beats at a shorter cycle length could reinduce the same reentrant circuit or a different reentrant circuit, respectively, during stimulated cycles following the beat that terminated reentry. CONCLUSIONS: The epicardial activation sequence during entrainment of reentrant arrhythmias does not necessarily follow a standard activation pattern. Instead, the stimulated orthodromic as well as the antidromic wave front might use a pathway different from that of the original reentrant wave front. The mechanisms of termination, failure of termination, and reinitiation of single-loop reentry are similar to those in the "figure-eight" reentrant circuit.

Animals↗

Circus movement atrial flutter in the canine sterile pericarditis model. Activation patterns during initiation, termination, and sustained reentry in vivo.

The mechanisms of single-loop reentry in a syncytium without anatomically predetermined pathways have not been shown. Using a "jacket electrode" with 111 bipolar electrodes in a nylon matrix, we mapped in situ the atrial epicardial surface during atrial flutter in dogs with sterile pericarditis. Of 21 episodes of reentrant atrial flutter, only four showed double-loop ("figure-eight") reentry, whereas in 17 episodes a single loop was present. During initiation of single-loop reentry, an arc of functional block extended to the atrioventricular (AV) ring. This forced activation to proceed as a single wave around the free end of the arc, before breaking through the arc close to the AV ring. Activation continued as one loop around an arc close to the AV ring (in eight episodes) or around a combined functional and anatomic obstacle (in nine episodes) when the arc joined an atrial vessel. A zone of slow conduction was consistently bordered by the arc of block and the AV ring or by the anatomic obstacle and the AV ring. Spontaneous termination occurred when conduction failed in this area and the arc rejoined the AV ring. High-density recordings (2 mm) along the arc of block showed double potentials separated by an isoelectric interval, interpreted as local activation and electrotonus due to activation on the opposite side of the arc. Histologically, a diffuse inflammatory reaction involved 50-80% of the atrial wall. A transitional layer of myocardial bundles with preserved cross striation, but separated by edema and inflammatory cells, was enclosed between an epicardial layer of fragmented myocytes and an endocardial layer of grossly intact myocardium. There were no distinctive features at sites of functional conduction block or slowed conduction. In conclusion, single-loop reentry is the common pattern during atrial flutter in this model. Its induction depends on an interaction of the AV ring, a functional arc of block, and a zone of slow conduction. The location of the inferior vena cava predisposes the lower right atrium to this type of reentry.

Animals↗