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Biomedical subjects

S Strong

Publications and source records attributed to S Strong.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Education of physicians-in-training can decrease the risk for vascular catheter infection.

BACKGROUND: Procedure instruction for physicians-in-training is usually nonstandardized. The authors observed that during insertion of central venous catheters (CVCs), few physicians used full-size sterile drapes (an intervention proven to reduce the risk for CVC-related infection). OBJECTIVE: To improve standardization of infection control practices and techniques during invasive procedures. DESIGN: Nonrandomized pre-post observational trial. SETTING: Six intensive care units and one step-down unit at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: Third-year medical students and physicians completing their first postgraduate year. INTERVENTION: A 1-day course on infection control practices and procedures given in June 1996 and June 1997. MEASUREMENTS: Surveys assessing physician attitudes toward use of sterile techniques during insertion of CVCs were administered during the baseline year and just before, immediately after, and 6 months after the first course. Preintervention and postintervention use of full-size sterile drapes was measured, and surveillance for vascular catheter-related infection was performed. RESULTS: The perceived need for full-size sterile drapes was 22% in the year before the course and 73% 6 months after the course (P < 0.001). The perceived need for small sterile towels at the insertion site decreased reciprocally (P < 0.001). Documented use of full-size sterile drapes increased from 44% to 65% (P < 0.001). The rate of catheter-related infection decreased from 4.51 infections per 1000 patient-days before the first course to 2.92 infections per 1000 patient-days 18 months after the first course (average decrease, 3.23 infections per 1000 patient-days; P < 0.01). The estimated cost savings of this 28% decrease was at least $63000 and may have exceeded $800000. CONCLUSIONS: Standardization of infection control practices through a course is a cost-effective way to decrease related adverse outcomes. If these findings can be reproduced, this approach may serve as a model for physicians-in-training.

Bacteremia↗
PubMed1999

Pelvic abscess with fistula to the abdominal wall due to verrucous carcinoma.

The case report of a 38-year-old woman with a pelvic abscess resulting from verrucous carcinoma of the uterine cervix is presented. This case is remarkable because the abscess formed a fistula through the anterior abdominal wall and because there was no visible lesion on the cervix. The patient underwent a total abdominal hysterectomy, left salpingectomy, fistulectomy, and removal of the abscess. Diagnosis was made on pathologic examination of the extirpated specimen. Genital tract verrucous carcinoma and genitocutaneous fistulae are reviewed.

Abdominal Abscess↗
PubMed1999

Application of the Person-Environment-Occupation Model: a practical tool.

Occupational therapy focuses on complex dynamic relationships between people, occupations and environments. Therapists must clearly communicate their practices and how their practice influences outcomes. This paper explores applications of the Person-Environment-Occupation Model (Law et al., 1996) in occupational therapy practice, and delineates how this particular model helps therapists to conceptualize, plan, communicate and evaluate occupational performance interventions. Three case studies illustrate how the model can be used by occupational therapists to systematically approach analysis of occupational performance issues while considering the complexities of human functioning and experience. The ways in which the model facilitates communication within and outside occupational therapy are explained. The Person-Environment-Occupation Model is offered as a tool for therapists to use in client(s)-therapist alliances to enable clients to successfully engage in meaningful occupations in chosen environments.

Aged↗
PubMed1998

Meaningful work in supportive environments: experiences with the recovery process.

OBJECTIVE: This ethnographic study examined what makes work meaningful for persons with persistent mental illness and how this meaningfulness relates to their recovery. METHOD: Twelve persons between 32 and 58 years of age who had been involved an average of 19 years with a formal mental health system participated in in-depth interviews and a focus group. Thematic analysis and case studies were understood in the context of the investigator's 15 months of participant observation of 35 persons with psychiatric disabilities working at an affirmative business. RESULTS: The meaning of work varied with participants perception of their illness and their self-concept. Changes in their self-efficacy and self-concept were driven by their participation in work activities to operate the affirmative business. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that therapists could potentially facilitate these changes in clients' sense of self-efficacy and self-concept by helping them make connections with meaningful occupations and contributions to organizations in the community and to experience challenges and successes in the context of meaningful work.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1997

Pulling together: multi-disciplinary training for mental health nursing.

In 1995 the Sainsbury Centre for Mental Health commissioned a major review of all specialist mental health training. The current, largely uni-disciplinary approach to training was felt to be failing to equip professionals with the necessary skills for today's multi-disciplinary, integrated, community-based service, where users and their carers expect an equal partnership and sharing of information. Kevin Gournay and Susannah Strong outline the findings and recommendations of the review, and its implications for mental health nurse education, which make a case for its separation from the rest of the nursing profession.

Certification↗
PubMed1995

Creating the environment for implant success: an interdisciplinary approach.

With the continued advance of technology and the heightened awareness of patient expectations, the multidisciplinary approach to treatment planning for implant-supported restorations is now the foundation for the surgical and restorative procedures. This article reviews a systematic approach to treatment planning, involving the expertise of the restorative triad-the surgeon, the restorative dentist, and the laboratory technician-since each professional provides valuable contributions to the treatment planning, surgical placement, provisionalization, and the fabrication of the final restoration.

Alveolar Bone Loss↗
PubMed1994

Person-environment assessments in occupational therapy.

Occupational therapists have begun to recognize the importance of considering how the environment influences occupational performance. Models of person-environment fit provide a theoretical context within which occupational therapists can consider the influence of the environment on function. The challenge for occupational therapists is to select assessments that incorporate concepts of person-environment fit. However, limited awareness of appropriate environmental assessments that have undergone psychometric testing has limited their introduction into clinical practice. This paper reviews 41 environmental assessments and considers each in terms of its purpose, environmental attribute, environmental application, clinical utility, instrument development, and psychometric testing. A case example illustrates the applicability to the practice of occupational therapy.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1989

Organ donation: a nursing perspective.

The frequency and success rate of organ donation and transplant surgery has dramatically increased over the past several years. Since organ donors are drawn primarily from the traumatically brain-injured population this increase has a direct impact on neuroscience nurses. This article addresses the organ procurement process, nursing care of the organ donor and the interrelationship of organ donation and neuroscience nursing.

Brain Death↗
PubMed1989

Accuracy of nurses in performing capillary blood glucose monitoring.

The accuracy and outcome of capillary blood glucose (CBG) monitoring as routinely performed by nursing staff were assessed. The sample consisted of 160 readings conducted by 93 nursing staff members in four hospitals; 19% of the readings deviated from simultaneous laboratory results by greater than 20%, and deviations resulted in altered responses to standing orders in 26 patients (17%). There was no statistically significant difference between the total variation attributed within and between nurses, possibly indicating that all nurses should be given the same intensity of follow-up training rather than targeting those who perform incorrectly on sample tests. Nurses in the one hospital that required certification before CBG monitoring had significantly less deviation from the laboratory standard than the other three hospitals. Although these data do not provide direct evidence that the certification program increased accuracy, this seems a logical conclusion. More study is needed to determine the most cost-effective type of training and follow-up.

Blood Chemical Analysis↗
PubMed1989

Influence of cage size on heart rate and behavior in rhesus monkeys.

We studied 6 singly caged adult female rhesus monkeys to determine whether increased cage size had any effect on behavior or heart rate. Two monkeys at a time were placed in cages 40% larger than their standard cage for 1 week on 2 occasions, using a counter-balanced design. Direct behavioral observations were performed 75 minutes/week on each monkey. Heart rate and general activity were monitored 35 hours/week by a telemetry system. Statistically significant differences were not found in aggressive, submissive, abnormal, or self-abusive behavior, nor in time spent in the front half of the cage, duration of grooming, looking at the observer, or stereotyped or nonstereotyped locomotion. Vocalizations increased the first time in the larger cage, but not the second, and decreased upon the second return to the standard cage. Differences with respect to cage size were not found in heart rate or activity level, although there were significant variations at different times of day. We conclude that modest increases in cage size are unlikely to enrich the environment of singly caged laboratory primates.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Prospective evaluation of a risk scoring system for predicting preterm delivery in black inner city women.

Nine percent of United States births are preterm. The ability to efficiently identify women destined to deliver before term would enable obstetricians to initiate early intervention. The Papiernik-Creasy risk scoring system is being extensively applied for this purpose, without prospective validation in this country. We evaluated prospectively its ability to predict high risk women in a black inner city population, when applied once early in pregnancy. The system, based on social, past medical, and current pregnancy problems, failed to identify at-risk patients. Adjusting the score cutoff and reweighting factors with discriminate analysis did not improve the predictive value. Analysis of an additional 60 social, demographic, and medical factors failed to produce a useful alternative risk assessment tool. We suggest that risk scoring systems such as these may not be helpful in socioeconomically at-risk populations.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Can preterm deliveries be prevented?

Our hospital serves poor, inner-city women who have a 17% preterm delivery rate. Middle-class women in San Francisco at high risk for preterm delivery have benefited from an antepartum program which emphasized patient education and close follow-up. Using a controlled, randomized design, we are investigating the impact of similar interventions. Patients determined to be at high risk before 18 weeks' gestation on the basis of the Creasy system are randomly assigned to the Preterm Labor Prevention Clinic or serve as high-risk controls. Sixty-four women assigned to the Preterm Labor Prevention Clinic and 68 high-risk control women have been delivered of their infants. No significant differences were noted for the percentages of preterm infants, mean gestational age, or birth weight. Preterm rupture of the membranes accounted for 40% of preterm deliveries in all high-risk patients. Thirty percent of preterm births were indicated for maternal or fetal reasons. The remaining 30% represented failure of tocolytic therapy.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1983

A prospective randomized trial of methotrexate versus cisplatin in the treatment of recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

A prospective randomized study was conducted to determine the relative effectiveness, toxicity and tolerance of methotrexate (MTX) versus cisplatin (DDP) in patients with recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma. Forty-four patients were randomized to receive either MTX, 40 mg escalated to 60 mg/m2 IV push weekly, or DDP, 50 mg/m2 6 hour infusion days 1 and 8 every 4 weeks. All patients had objectively measurable disease and a performance status greater than 60% (Karnofsky scale). All had been treated with surgery and/or radiotherapy. No patients had prior chemotherapy. Prior treatment, performance status, and site of primary disease were comparable in both groups. Complete and partial objective responses were achieved in 23.5% of the MTX group and 28.6% of the DDP group (P = 0.51). Median duration of response was 84 days in the MTX group and 92 days in the DDP group. Median survival of patients was 6.1 months with MTX and 6.3 months with DDP. Mucositis was noted in 38% of patients in the MTX group (P = 0.001) compared to none in the DDP group. Vomiting occurred in 87% of patients in the DDP group (P less than .0001) compared to 10% of patients in the MTX group. This study demonstrates that in the treatment of recurrent head and neck squamous cell carcinoma, MTX and DDP are equally effective, although MTX appears to be better tolerated.

Carcinoma, Squamous Cell↗
PubMed1983

Applications of carbon dioxide laser surgery and radiation. A preliminary report.

Ten patients with advanced or recurrent squamous cell carcinomas of the upper airway were treated with a combination of carbon dioxide laser surgery and radiation therapy to evaluate the tolerance to rapid sequencing of both modalities in a variety of clinical situations. Other considerations were to accurately stage infiltrating tumors, to provide cytoreduction for T3 and T4 tumors, and to facilitate the optimal placement of intracavitary radium applicators. Because of minimal postoperative pain or dysfunction associated with the laser, patients were able to receive irradiation considerably sooner than with conventional surgery. Local tolerance was good to excellent in seven of the ten patients treated and, based on preliminary results, the combination would appear to offer advantages in curative approaches to advanced head and neck tumors.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Thoracic epidural vs balanced anesthesia in morbid obesity: an intraoperative and postoperative hemodynamic study.

Thirty-eight morbidity obese patients undergoing gastric bypass were divided into two groups. All patients received general endotracheal anesthesia with muscle relaxation and controlled respiration with N2O-O2 mixture. In addition, group I, 17 patients, received balanced anesthesia, while the remaining 21 patients, group II, received thoracic (T-5) epidural analgesia. Postoperative analgesia was achieved with morphine intravenously in group I and with 0.5% bupivacaine epidurally in group II. Circulatory function was measured and calculated using radial artery cannulation and pulmonary artery catheterization with Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheters. A significant decrease in cardiac index (10% and 14% in groups I and II, respectively), in left and right ventricular stroke work (12% to 30%), systolic blood pressure-heart rate product (16% and 28% in groups I and II, respectively), in arterial venous oxygen content difference and oxygen consumption (31% and 39% in groups I and II, respectively) was observed during surgery. A decrease in intrapulmonary shunt from 20% +/- 2.9% before anesthesia to 15% +/- 2.1% intraoperatively was seen in patients given epidural anesthesia. Postoperatively epidural analgesia was associated with a decrease in left ventricular stroke work 12%), systolic pressure-heart rate product (10%), arteriovenous oxygen content differences (17%), and oxygen consumption (20%), compared with values observed when patients experienced pain. Morphine given for relief of postoperative pain was not associated with significant changes in cardiovascular function. Continuous epidural analgesia used postoperatively for relief of pain in morbidity obese patients, following upper abdominal surgery, slightly decreases oxygen requirement and benefits cardiovascular function as reflected by a decrease in left ventricular stroke work.

Adult↗