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Biomedical subjects

S Truesdell

Publications and source records attributed to S Truesdell.

10 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Helping patients with COPD manage episodes of acute shortness of breath.

The most disabling and frightening symptom experienced by patients with COPD is dyspnea. Even with the use of bronchodilators, the symptom may not be completely relieved. Patients often develop their own strategies for managing shortness of breath, including the use of a breathing technique called pursed-lip breathing. Although most nurses are familiar with this breathing technique, they often have difficulty assisting patients to use it during acute episodes of shortness of breath. A strategy is described which nurses can use to assist patients in implementing pursed-lip breathing effectively during episodes of acute dyspnea.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1993

Corrected QT interval prolongation in anthracycline-treated survivors of childhood cancer.

PURPOSE: Comprehensive cardiac evaluations are currently recommended for all anthracycline-treated patients to detect subclinical cardiac failure. A screening test is needed that would easily and inexpensively identify patients who are at risk for late cardiac decompensation. METHODS: We routinely reviewed the ECG and echocardiogram (ECHO) results of 52 of 56 anthracycline-treated long-term survivors of childhood cancer who had received > or = 100 mg/m2 of ANTH (ANTH = 1 mg/m2 of doxorubicin), and who were not in clinical heart failure. Exercise testing was performed in eight patients with a corrected QT interval (QTc) of > or = 0.43. RESULTS: Zero of 15 patients (without chest radiation) who received less than 300 mg/m2 of ANTH versus six of 22 who received > or = 300 mg/m2 of ANTH had a QTc > or = 0.43 (P = .03). Three of 15 patients (with chest radiation) who received less than 300 mg/m2 of ANTH versus 12 of 22 who received > or = 300 mg/m2 of ANTH had a QTc > or = 0.43 (P = .03). For all patients (including those with chest radiotherapy), zero of 19 who received less than 300 mg/m2 of ANTH versus eight of 33 who received > or = 300 mg/m2 of ANTH had a QTc of > or = 0.45 (P = .025). Three of 19 who received less than 300 mg/m2 of ANTH versus 19 of 33 who received > or = 300 mg/m2 of ANTH had a QTc of > or = 0.43 (P = .003). One patient had decreased fractional shortening (FS) and QTc prolongation. Cardiac decompensation (with a FS of 24%) occurred with propranolol in a patient with previously normal FS but prolonged QTc. With exercise, the QTc became further prolonged in all four patients with a QTc of 0.44 to 0.46 and in two of four patients with a QTc of 0.43. CONCLUSION: Prolongation of the QTc, a measure of myocardial repolarization, may reflect injury to myocardial cells. QTc prolongation may be predictive of an increased risk of late cardiac decompensation. If the utility of the QTc measure is confirmed, screening for evidence of myocardial damage can be easily and inexpensively performed by oncologists and primary caretakers.

Antibiotics, Antineoplastic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Strategy to assess, develop, and evaluate critical thinking.

BACKGROUND: To care for patients with complex health problems, nurses need a strong knowledge base and critical thinking skills. Critical thinking enables the nurse to process and analyze information, solve clinical problems, and decide on actions to take. Teaching and evaluation, however, often focus on memorizing facts and details about clinical care rather than on critical thinking. METHOD: Context-dependent test items are designed to evaluate critical thinking and may be used in orientation, in competency testing, and by preceptors and others who work with beginning nurses for formative evaluation and discussions with them. A context-dependent item presents introductory material to analyze and determine a course of action. The introductory material may be a clinical scenario, an issue nurses might face in their practice, patient data, graphs or flow sheets, and other types of material for analysis. Carefully planned questions for assessing critical thinking are then asked. CONCLUSION: The article describes how to develop and use context-dependent items in nursing continuing education.

Clinical Competence↗