Perioperative glycemic control: use of a hospital-wide protocol to safely improve hyperglycemia.

Perioperative hyperglycemia impairs immunity and contributes to increased susceptibility to infection, higher incidence of multiorgan dysfunction, and greater mortality. Strict glycemic control is associated with lower infection rates, decreased length of stay (LOS), and faster recovery. A protocol that standardized preoperative education, testing, and treatment of elevated blood glucose (BG) safely improved perioperative glycemic control.

Improving ambulatory diabetes care in high-risk racial minorities: use of culture-specific education and close follow-up.

Objective: To describe a project aimed at improving diabetes care in the ambulatory setting among 2 high-risk racial minorities (African American and Hispanic patients) by using culture-specific education provided by trained diabetes educators from the same racial groups as the targeted patients.

Methods: Two nurse educators, 1 Hispanic and 1 African American, completed a standardized chronic disease management program, as did 2 patients with diabetes from each of the aforementioned ethnic groups in preparation for training other patients. The study patients participated in group classes or one-on-one sessions to learn about appropriate management of their diabetes, related complications, and improved lifestyle habits.

Effectiveness and long-term safety of thiazolidinediones and metformin in renal transplant recipients.

Objective: To investigate the long-term safety and effectiveness of thiazolidinediones and metformin in renal transplant recipients with posttransplant diabetes mellitus (PTDM) or preexisting diabetes mellitus (DM).

Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed for renal transplant recipients with PTDM or preexisting DM followed up during the years 2000-2006. Data collected included baseline characteristics; glomerular filtration rate (GFR); creatinine; hemoglobin A1c; and development of congestive heart failure, edema, and liver function abnormalities.

Improving medication calculation skills of practicing nurses and senior nursing students: a pilot study.

Medication administration is an essential nursing competency as calculation difficulties can lead to serious medication errors. Nurses involved in staff education need to be aware of methods to assess for computation difficulty and develop strategies for nurses to improve their computation abilities. The purposes of this quasi-experimental pilot study were to assess the medication calculation skills of nurses and nursing students and to determine the effectiveness of teaching strategies aimed at improving these skills.