Evaluation of a sterile surgical skin marker to indicate the optimal vein for venepuncture in the blood donation setting.

Background And Objectives: Phlebotomy is a central task for blood donation; however, not all blood donors have veins that are easy to see or feel. This study aimed to determine whether use of a surgical skin marker to highlight the donors' vein location and direction prior to venepuncture increased blood donation success.

Methods: All blood donors who participated in this study were eligible to donate according to Australian guidelines.

Evaluation of a tool to score donor vein suitability for blood donation.

Background And Objectives: Phlebotomy is a central task for whole blood donation, yet there are no published standards regarding systematic donor vein assessment or the impact of vein quality on successful blood donation. Blood donation failures and related adverse events are highly predictive of donors not returning for future blood donation. A specific blood donation vein scoring tool was assessed to measure donor vein suitability for whole blood collection and investigate the correlation of the donor's veins with donation outcomes.

Does using applied muscle tension at strategic time points during donation reduce phlebotomist- and donor-reported vasovagal reaction rates? A three-armed randomized controlled trial.

Background: Vasovagal reactions (VVRs) have a negative impact on donor safety and return. Applied muscle tension (AMT) increases blood pressure temporarily and has been suggested as a way to reduce donors' risk of VVRs. This study evaluated whether using AMT at three different time points during the donation procedure reduces the VVR symptoms reported by donors and the VVR reactions recorded by phlebotomists.

Facilitating donor compliance with strategies to prevent vasovagal reactions: comparison of web-based and in-center approaches.

Background: Research has documented beneficial effects of water loading (WL) and applied muscle tension (AMT) on reducing self-reported vasovagal reactions (VVRs) in whole blood (WB) donors. However, the optimal approach to reducing VVRs using these strategies in routine blood collection practice is not known. This study evaluated the effectiveness of embedding newly developed web-based and on-site donor education materials to increase the use of these two prevention techniques during blood collection.

The infectious disease blood safety risk of Australian hemochromatosis donations.

Background: It has been suggested that blood donors with hereditary hemochromatosis may pose an increased infectious disease risk and adversely affect recipient outcomes. This study compares the infectious disease risk of whole blood (WB) donors enrolled as therapeutic (T) donors to voluntary WB donors to evaluate the safety of blood products provided by the T donors.

Study Design And Methods: This was a retrospective cohort study of all WB donations at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service who donated between January 1, 2011, and December 31, 2013, comparing a yearly mean of 11,789 T donors with 107,773 total donations and a yearly mean of 468,889 voluntary WB donors with 2,584,705 total donations.

Therapeutic venesection at the Australian Red Cross Blood Service: impact of the High Ferritin Application on management of hereditary haemochromatosis.

Background: Therapeutic venesection is an established treatment for hereditary haemochromatosis. The C282Y homozygotes and C282Y/H63D compound heterozygotes are the most likely human haemochromatosis protein (HFE) variants to cause iron over-load. The principal indications for treatment include iron overload, which is detected through measurement of hepatic iron concentration or a liver biopsy, or suspected iron-overload on the basis of elevated serum ferritin levels.

Alternative therapeutic options for medical management of epilepsy in apes.

Phenobarbital has been the primary antiepileptic drug used in primates, but the dosage required for seizure control is frequently associated with significant side effects. Newer antiepileptic drugs and adjunctive therapies currently being used in human medicine provide additional options for treatment of nonhuman primates. This report describes different drug regimes used for control of epileptic seizures in apes at the Milwaukee County Zoo (Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.

Prognosis of isolated mild to moderate fetal cerebral ventriculomegaly: a systematic review.

Aims: To ascertain risk of aneuploidy, infection and neurological abnormality for the fetus diagnosed with isolated mild (10.1-12.0 mm) to moderate (12.

Ultrasonographic monitoring of fetal development in unrestrained bonobos (Pan paniscus) at the Milwaukee County Zoo.

The bonobo, Pan paniscus, is one of the most endangered primate species. In the context of the Bonobo Species Survival Plan(®), the Milwaukee County Zoo established a successful breeding group. Although the bonobo serves as a model species for human evolution, no prenatal growth curves are available.

A primary care cardiovascular risk reduction clinic in Canada was more effective and no more expensive than usual on-demand primary care--a randomised controlled trial.

The objective of this randomised controlled trial was to compare the effects and expense of three approaches to care (1) proactive cardiovascular risk reduction (CaRR) clinic; (2) nurse telephone calls; or (3) usual care for people with cardiovascular risk factors in a Primary Care, Health Service Organisation (HSO) in Ontario, Canada. Subjects included consenting patients with an identified cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor identified from the HSO computerised patient information system in 2004. Patients were excluded if they were mentally incompetent, <18 years of age, in a nursing home, or not English speaking.

Characterization of pulmonary rehabilitation programs in Canada in 2005.

Background: Pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) is recognized as the prevailing standard of care for patients with chronic respiratory conditions. National surveys of PR programs provide important information regarding the structure, content and organization of these programs.

Objective: To conduct a national survey to characterize adult PR across Canada, in terms of program distribution, utilization, content and outcome measures.

Changes in children's behavior and costs for service use associated with parents' response to treatment for dysthymia.

Objective: This study examined differences in children's behavior and expenditures for health and social services used when their parents with dysthymia did or did not respond to antidepressant therapy.

Method: Children ages 4 to 16 years of consenting parents enrolled in a treatment trial for dysthymia who did and did not respond to treatment were compared at baseline and 24 months. The responder was a parent with at least a 40% reduction in his or her baseline depressive symptoms using the Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale.

High incidence of deformity in aquatic turtles in the John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge.

The John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge is subject to pollution from multiple sources. We studied development of snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) and painted turtle (Chrysemys picta) embryos from the refuge from 2000 through 2003. Mean annual deformity rate of pooled painted turtle clutches over four years ranged from 45 to 71%, while that of snapping turtle clutches ranged from 13 to 19%.

Burden of dysthymia and comorbid illness in adults in a Canadian primary care setting: high rates of psychiatric illness in the offspring.

Background: The burden of comorbid dysthymia and other comorbid psychiatric illnesses in a Canadian primary care setting was measured. Two groups of primary care patients: those who scored positive for comorbid dysthymia versus those who scored negative for any psychiatric disorder were compared.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional survey in a Health Service Organization (HSO) in Ontario, Canada.

Infections in the heart transplant recipient.

The overall incidence of infection after transplantation has decreased with improved immunosuppressive agents, increased knowledge and use of prophylaxis, and better detection and treatment of infection. Nevertheless, infection continues to be a major cause of morbidity and mortality in heart transplant recipients. The knowledgeable nurse in any setting who cares for a transplant recipient must be aware of the lifelong susceptibility to common and opportunistic infections.

Sertraline and/or interpersonal psychotherapy for patients with dysthymic disorder in primary care: 6-month comparison with longitudinal 2-year follow-up of effectiveness and costs.

Background: There is little information on the long-term effects and costs of a combination of Sertraline and interpersonal psychotherapy (IPT) for the treatment of dysthymia in primary care.

Methods: In a single-blind, randomized clinical trial, 707 adults (18-74 years of age inclusive) with DSM-IV dysthymic disorder, with or without past and/or current major depression, as an acute or chronic episode, in a community-based primary care practice in Ontario, Canada, were randomized to treatment with either Sertraline alone (50-200 mg), or IPT alone (10 sessions), or Sertraline plus IPT combined. In the acute treatment phase (first 6 months) all groups received full active treatment.

The challenge of managing the care of older heart transplant recipients.

Age is perhaps the most controversial exclusion criterion for heart transplantation. One concern focuses on whether chronological or functional age is the better predictor of positive outcomes when considering heart transplantation for an elderly patient with end-stage heart disease. Another concern is related to the philosophical and ethical rationale for allocation of scarce resources to those near the end of a normal life expectancy.