Encountering Ostomies in Acute Care: Peristomal Skin Changes.

Up to 80% of individuals with an ostomy experience a peristomal skin complication, which can result in significant healthcare issues. All clinicians working with patients with stomas need to be aware of the signs and symptoms of peristomal skin complications and basic strategies to address the most common cause of skin complications: leakage of stool or other effluent onto the skin. Use of an evidence-based, standardized instrument to guide peristomal assessment and selection of appropriate interventions can improve patient outcomes and increase meaningful collaboration between all members of the healthcare team.

C-reactive Protein Levels in Plasma and Chronic Venous Ulcer Exudate of Persons Who Inject Drugs: A Pilot Study.

Background: Persons who inject drugs (PWID) in the groin, legs, and/or feet are at high risk for chronic venous ulcers (CVUs). The plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) level is a marker of systemic inflammation.

Objective: This pilot study examined CRP levels in plasma and CVU exudate of PWID.

Antibiotic Knowledge, Beliefs, and Behaviors: Testing Competing Hypotheses Using an Urban Community Sample.

Antibiotic use and misuse continue to be a worldwide concern with the increasing rate of antimicrobial resistance, lack of new antibiotics in the pipeline, and rising health care costs. Despite studies that attempt to distinguish between factors associated with antibiotic use and misuse (e.g.

A Descriptive Study Using an Intercept Survey: Knowledge, Attitudes, Beliefs, and Behaviors About Systemic Antibiotic Use in Adults Who Reported a Wound Within the Previous Year.

Purpose: This project examined knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors about systemic antibiotic use for persons who reported a wound within the previous year.

Design: Secondary data analyses of 505 adults from a cross-sectional, prospective, intercept survey where every fifth adult was randomly approached to participate.

Subjects And Setting: Twenty-six participants (5.

Nonviral Injection-Related Injuries in Persons Who Inject Drugs: Skin and Soft Tissue Infection, Vascular Damage, and Wounds.

General Purpose: To explore skin and soft-tissue infections and vascular damage in persons who inject drugs and relate these changes to wound development and care.

Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care.

Learning Objectives/outcomes: After participating in this educational activity, the participant should be better able to:1.

Forgiveness and Spiritual Distress: Implications for Nursing.

Spirituality, spiritual distress, and forgiveness are constructs relevant to nursing diagnoses and care planning. Forgiveness has significant implications, as it contributes to the spirituality of the individual and has been linked to positive and negative health outcomes. In clinical practice, forgiveness facilitation, grief work facilitation, and spiritual growth facilitation are evidence-based nursing interventions to address Spiritual Distress.

An Integrative Review of Depression in Patients Receiving Hemodialysis for End-stage Renal Disease and the Relevance to Patients With Wounds.

Unlabelled: End-stage renal disease (ESRD) often is treated with hemodialysis, which carries significant psychological impact along with risks for wound development. Depression is a constant concern.

Purpose: An integrative review was conducted to examine studies regarding depression in adults receiving hemodialysis for ESRD.

Comparison of biomechanical properties in ascending aortic aneurysms of patients with congenital bicuspid aortic valve and Marfan syndrome.

Background: In patients with ascending aortic aneurysms (AscAA), biomechanical differences are seen among patients with congenital bicuspid aortic valves (BAV), Marfan syndrome (MFS), and tricuspid aortic valves (TAV). We examined the hemodynamic profiles and ultrastructures of aneurysmal specimens, focusing on vascular remodelling to better understand AscAA pathogenesis.

Methods: A total of 795 patients with BAV (43.

Assessment of Prelicensure Undergraduate Baccalaureate Nursing Students: Ostomy Knowledge, Skill Experiences, and Confidence in Care.

Care of the patient with an ostomy is included in the curriculum of prelicensure nursing programs, but no studies examining student nurses' knowledge about stoma care have been published. The purpose of this project was to examine the ostomy knowledge, experiences, and confidence of nursing students in order to assess and improve the curriculum. At the end of the fall 2016 semester, students enrolled in 3 separate nursing courses in an undergraduate program were asked to participate in a project to examine students' ostomy knowledge, their experiences, and their confidence in providing care.

Long-Term (up to 21 Years) Follow Up after Biological and Mechanical Aortic Valve Replacement in Younger Patients.

Background: Despite the limited durability of biological aortic valves, increasing numbers of younger patients are choosing to receive them, due mainly to the lack of a need for permanent anticoagulation. Few data exist, however, regarding the outcomes of valve replacement in patients aged <55 years, and additional data are required in this patient population.

Methods: Between 1993 and 2014, at the authors' institution, a total of 448 patients (237 males, 101 females; mean age 45.

Difficult to Doable: Interprofessional Collaborative Practice in Distance Education.

Background: This study investigated the effect of interprofessional educational (IPE) in a distance education setting on students' self-efficacy around the Interprofessional Collaborative Practice (IPEC) constructs.

Method: Senior RN-to-Bachelor of Science nursing students, students from health sciences, and dietetic intern students participated in the IPE learning experience. A pre- postsurvey design measured the change in student self-efficacy in relation to the IPEC constructs of values and ethics, roles and responsibilities, interprofessional communication, and teams and teamwork.

Hepatitis C Virus: Patients' Risk Factors and Knowledge in an Urban Clinic Providing Wound Care.

Introduction: Affecting about 3.2 million people in the United States, hepatitis C virus (HCV) is the primary cause of chronic liver disease and a global health challenge. Hepatitis C virus can affect the functioning of the liver, the health of the person, and thus wound healing.

Sleep Quality: A Pilot Study Comparing Patients With and Without Injection-Related Venous Ulcers.

Purpose: The purposes of this study were to (a) compare sleep quality of persons with and without injection-related venous ulcers (VU) and (b) examine associations between global sleep quality with age, sex, comorbidities, pain, nutrition, physical health rating, fatigue, emotional problems, health-related quality of life, attitude toward physical activity, and number of ulcers.

Design: This study used a cross-sectional design.

Subjects And Setting: The participants included 31 patients with VU and 30 without VU (men [n = 35] and women; mean age = 54 years) who were attending an indigent clinic for wound care or general health.

A Cross-sectional, Descriptive, Quality Improvement Project to Assess Undergraduate Nursing Students' Clinical Exposure to Patients With Wounds in an Introductory Nursing Course.

Because nurses frequently participate in decisions related to wound care, learning about wounds and their care during undergraduate education is critical. A cross-sectional, descriptive, quality improvement project was conducted in an introductory baccalaureate nursing course to identify: 1) the types of patients with wounds assigned to beginning students, 2) patient wound care procedures and dressings, and 3) student level of participation in wound care. Data were collected from the weekly notes recorded about students' (N = 49) patient care experiences in 3 acute care hospitals for 9 clinical days during 1 semester.

Falls, Balance Confidence, and Lower-Body Strength in Patients Seeking Outpatient Venous Ulcer Wound Care.

Purpose & Abstract: To provide information about a quality improvement project examining falls in persons seeking outpatient wound care.

Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for physicians and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care.

Objectives: After participating in this educational activity, the participant should be better able to:1.

The Perceived Control Over Pain Construct and Functional Status.

Introduction: Belief in one's ability to control pain is a significant predictor of health outcomes and is related to improved functional status. The purpose of this study was to introduce a novel formulation of the construct, Perceived Control Over Pain and to test its effects on functional status.

Methods: Participants (N = 301) were primarily African American (92%); and were adults with low income attending a primary care clinic and reporting pain within the past 2 weeks.

A cross-sectional pilot study to examine food sufficiency and assess nutrition among low-income patients with injection-related venous ulcers.

Adequate nutrition has long been considered a critical component for wound healing, but literature regarding the relationship between nutrition and venous ulcer (VU) healing is limited. A person's nutrition is affected by the availability of food as well as his/her overall health. Food sufficiency and nutrition are important concerns in the care of persons of low income with injection-related VUs, which tend to be large and slow to heal.

The Pieper-Zulkowski pressure ulcer knowledge test.

Objective: To describe the development and initial testing of the Pieper-Zulkowski Pressure Ulcer Knowledge Test (PZ-PUKT).

Design: Cross-sectional, instrument testing.

Setting: Hospital association pressure ulcer educational program conference.

A comparative study of the five-times-sit-to-stand and timed-up-and-go tests as measures of functional mobility in persons with and without injection-related venous ulcers.

Purpose: To provide information on the Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand (FTSTS) and Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG) tests in persons with injection-related venous ulcers (VU+) and persons without venous ulcers (VU-).

Target Audience: This continuing education activity is intended for physicians and nurses with an interest in skin and wound care.

Objectives: After participating in this educational activity, the participant should be better able to:

Objective: To examine functional mobility using Five-Times-Sit-to-Stand (FTSTS) and Timed-Up-and-Go (TUG) tests in persons with injection-related venous ulcers (VU+) and compare these findings to persons without venous ulcers (VU-).

Psychosocial needs of cancer patients living in the Adirondacks: a needs assessment.

As the national conversation on solutions to healthcare factors such as affordability and access is likely to intensify, health inequities continue to persist in rural areas. National studies suggest a growing, aging, rural population impacting the revenues of local healthcare facilities, as well as contributing to complexity of care. This paper examines factors influencing the health of rural citizens in upstate New York and offers the results of an initial needs assessment looking at the psychosocial healthcare needs of cancer patients living in the Adirondack Park region.