Risk Factors and Best Practices for the Prevention of Post-Cardiac Surgery Surgical Site Infections in a Tertiary Care Centre.

Background: Post-cardiac surgery surgical site infections (SSIs) pose devastating consequences in terms of morbidity and mortality to patients.

Objective: To examine current risk factors and best practice perioperative care for prevention of SSI following cardiac surgery through the lens of the demographic/clinical characteristics of patients who developed post-cardiac surgery SSIs at a major tertiary care institution, and to identify where documentation is lacking and could be improved to better serve clinical practice.

Methods: A literature review on post-cardiac surgery SSI prevention and risk factors was performed.

Self-management support for peritoneal dialysis patients.

Unlabelled: The increasing prevalence of chronic illnesses and kidney disease, in particular, makes it necessary to adopt new approaches towards their management (Wagner, 1998). Evidence suggests that promoting self-management improves the health status of peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients, as they manage upwards of 90% of their own care. Patients who are unable to self-manage suffer from various complications.

A clinical nurse specialist intervention to facilitate safe transfer from ICU.

Purpose/objectives: The purpose of this article was to describe an innovative quality initiative implemented by the clinical nurses specialist in medicine to facilitate the transition process between the intensive care unit and the medical wards.

Background/rationale: Safely transferring patients with complex health conditions from an area of high technology and increased monitoring, like the intensive care unit, to an area with lower nurse-to-patient ratio is an intricate process. The care of these patients, once transferred, also requires varying levels of expertise.

Nuclear magnetic resonance and biochemical measurements of glucose utilization in the cone-dominant ground squirrel retina.

Purpose: To provide quantitative information on glucose utilization in cone-dominant ground squirrel retinas.

Methods: Ground squirrel eyecups were incubated in medium containing (14)C-glucose, and the production of (14)CO(2) was measured. Measurements were also made of lactic acid production (glycolysis).