Access to treatment in prison: an inventory of medication preparation and distribution approaches.

The preparation and distribution of medication in prisons or jails are critical for individuals to access their treatment. This process is resource-intensive for healthcare professionals and may violate principles of confidentiality, autonomy, respect, and dignity if non-qualified staff are involved. However, there are no published best practices on the topic.

Nurse-led mind-body relaxation intervention in prison: A multiperspective mixed-method evaluation.

Background: Mind-body relaxation techniques are complementary or alternative to medication to manage high stress and anxiety levels in prisons.

Purpose: To assess the motivation to attend and perceived benefits of a nurse-led group relaxation intervention in prison, investigate the experience of participants, prison officers, and health professionals, and identify improvements.

Method: Exploratory study was conducted in a post-trial facility in Switzerland using a multiperspective convergent parallel mixed method drawing from participatory action research principles.

Comparison of right ventricular septal pacing and right ventricular apical pacing in patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators: the SEPTAL CRT Study.

Aims: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a recommended treatment of heart failure (HF) patients with depressed left ventricular ejection fraction and wide QRS. The optimal right ventricular (RV) lead position being a matter of debate, we sought to examine whether RV septal (RVS) pacing was not inferior to RV apical (RVA) pacing on left ventricular reverse remodelling in patients receiving a CRT-defibrillator.

Methods And Results: Patients (n = 263, age = 63.

Defibrillation testing in everyday medical practice during implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation in France: analysis from the LEADER registry.

Background: Defibrillation testing (DT) is usually performed during implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation.

Aims: We conducted a multicentre prospective study to determine the DT procedures used in everyday practice, to compare the characteristics of patients with or without DT, and to compare severe adverse events in these two populations during implantation and follow-up.

Methods: The LEADER registry enrolled 904 patients included for primo-implantation of a single (n=261), dual (n=230) or triple (n=429) defibrillation system in 42 French centres.

A randomized study of defibrillator lead implantations in the right ventricular mid-septum versus the apex: the SEPTAL study.

Introduction: The study was designed to evaluate the feasibility and performance of right ventricular (RV) mid-septal versus apical implantable defibrillator (ICD) lead placement.

Methods And Results: SEPTAL is a randomized, noninferiority trial, which randomly assigned patients to implantation of ICD leads in the RV mid-septum versus apex, with a primary objective of comparing the implant success rate of implant at each site, based on strict electrical predefined criteria. We also compared the (1) pacing lead characteristics, (2) rates of appropriate and inappropriate ICD therapies, and (3) all-cause mortality between the 2 sites at 1 year.

Frequency of atrial tachyarrhythmias in patients treated by cardiac resynchronization (from the Prospective, Multicenter Mona Lisa Study).

The continuous measurement of sustained atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT) is now possible with some permanently implanted devices. Data on this subject remain controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the incidence of sustained AT in patients treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy using pacemakers without backup defibrillators (CRT-P), within the first year after implantation, using strict definition criteria for sustained AT and a systematic review of all high-quality electrographically recorded episodes.

The use of telescoping guide catheters for coronary sinus cannulation and sub-selecting tributaries in left ventricular lead placement.

Introduction: Failure to enter the coronary sinus (CS) with a guiding catheter and entering its tributaries remains challenging in left ventricle (LV) pacing lead implants for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). A dual telescoping catheter system (8F outer/6F inner) is designed to provide the ability to adjust the catheter curve size, shape and/or reach to the patients' anatomy avoiding the need for catheter change.

Methods: Five different designs for CS cannulation were randomly tested in 64 patients scheduled for CRT device implant.

Performance of a rate responsive accelerometer-based pacemaker with autocalibration during standardized exercise and recovery.

The rate responsiveness of a single chamber, accelerometer-based pacemaker with an autocalibration function (Opus G VVIR pacemaker, ELA Medical) was studied with a daily life protocol developed to automatically optimize the programming of accelerometer-based sensors. This new sensor was compared with two other body activity sensors that were manually optimized patient by patient. Forty-three pacemaker recipients (mean age 71 +/- 11 years), paced > 95% of the time, underwent a daily life protocol consisting of rapid walking for 6 minutes (W), climbing upstairs for 1.