The Impact of Cost of Living on the Quality of Life of Cystic Fibrosis Patients: A Study in Greece.

Introduction Cystic fibrosis (CF) leads to the impairment of multiple essential organs and systems in the human body. The objective of this study was to analyze the financial consequences of having cystic fibrosis (CF) on patients, evaluate their general state of health, and specifically investigate the impact of living expenses on their quality of life. Methods The data were collected using three tools and a form for personal information entry.

Health-Related Quality of Life and Rehabilitation Costs of Patients with Amputated Limb.

Aim: The aim of this study was the evaluation of health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and rehabilitation costs of patients with amputated limb.

Materials And Methods: This is a cross-sectional study and the study sample, which was a sample of convenience, included 100 patients with amputated limb. The tools of the survey were the Short Form Questionnaire-36 (SF-36) and the Questionnaire used for measuring rehabilitation costs in trauma patients by Stergiannis et al.

Saliva cortisol levels and physiological parameter fluctuations in mild traumatic brain injury patients compared to controls.

Background: Evidence suggests that fluctuations of cortisol and physiological parameters can emerge during the course of mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI).

Objective: To investigate fluctuations of cortisol and physiological parametersduring the acute phase of mTBI in hospitalized patients.

Methods: 30 participants (19 patients with mTBI and 11 controls) were examined for saliva cortisol dynamics, heart rate (HR), systolic arterial pressure (SAP), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and body temperature (BT) fluctuations for four consecutive days.

Factors affecting adult intensive care units costs by using the bottom-up and top-down costing methodology in OECD countries: A systematic review.

Objectives: To review the studies, which calculated the total intensive care unit costs and indicated the main cost drivers in the intensive care by using either top-down, bottom-up approach or the combination of them.

Research Methodology/designs: A systematic review of papers published until October 2020 was conducted. Search was performed on PubMed, Medline, Scopus and Science Direct databases.

Effects of a Personalized Nurse-Led Educational Program for New Patients Receiving Oral Anticoagulant Therapy after Mechanical Heart Valve Prosthesis Implantation on Adherence to Treatment.

Background: Life-long anticoagulant therapy is mandatory for patients who undergo heart valve replacement with implantation of a mechanical prosthesis. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a nurse-led patient educational program concerning oral anticoagulant therapy intake after heart valve replacement surgery on patients' knowledge of important parameters of anticoagulant administration.

Methods: In this single-center study, 200 patients who underwent surgical implantation of a mechanical prosthesis were divided into 2 groups.

Avascular necrosis of the femoral head: Evaluation of hyperbaric oxygen therapy and quality of life.

Introduction: The treatment of avascular necrosis of the femoral head (AVNFH) is based on invasive (e.g., core decompression) and non-invasive methods (e.

Central-Line-Associated Bloodstream Infections (CLABSIs) Incidence and the Role of Obesity: A Prospective, Observational Study in Greece.

Introduction: Although central venous catheters (CVCs) provide reliable vascular access, there are several risks linked with their use, with the rates of central-line-associated bloodstream infections (CLABSIs) being the most important ones. CLABSIs have a big impact on mortality rates and health care costs. The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence of obesity in the development of central venous catheter infections.

Parental anxiety in pediatric surgery consultations: the role of health literacy and need for information.

Introduction: Although important, parental anxiety, health literacy and need-for-information in pediatric surgery outpatient clinics have not been extensively studied. Lower educational attainments, minorities and lower socioeconomic status have been associated with limited health literacy. Parental anxiety has been related to health literacy, sex, education and information needs.

Fluoropyrimidine-induced toxicity and DPD deficiency.. A case report of early onset, lethal capecitabine-induced toxicity and mini review of the literature. Uridine triacetate: Efficacy and safety as an antidote. Is it accessible outside USA?

Fluoropyrimidine-based regimens are among the most commonly used chemotherapy combinations for the treatment of solid tumors. Several genetic polymorphisms that are implicated with fluoropyrimidine anabolism and catabolism have been associated with the development of life-threatening toxicities. Uridine triacetate is an FDA-approved antidote for 5-fluorouracil or capecitabine overdose and early-onset, life-threatening toxicity within 96 h of last chemotherapy dose.

Parental Health Literacy in the Pediatric Surgical Setting.

Health literacy (HL) in the pediatric setting has been associated with poor health outcomes and plays an important role in the existing health disparities. Low parents caregivers HL influences health outcomes mainly in chronically ill children. Trying to identify the role of HL in the pediatric surgical and dentistry setting, we conducted a review of the relevant literature.

Perioperative inadvertent hypothermia among urology patients who underwent transurethral resection with either TURis or transurethral resection of the prostate method.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the incidence of perioperative hypothermia in urology patients undergoing transurethral resection with either TURis or transurethral resection of the prostate method and to recognize the risk factors that were responsible for the occurrence of hypothermia intraoperatively in these patients.

Methods: It was a randomized prospective study. A total of 168 patients, according to American Society of Anesthesiologists physical status I-III, were scheduled for transurethral resection either with TURis or transurethral resection of the prostate method.

Light affects heart rate's 24-h rhythmicity in intensive care unit patients: an observational study.

Background: Intensive care unit (ICU) patients experience two affronts to normal 24-h rhythms: largely internal events such as medication and external factors such as light, noise and nursing interventions.

Aims And Objectives: We investigated the impact of light variance within an ICU on 24-h rhythmicity of three key physiological parameters: heart rate (HR), mean arterial blood pressure (MAP) and body temperature (BT) in this patient population.

Design: Patients were assigned to beds either in the 'light' or 'dark' side within a single ICU.

Circadian disruption of ICU patients: A review of pathways, expression, and interventions.

Intensive care unit patients typically exhibit pathologic wakefulness, poor quality of daytime sleep, nocturnal sleep fragmentation, and sleep patterns that feature the absence of slow wave sleep and rapid eye movement. This article offers a review of the existing literature examining circadian desynchronization in critically ill patients, highlighting contributing factors identified by scholars, and circadian abnormalities observed in these patients. It discusses potential implications for clinical practice and suggests avenues of future research.

Ad libitum and restricted day and night sleep architecture.

This study represents a first controlled comparison of restricted versus unrestricted sleep in both day and night sleep categories. A repeated measures study of a homogenous group of young women without sleep disorders (n=14) found that stage 1, 2, 3 and REM sleep, as well as sleep latency were not statistically different between day ad libitum sleep (DAL) and day interrupted (DI) sleep categories, while night interrupted (NI) and ad libitum (NAL) sleep showed strikingly different architecture.

First Peripherally Inserted Central Catheter Under Ultrasound Guidance in a Greek Intensive Care Unit: A New Role for Greek Perianesthesia Nurses.

We present a case of a 67-year-old Caucasian female who was admitted to the pulmonary clinic of a general hospital in Athens with fever and respiratory symptoms. A lung biopsy was ordered because a clinical diagnosis of interstitial lung disease was suspected. The patient was then hospitalized in the intensive care unit.

Prevalence of Secondary Traumatic Stress Among Psychiatric Nurses in Greece.

The aim of this study was to investigate the prevalence of secondary traumatic stress/compassion fatigue (STS/CF), burnout (BO) and compassion satisfaction (CS) in psychiatric nurses, and their risk factors. The Professional Quality of Life Scale (ProQOL R-IV) and a demographic and work related characteristics questionnaire were distributed to 174 psychiatric nurses in 12 public hospitals in Greece. The majority of participants were at the high risk category for STS/CF (44.

Management of sudden hearing loss with hyperbaric oxygen therapy.

Unlabelled: Idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss (ISSHL) is defined as the sensorineural hearing loss of a minimum of 30 dB in at least three frequencies for three days or more. This study aims to evaluate the clinical efficacy of hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) in the management of idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss.

Material-methods: Patients with ISSHL received treatment including oral corticosteroids and HBO2.

Health-related quality of life and rehabilitation cost following intensive care unit stay in multiple trauma patients.

Objectives: The objective of this study was to assess changes in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) in multiple trauma patients due to motor vehicle crashes during a follow-up period of 2 years after discharge from an intensive care unit (ICU) and the effect of income and financial cost of rehabilitation in HRQOL.

Methods: The study was a prospective observational study of multiple trauma patients from January 2009 to January 2011 who were hospitalized in a general, medical, and surgical ICU of a district hospital in Athens, Greece. Eighty-five patients with multiple traumas due to motor vehicle crashes and with an ICU stay of more than 24 hours were included in the study.

Hyperventilation in asthma: a validation study of the Nijmegen Questionnaire--NQ.

Introduction: The Nijmegen questionnaire (NQ) has previously been used for screening the hyperventilation syndrome (HVS) in asthmatics. However, no validity study has been reported so far.

Objective: To examine the validity and reliability of the NQ in asthma patients and identify the prevalence of HVS.

Predictors of Prolonged Stay in the Intensive Care Unit following Cardiac Surgery.

The prediction of intensive care unit length of stay (ICU-LOS) could contribute to more efficient ICU resources' allocation and better planning of care among cardiac surgery patients. The aim of this study was to identify the preoperative and intraoperative predictors for prolonged cardiac surgery ICU-LOS. An observational cohort study was conducted among 150 consecutive patients, who were admitted to the cardiac surgery ICU of a tertiary hospital of Athens, Greece from September 2010 to January 2011.

The importance of vital signs in the triage of injured patients.

Background: Vital signs are indicators of a patient presenting to an emergency department (ED). Abnormal vital signs have been associated with an increased likelihood of admission to the hospital. Physicians have long recognized the importance of vital sign observations, and vital sign measurement has proven to be useful for detecting serious diseases during triage in EDs.

The impact of ED boarding time, severity of illness, and discharge destination on outcomes of critically ill ED patients.

This aim of this study was to determine the association between emergency department (ED) boarding time, severity of illness, and outcomes for critically ill patients. This was a prospective cohort study of ED patients who met criteria for admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Patients were divided into 2 groups: those who spent less than 6 hr in the ED prior to transfer, and those who spent 6 hr or more.

The role of nitric oxide in cellular response to hyperbaric conditions.

Nitric oxide (NO) acts as a regulator in cell proliferation and expression of growth factors and forms peroxynitrite (ONOO(-)) in oxidative conditions. The aim of the study was to investigate the role of NO in cellular response to hyperbaric oxygen (HBO). NO and nitrotyrosine (NT), biochemical marker for ONOO(-), cell proliferation and growth factors, were ex-vivo studied in cell cultures under HBO and normobaric (NOR) conditions.

Oxygenation equilibration time after alteration of inspired oxygen in critically ill patients.

To determine the time required for arterial oxygen partial pressure (Pao(2)) equilibration after a change in fractional inspired oxygen (Fio(2)) in intensive care unit (ICU) patients, a prospective study in a 7-bed university ICU was performed. Forty adult patients were examined using sequential arterial blood gas measurements after a .3 alteration in Fio(2).

Antibiotic and O2 omissions and errors in hospitalized patients.

The aim was to investigate medication errors regarding antibiotic and oxygen therapy in 2 different hospital types, respiratory versus general, in Greece. Oxygen and antibiotic errors were 27.4% and 16.