[The complex pediatric middle ear hemangioma].

Hemangiomas in the pediatric middle ear are a rare occurrence. We present the case of a 3-year-old boy with unilateral hearing impairment and recurrent otitis media with effusion due to a hemangioma in the middle ear. This caused a venous sinus thrombosis, osteomyelitis, and mastoiditis.

Approaches for calibration and validation of near-infrared optical methods for oxygenation monitoring.

Pulse oximetry for arterial oxygenation monitoring and tissue oximetry for monitoring of cerebral oxygenation or muscle oxygenation are based on quantitative in vivo diffuse optical spectroscopy. However, in both cases the information on absolute or relative concentration of human tissue constituents and especially on hemoglobin oxygenation can often not be retrieved by model-based analysis. An in vivo calibration against an accepted reference measurement can be a practical alternative.

Responding to the call for globalization in nursing education: the implementation of the transatlantic double-degree program.

Increased demand for nurses worldwide has highlighted the need for a flexible nursing workforce eligible for licensure in multiple countries. Nursing's curricular innovation mirrors the call for reform within higher education including globalization of curricula (E. J.

Auditory processing in children with language-based learning problems: a magnetencephalography study.

We examined basic auditory temporal processing in children with language-based learning problems (LPs) applying magnetencephalography. Auditory-evoked fields of 43 children (27 LP, 16 controls) were recorded while passively listening to 100-ms white noise bursts with temporal gaps of 3, 6, 10 and 30 ms inserted after 5 or 50 ms. The P1m was evaluated by spatio-temporal source analysis.

[Universal newborn hearing screening. Methodical aspects].

Background: In order to prepare for the introduction of a universal newborn hearing screening program on a larger scale, TEOAE and ABR were recorded on automated screening instruments from both ears of 501 newborns at the University Hospital Heidelberg over a period of 13 months. The parents of children in whom OAE and ABR could not be detected in both ears, were requested to allow a complete exploration of the auditory status of the children at the department of pediatric audiology.

Subjects And Methods: Internally available data networks were used for the acquisition and evaluation of data and for the organization of tracking and follow-up.

Nurse educator guidelines for the management of heart failure.

Heart failure is a chronic illness that poses a significant societal burden in the United States. Health care facilities are challenged to provide the most current treatment options available for patients with heart failure. Patient education focusing on self-management is recognized as essential.

Proper Exercise and Nutrition kit: use of obesity screening and assessment tools with underserved populations.

Additional efforts are needed to assist public health, school, and clinic-based pediatric nurses in identifying the prevalence of obesity among Kansas Medicaid-eligible children, 21 years or younger. A Proper Exercise and Nutrition (PEN) tool kit was mailed to 500 public health nurses who performed KAN Be Healthy (KBH) assessments. KBH nurses were provided an expanded training curriculum on growth, nutrition, and obesity along with appropriate screening tools.

Comparison of growth in compensation for hospital administrators and nurses in Kansas, 2003 to 2005.

The current nursing shortage is reaching a critical level (Buerhaus, Donelan, Ulrich, Norman, & Dittus, 2006). As baby boomers reach an age when they will require increased healthcare the demand for nurses will accelerate over the foreseeable future. One issue impacting the desirability of nursing as a career is salary compensation.

Nurses' knowledge of heart failure education topics as reported in a small midwestern community hospital.

Recurrent heart failure (HF) is the most common cause for readmission of elderly patients with HF. Patient education is an essential component of care for these patients. Healthcare providers must have a sufficient knowledge base to facilitate this education.

Survey of tobacco cessation curricula in Kansas nursing programs.

Tobacco use is a major health risk that requires a comprehensive response by healthcare professionals. Nurse educators can contribute to the reduction of tobacco use by educating nursing students about tobacco use and smoking cessation strategies. The authors examine the breadth and depth of tobacco cessation content in Kansas registered nursing programs providing insight into the content and resources needed to teach nursing faculty and students how to assist individuals in tobacco use cessation.

A prototype device for standardized calibration of pulse oximeters.

Objective: To develop and test a method for standardized calibration of pulse oximeters.

Methods: A novel pulse oximeter calibration technique capable of simulating the behavior of real patients is discussed. It is based on an artificial finger with a variable spectral-resolved light attenuator in conjunction with an extensive clinical database of time-resolved optical transmission spectra of patients fingers in the wavelength range 600-1000 nm.

A prototype device for standardized calibration of pulse oximeters II.

Objective: There is no commonly accepted in vivo calibration method for pulse oximeters available up to now. On the basis of a prototype device for the calibration of pulse oximeters which was introduced recently, a second approach based on the same concept was tackled in order to design a reliable method for standardized calibration of pulse oximeters.

Methods: An extensive clinical database of time-resolved optical transmission spectra of patient fingers is used to simulate the behavior of patients.

Accuracy of point-of-care-testing (POCT) for determining hemoglobin concentrations.

Background: While point-of-care testing (POCT) is being used increasingly as a basis for deciding on perioperative erythrocyte transfusion, no valid standards currently exist concerning the accuracy of Hb concentration measurements. For clinical employment, however, the confidence limits (+/-2 SD) of these measurements should lie close to 5 g/l. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the accuracy and precision of point-of-care testing for blood hemoglobin concentration (cHb in g/l) measurements in critically ill patients.

Design and validation of a pulse oximeter calibrator.

The performance of a new calibrator for pulse oximeters is tested with five pulse oximeters from different manufacturers. The calibrator is based on time resolved transmission spectra of human fingers. Finger spectra with different arterial oxygen saturation can be selected to simulate real patients.

Detecting and quantifying absorbed irrigation fluid by measuring mannitol and sorbitol concentrations in serum samples, and by ethanol monitoring.

Objective: To describe a modified and improved technique which, in one measurement, estimates the influx of irrigation fluid during endoscopic endometrial ablation or prostate resection, and provides both rapid confirmation of the diagnosis and an estimate of the amount of fluid absorbed by detecting markers which pass from the irrigation fluid to the serum, i.e. mannitol or sorbitol.

The effects of motion artifact and low perfusion on the performance of a new generation of pulse oximeters in volunteers undergoing hypoxemia.

Introduction: Motion artifact and low perfusion often lead to faulty or absent pulse oximetry readings in clinical practice.

Objective: Determine the impact of motion artifact and low perfusion on newly introduced pulse oximetry technologies during hypoxemic episodes in healthy volunteers.

Methods: Five different pulse oximeters from 4 manufacturers (the Datex Ohmeda 3900P; the Agilent; the Nellcor N-3000; the Nellcor N-395; and the Schiller OX-1, which is the European version of the Ivy SatGuard 2000 with Masimo SET) were compared with respect to their ability (separated or in combination) to provide accurate readings in the presence of motion artifact and low perfusion.

Implementation of the care coordinator role: a grounded theory approach.

The purpose of this study was to explore the process of implementing a new care coordinator role on a medical-surgical unit. Qualitative data were collected from employees and patients during a 3-month period; data analysis occurred concurrently. Using the constant comparative method, a grounded theory was developed to explain the initial process of implementation of the clinical nurse III (CNIII) role.

A rural vision of a healthy community.

Nurses can take a leadership role in the process of helping rural Americans to recognize and implement their vision of a healthy community. This necessitates an understanding of rural communities' perceptions of health and health care and allows nurses to more appropriately provide primary health care. As defined by the World Health Organization, primary health care is comprised of concepts of essentiality, community participation, intersectorial collaboration, access, and empowerment (Barnes et al.