Enhancing prone positioning and skin damage prevention education: A randomized controlled non-inferiority trial comparing a digital education hub (PRONEtect) and a traditional lecture on final-year nursing participants' confidence and knowledge.

Introduction: The incidence of pressure ulcers remains high in patients with moderate to severe acute respiratory distress syndrome, ventilated in the prone position. A digital platform, dedicated to prone positioning and skin/tissue damage education was developed.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of the PRONEtect Education Hub versus a traditional lecture on final-year nursing students' confidence levels and knowledge in a non-inferiority study.

Development of prone positioning and skin damage prevention digital education: the PRONEtect project.

Objective: The incidence of skin/tissue damage, such as pressure ulcers, remains high in mechanically ventilated patients in the prone position. According to guidelines, critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) should be prone for at least 12-16 hours to improve oxygenation and decrease mortality. Therefore, educating clinicians on how to reposition and manage the patient safely in a prone position plays a vital role in preventing adverse events.

Skin damage prevention in the prone ventilated critically ill patient: A comprehensive review and gap analysis (PRONEtect study).

Background: Ventilating critically ill patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome in the prone position is a life-saving strategy, but it is associated with adverse consequences such as skin damage.

Aim: To identify, review and evaluate international proning and skin care guidelines and make an inventory of commonly used equipment and training resources.

Design: A gap analysis methodology was applied.

Skin tears: prevention and management.

Skin tears commonly occur at the extremes of age and are associated with skin changes in ageing skin. They are considered to be acute wounds caused by mechanical forces, such as blunt trauma. While the true prevalence and incidence of skin tears is unknown, the available evidence suggests that these wounds occur in all healthcare settings.

Prevalence of skin tears among frail older adults living in Canadian long-term care facilities.

Objectives: To explore the prevalence of skin tears in the Canadian long-term care (LTC) population.

Subjects And Setting: The setting included 678 residents residing in four LTC facilities in western Canada.

Design: A cross-sectional prevalence study to establish the prevalence of skin tears in four LTC facilities in Canada.

Can We Increase the Value and Decrease the Cost of Clinical Skills Assessment?

Although the authors do not agree with medical students' bid to end the United States Medical Licensing Examination Step 2 Clinical Skills or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination Level 2-Performance Evaluation tests, they concur with Ecker and colleagues that conducting further research to support the validity argument, providing greater feedback on performance, and exploring options to reduce costs are important for addressing students' concerns. Evidence to support the validity of clinical skills exam scores and associated inferences already exists. What is lacking, and would help further justify the use of these examinations, is more evidence to support the "extrapolation" argument-that is, is performance on these examinations related to actual patient care? Enhanced feedback on exam performance should also be considered.

Hip fracture: diagnosis, treatment, and secondary prevention.

Hip fractures cause significant morbidity and are associated with increased mortality. Women experience 80% of hip fractures, and the average age of persons who have a hip fracture is 80 years. Most hip fractures are associated with a fall, although other risk factors include decreased bone mineral density, reduced level of activity, and chronic medication use.

Carpal tunnel syndrome.

Carpal tunnel syndrome is the most common entrapment neuropathy, affecting approximately 3 to 6 percent of adults in the general population. Although the cause is not usually determined, it can include trauma, repetitive maneuvers, certain diseases, and pregnancy. Symptoms are related to compression of the median nerve, which results in pain, numbness, and tingling.

Musculoskeletal disorders.

Musculoskeletal system complaints are one of the most common reasons that patients seek medical care. A significant number of these patients use complementary and alternative medicine. This article discusses the most common musculoskeletal problems for which patients present to a physician's office.

Fostering rural physicians: the early success of the rural scholars track at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center School of Medicine--New Orleans.

Louisiana is a predominantly rural state, with 86 percent of its parishes classified as areas of Primary Care Health Professional Shortages by the US Department of Health and Human Services. As a result, individuals living in these areas have limited access to primary medical care. In addition, data derived from the Association of American Medical Colleges Center for Workforce Studies clearly indicate that fewer and fewer medical-school graduates are choosing primary-care specialties as a career.

Common spider bites.

There are more than 30,000 species of spiders, most of which cannot inflict serious bites to humans because of their delicate mouthparts and impotent or prey-specific venoms. However, some spiders produce toxic venoms that can cause skin lesions, systemic illnesses, and neurotoxicity. One of the more common bites is inflicted by the widow spiders (Latrodectus species).

Effects of 4-hydroxytamoxifen, raloxifene and ICI 182 780 on survival of uterine cancer cell lines in the presence and absence of exogenous estrogens.

The impact of 17beta-estradiol and antiestrogens on uterine cancer cells is poorly understood. The aim of this study was to determine the impact of 17beta-estradiol, 4-hydroxytamoxifen, raloxifene and ICI 182 780 on the cell proliferation of six uterine cancer cell lines: HeLa, HEC-1-A, KLE, RL-95-2, Ishikawa and EN-1078D. The effects of these compounds on the cell proliferation of the six uterine cancer cell lines were studied in the presence and absence of estrogens (phenol red and serum deprivation of sex steroids).

Resveratrol interferes with AKT activity and triggers apoptosis in human uterine cancer cells.

Background: Endometrial cancer is the fourth most prominent cancer among all feminine cancers in the Western world. Resveratrol, a natural anti-oxidant found in red wine emerging as a novel anticancer agent, exerts antiproliferative and pro-apoptotic activity in various cancer cell types, but its effect on uterine cancer cells is poorly understood. At the molecular level, resveratrol has been reported to inhibit cyclooxygenase (COX) expression and/or activity; in endometrial cancer cells, COX-2 is overexpressed and confers cellular resistance to apoptosis.

Ankle problems masquerading as sprains.

The most common ankle injury is a ligamentous sprain, usually involving the lateral side. This is usually treated very successfully with conservative management. Those patients who have continued complaints despite such management should be suspected of having something more than a simple sprain.

AKT involvement in cisplatin chemoresistance of human uterine cancer cells.

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the possible involvement of Akt activity and specific isoforms (Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3) in the resistance of human uterine cancer cells to cisplatin.

Methods: Two different endometrial (HEC-1-A and KLE) and one cervical (HeLa) cancer cell lines all known as wild-type PTEN (tumor suppressor phosphatase tensin homologue, a lipid phosphatase involved in the negative regulation of Akt activity) were used for these studies.

Results: Basal levels of Akt1, Akt2, and Akt3 mRNAs were determined by real-time quantitative RT-PCR studies and Western blot analyses were carried out to determine protein abundance of each isoforms.

Groin pain in athletes.

Groin pain in athletes is not infrequently a cause of frustration and aggravation to both doctor and patient. Complaints in the groin region can prove difficult to diagnose, particularly when they are of a chronic nature. These injuries are seen more commonly in sports that require specific use (or overuse) of the proximal musculature of the thigh and lower abdominal muscles.