[Better assessment, better care: Quetci, a questionnaire for assessing cognitive disorders in nursing practice].

Cognitive disorders can have significant repercussions on the quality of care and daily life for patients. We have developed a new tool specifically designed for nursing practice to identify these problems in patients with brain tumors. The Cognitive Impairment Assessment Questionnaire for nursing practice is an objective, quick and easy-to-administer tool that is readily accepted by patients.

[Practice in a unit for difficult patients for students of nursing studies].

Units for difficult patients are secure psychiatric wards for people with mental health disorders who could have or who have displayed dangerous behaviour. In this article, four students in their 3rd year of nursing studies share their experience on such a ward during their practice placement at Cadillac general hospital. Their learning and discovery of nursing care alongside experienced professionals enabled them to develop their competencies and change their perception of psychiatry.

Determination of prothombinase activation after adding human purified prothrombin to human clot: comparison of hirudin, an activated factor II inhibitor, with DX9065a, an activated factor X inhibitor, on clot-associated thrombin and on prothrombin activation.

Clot-associated prothrombinase and thrombin activities may contribute to thrombus extension after thrombolytic and anticoagulant treatment. We studied prothrombin activation after adding human purified prothrombin to human clot. By using two different drugs with an exclusive direct anti-activated factor X activity (DX9065a) or anti-activated factor II activity (r-hirudin), we tried to determine whether clot-bound thrombin and prothrombinase could be inhibited in our experimental system when human purified prothrombin was added.

Standard measurement of clot-bound thrombin by using a chromogenic substrate for thrombin.

We have developed an in vitro protocol for the measurement of clot-bound thrombin. This protocol uses a chromogenic substrate for thrombin and a microtiter plate reader and is suitable for screening inhibitors for thrombin that are directed to clot-bound thrombin. Clots were obtained after recalcification of human plasma.

Correlation of plasma coagulation parameters with thromboprophylaxis, patient characteristics, and outcome in the MEDENOX study.

Context: Plasma anti-Xa and anti-IIa activities correlate with the dose of low-molecular-weight heparin, and D-dimer and thrombin-antithrombin complexes are markers of procoagulant activity.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between plasma coagulation parameters and patient characteristics, including renal function, thromboprophylaxis, and incidence of venous thromboembolism (VTE) in the MEDENOX study population.

Design: Controlled, multicenter, double-blind, randomized study.