Enhancing social functioning in older veterans with PTSD: Rationale and design of an intervention and initial RCT.

Background: Older Veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) are often socially isolated and have complex comorbid physical health problems. Aging-related stressors can exacerbate PTSD symptoms. These factors contribute to greater impairment in social functioning and decreased quality of life (QoL).

Maximizing Veterans Health Affairs Community Hospice Collaborations: Review of Perceived Resource Needs to Support Veterans at End of Life.

Within the United States, approximately 330 000 military veterans die annually, but only 5% of deaths occur in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) facilities. To help provide end-of-life care for veterans, the VHA built community partnerships with community hospice and palliative care (HPC) organizations. Veterans experience unique psychosocial factors making it vital to ensure HPC organizations have access to veteran-specific knowledge and resources to reduce suffering.

Hospice and palliative care clinicians' perceptions of posttraumatic stress disorder at end-of-life in military veterans.

At the end of life, individuals may re-engage with earlier life trauma as they reflect on life experiences and confront their mortality. As such, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms at the end of life may worsen the quality of death experience. This is a concern for military veterans, who tend to have more trauma exposures and higher rates of PTSD, and particularly for veterans receiving care in rural areas where access to PTSD specialty services is limited.

Advancing Trauma-Informed Care Education for Hospice and Palliative Staff: Development and Evaluation of Educational Videos.

Nurses play an essential role in managing mental health conditions, such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), especially in rural areas where access to mental health care is limited. Posttraumatic stress disorder may emerge at the end of life and complicate health care and is a particular concern for aging Vietnam veterans. We describe the development of 3 videos that illustrate how to recognize PTSD, respond to trauma disclosures, and manage PTSD in cognitive impairment during an in-home hospice nurse visit.

[Abnormal liver function during therapy with amiodarone in patients with persistent atrial fibrillation].

The aim of this work was to analyze the prevalence of level function disorder in patients with atrial fibrillation taking constantly amiodarone. Two groups of patients were studied: in group 1 (n = 78) patients with persistent atrial fibrillation taking constantly amiodarone for rhythm control were included, group 2 (n = 67) consisted of patients with permanent atrial fibrillation taking propafenon, ethacizine and digoxin for rate control. In studied groups liver transaminase activity and data of liver echography after 90 +/- 8 days of treatment were estimated.