An electronic medical record reminder is independently associated with improved opportunistic influenza vaccination rates for older inpatients.

Background: Influenza vaccination will have added importance this winter given the possibility of further waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. This study examines the impact of an electronic medical record (EMR) reminder on influenza vaccine uptake among eligible hospital inpatients.

Methods: We included a convenience sample of 750 adults (median age 77 years) who are eligible for influenza vaccination (⩾65 years and/or length of stay >30 days).

Perceptions and experiences of nursing students communicating with people living with dementia: The validation, emotion, reassure, activity (VERA) communication skills framework.

Background: There is an increased risk with advancing age that degenerative conditions such as dementia will affect a person's capacity to communicate. Thus, there is increased possibility that nursing students will be caring for this client group and will need to have the skills to communicate effectively. The Validation, Emotion, Reassure, Activity (VERA) framework is a communication tool developed for this purpose.

Feedback from the fourth European Bioanalysis Forum Young Scientist Symposium.

Since 2014, the European Bioanalysis Forum organizes a Young Scientist Symposium. The meeting format was created to provide development opportunities for young scientists to engage in international discussions. Creating a peer community of young scientists has been a proven recipe to lower the threshold and promote engagement in this community of young talents.

Autumn Weather and Winter Increase in Cerebrovascular Disease Mortality.

Mortality from cerebrovascular disease increases in winter but the cause is unclear. Ireland's oceanic climate means that it infrequently experiences extremes of weather. We examined how weather patterns relate to stroke mortality in Ireland.

Safety and tolerability of Tilt Testing and Carotid Sinus Massage in the octogenarians.

Objective: to evaluate the safety and tolerability of Tilt Testing (TT) and Carotid Sinus Massage (CSM) in octogenarians with unexplained syncope.

Methods: patients consecutively referred for transient loss of consciousness to the 'Syncope Units' of three hospitals were enrolled. TT and CSM were performed according to the European Society of Cardiology guidelines on syncope.

In-hospital stroke: characteristics and outcomes.

In-hospital stroke (IS) made up 6.5% of strokes recorded in the Irish National Stroke Register in 2012. International research has demonstrated poorer outcomes post IS compared to out of hospital stroke (OS).

Vaginal birth after caesarean section: clinical and legal perspectives.

Vaginal birth after Caesarean section (VBAC) is currently the preferred method of delivery for pregnant women who have undergone 1 previous low transverse Caesarean section. This common practice warrants some reconsideration in light of recent clinical data on the risks associated with VBAC, and it is incumbent upon clinicians to ensure that women under their care are fully aware of these risks. Indeed, in some circumstances, an attempt at VBAC may be perceived by the courts to represent a negligent standard of care.

The role of professional associations in reducing maternal mortality worldwide.

The death of hundreds of thousands of women due to pregnancy-related complications casts a shadow over the modern obstetrical world. This paper examines the potential roles and responsibilities of professional obstetrical and midwifery associations in addressing this tolerated tragedy of maternal deaths. We examine the successes and challenges of obstetrical and midwifery associations and encourage the growth and development of active associations to address maternal mortality within their own borders.

Lying in the bed we've made: reflection on some unintended consequences of clinical practice guidelines in the courts.

Evidence on the use of clinical practice guidelines to aid in the legal determination of negligence is increasing, specifically where they affect determinations of the standard of care and causation. So too is evidence that some clinical practice guidelines are of poor quality. An action alleging the negligent failure to diagnose and treat gestational diabetes in 1988, in which the neonate suffered permanent brachial plexus injury, entered into evidence a 1984 clinical practice guideline authored by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada.

The quality of obstetrical clinical practice guidelines promulgated by a specialty society.

Objective: To review the methodologic quality of all obstetrical clinical practice guidelines developed by the Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada (SOGC) from 1992 to August 2001.

Methods: Three reviewers independently assessed each of 37 guidelines according to a validated and reliable 37-item appraisal tool. A mean "global" score as well as three "dimension" scores were calculated for each guideline.

Investigating the effect of erectile dysfunction on the lives of men: a qualitative research study.

1. The aim of this project was to identify and explore the issues facing men who live with erectile dysfunction (ED), in particular men's' relationships with women partners and men's interactions with the wider world. 2.

Platelet count may predict abnormal bleeding time among pregnant women with hypertension and preeclampsia.

Background: Anesthesiologists often require laboratory data to estimate the bleeding risk among hypertensive pregnant women prior to administering regional anesthesia. Many rely on the bleeding time (BT) in making this determination. We examined whether the platelet count can adequately predict BT among a group of hypertensive parturients.

Detection of [U-13C]eicosapentaenoic acid in rat liver lipids using 13C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.

Fatty acid carbons are well-resolved in 13C nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of lipid extracts, but application of this methodology to the metabolism of 13C-labelled fatty acids has not yet been reported. In the present study, 13C NMR was used to monitor the presence of 98% [U-13C]eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in liver and carcass lipids 24 h after it had been injected into the stomach of a rat. Natural abundance 13C NMR spectra of liver total fatty acid extracts were obtained from four control rats for comparison.

Immunochemical studies of human factor XIII.

Plasma factor XIII circulates as a noncovalently associated, tetrameric zymogen (a2b2). The b subunit may act as a carrier protein for the a subunit, which possesses the potential catalytic function. In order to define interactions that occur between the two subunits, a sensitive and specific RIA for the b subunit has been developed.

In vivo radiolabeling of platelet proteins: a new method with identification of platelet factor XIII.

A method for radiolabeling platelets in vivo was developed in which 3H-arginine was injected into the bone marrow of normal dogs. On the third day after injection, a maximum of 6%--7% of the radioactivity had been incorporated into the total platelet mass. This method of isotope administration resulted in a 50--60-fold increase in maximum uptake of radiolabel by platelets, as compared to values obtained by others using intravenous injections of various radioactive compounds.

Fibrinogen Chapel Hill: hypodysfibrinogenemia with a tertiary polymerization defect.

A patient with a functionally defective fibrinogen (fibrinogen Chapel Hill) has been investigated. Fibrinogen Chapel Hill is characterized by hypofibrinogenemia, with a plasma concentration about one third of normal, as measured both functionally and immunochemically. Fibrinogen survival is normal; so also is fibrinopeptide release.

Difference between type I autoimmune inhibitors of fibrin stabilization in two patients with severe hemorrhagic disorder.

Inhibitors of fibrin stabilization of apparently autoimmune origin, found in two severely bleeding unrelated patients (W. G. and G.