Successful management of extremely high-output refractory congenital chylothorax with chemical pleurodesis using 4% povidone-iodine and propranolol: a case report.

First-line therapy for congenital chylothorax is conservative treatment. However, surgical intervention or chemical pleurodesis is required for refractory cases. With all the concerns regarding its complications, povidone-iodin provided a successful management for a high-output congenital chylothorax.

Ethnic differences in predictors of HPV vaccination: comparisons of predictors for Latina and non-Latina White women.

The purpose of this study was to examine how social and behavioral factors such as age of first intercourse, mother-daughter communication, and perceived norms are associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination behaviors, and whether ethnicity moderates those associations (non-Latina White versus Latina participants). From June through December 2009, we surveyed a community sample of 309 White and Latina women, ages 15 to 30. We recruited participants from local health care clinics in Des Moines, Iowa.

Improving medication knowledge among older adults with heart failure: a patient-centered approach to instruction design.

Purpose: We investigated whether patient-centered instructions for chronic heart failure medications increase comprehension and memory for medication information in older adults diagnosed with chronic heart failure.

Design And Methods: Patient-centered instructions for familiar and unfamiliar medications were compared with instructions for the same medications from a chain pharmacy (standard pharmacy instructions). Thirty-two adults (age, M = 63.

Methodology of an ongoing, randomized, controlled trial to improve drug use for elderly patients with chronic heart failure.

Background: Medications can improve the functioning and health-related quality of life of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) and reduce morbidity, mortality, and costs of treatment. However, patients may not adhere to therapy. Patients with complex medication regimens and low health literacy are at risk for nonadherence.

Patient-centered instructions for medications prescribed for the treatment of heart failure.

Background: Chronic heart failure (CHF) is associated with reduced functional capacity and quality of life, particularly among older adults. Complex medication regimens for CHF challenge older patients' ability to adhere to them, in part because of age-related cognitive decline and poor communication about medications.

Objective: This article describes patient-centered instructions for taking CHF medications that were developed as part of a multifaceted pharmacy-based intervention to improve medication adherence and health-related outcomes among older adults with CHF.

A conceptual framework to study medication adherence in older adults.

Background: Adults aged > or =50 years often have multiple chronic diseases requiring multiple medications. However, even drugs with well-documented benefits are often not taken as prescribed, for a variety of reasons.

Objective: The objective of this article was to provide background information about medication adherence and its measurement, the development of the conceptual model for use in adherence research, and supportive intervention strategies such as pharmaceutical care by pharmacists to improve chronic medication use in older adults.

Comparison of quality of life measures in heart failure.

Background: Although numerous health-related quality-of-life instruments are available to measure patients' quality of life, few studies have compared these measures directly to determine how they function in the same group of patients.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to empirically compare psychometric properties of the Chronic Heart Failure Questionnaire (CHQ), the Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire (LHFQ), and the General Health Survey Short-form-12 (SF-12).

Sample: A convenience sample of 211 patients with heart failure completed baseline questionnaires; 165 patients completed the entire 26-week study.

Association between adherence to diuretic therapy and health care utilization in patients with heart failure.

Study Objective: To determine the relationship between adherence to diuretic therapy and health care utilization.

Design: Prospective, observational study.

Setting: University-affiliated medical center.

Discriminant properties of commonly used quality of life measures in heart failure.

Health-related quality of life (HRQL) instruments have been used to measure HRQL in heart failure patients, but how different instruments compare in the same groups of patients is not known. The purpose of this study was to compare the reliability and validity of three HRQL measures in 211 heart failure patients recruited from clinics affiliated with an urban hospital. Two disease-specific instruments, the chronic heart failure questionnaire (CHQ) and the living with heart failure questionnaire (LHFQ), and one generic instrument, the short-form 12 (SF-12), were administered.