Effects of student participation in hand hygiene monitoring on knowledge and perception of infection control practices.

Studies report that students in health care professions do not retain knowledge of infection control and demonstrate poor hand hygiene compliance. This study describes the effect of a multifaceted approach (education, skills training, and monitoring) on nursing students' knowledge of infection control principles, opinions, hand hygiene practices, and value of nursing research in evidence-based practice. Students participated in hand hygiene monitoring of health care workers with 900 observations.

Thyroid storm during pregnancy. A medical emergency.

Thyroid storm is the major risk to pregnant women with thyrotoxicosis. This life-threatening condition is more likely to occur with another precipitating factor such as labor and delivery, surgical delivery, infection, or trauma. Thyroid storm most often occurs in patients with undertreated or undiagnosed hyperthyroidism.

Building evidence for practice: a pilot study of newborn bulb suctioning at birth.

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of bulb suctioning on healthy, term newborns and the feasibility of conducting a large-scale study of this practice. In a randomized, controlled two-group design pilot study, 10 newborns received oronasopharyngeal bulb suctioning at birth and 10 did not. Differences in Apgar scores, heart rates, and oxygen saturation levels were determined.

Oral sucrose and pain relief for preterm infants.

The frequency of painful procedures performed on preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) presents a challenge to nurses who are attempting to provide effective pain relief, and to the infants themselves who may suffer adverse consequences in response to repeated painful procedures. One new pain relief intervention under study is the administration of oral sucrose, which may activate endogenous opioid systems within the body. Studies with preterm infants that have examined the use of oral sucrose as an analgesic during heelsticks and venipunctures have shown that sucrose is effective in reducing pain.