Common Features of Environmental Mycobacterium chelonae from Colorado Using Partial and Whole Genomic Sequence Analyses.

Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are environmentally acquired opportunistic pathogens that cause chronic lung disease in susceptible individuals. While presumed to be ubiquitous in built and natural environments, NTM environmental studies are limited. While environmental sampling campaigns have been performed in geographic areas of high NTM disease burden, NTM species diversity is less defined among areas of lower disease burden like Colorado.

Are cancer patients better off if they participate in clinical trials? A mixed methods study.

Background: Research and cancer care are closely intertwined; however, it is not clear whether physicians and nurses believe that clinical trials offer the best treatment for patients and, if so, whether this belief is justified. The aim of this study was therefore: (i) to explore how physicians and nurses perceive the benefits of clinical trial participation compared with standard care and (ii) whether it is justified to claim that clinical trial participation improves outcomes for cancer patients.

Methods: A mixed methods approach was used employing semi-structured interviews with 57 physicians and nurses in oncology and haematology and a literature review of the evidence for trial superiority, i.

When Nursing Care and Clinical Trials Coincide: A Qualitative Study of the Views of Nordic Oncology and Hematology Nurses on Ethical Work Challenges.

This study investigated the kinds of ethical challenges experienced by nurses in oncology and hematology when nursing care and research overlap in clinical trials, and how the nurses handle such challenges. Individual interviews with 39 nurses from Sweden, Denmark, and Finland indicated that all nurses were positive about research, considering it essential for developing the best care. Ethical challenges exist, however; the most difficult were associated with the end-of-life patients, no longer responsive to standard therapy, who eagerly volunteer for cutting-edge drug trials in the hope of gaining therapeutic benefit.

Lived experiences of everyday life during curative radiotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer: A phenomenological study.

Aim: To explore and describe the essential meaning of lived experiences of the phenomenon: Everyday life during curative radiotherapy in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

Background: Radiotherapy treatment in patients with NSCLC is associated with severe side effects such as fatigue, anxiety, and reduced quality of life. However, little is known about the patients' experience of everyday life during the care trajectory.