Broaching overweight and obesity at maternity and child health clinics.

Aims: The aim was to describe the experiences of nurses in broaching the issue of overweight and obesity at maternity and child health clinics.

Background: The mother's obesity and excessive weight gain during pregnancy and rapid weight gain in early childhood increase the risk of obesity of the newborn baby both in childhood and throughout life. Attention must be paid to the prevention of weight gain in families already during pregnancy and before school age.

Increasing nursing students' knowledge of evidence-based hand-hygiene: A quasi-experimental study.

Aim of study was to evaluate the effects of a multi-component intervention on nursing students' knowledge of evidence-based hand-hygiene. A quasi-experimental design was used. Nursing students (N = 146) from two universities of applied sciences (experimental group n = 107, control group n = 39) completed an instrument based on international clinical guidelines related to hand hygiene that consisted of 17 Likert-scale items.

[Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and respiratory insufficiency].

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a disease causing degeneration of motor neurons, without any curative treatment. The most common cause of death is respiratory arrest due to atrophy of the respiratory musculature. ALS-associated respiratory insufficiency differs in mechanism from the more common causes of dyspnea, such as diseases of pulmonary or cardiac origin.

Is the effect of non-invasive ventilation on survival in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis age-dependent?

Background: Hypoventilation due to respiratory muscle atrophy is the most common cause of death as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). Patients aged over 65 years and presenting bulbar symptoms are likely to have a poorer prognosis. The aim of the study was to assess the possible impact of age and treatment with non-invasive ventilation (NIV) on survival in ALS.

Experiences of health and well-being among Finnish low-income fathers.

This article describes the everyday experiences of health and well-being among Finnish low-income fathers. The aim of study is to understand the health experiences of low-income fathers and the factors influencing the health experience and to develop nursing care in order to provide support for them. The approach is phenomenological and method is based on hermeneutical and descriptive phenomenology.

Using respiratory rate and thoracic movement to assess respiratory insufficiency in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a preliminary study.

Background: Hypoventilation due to respiratory insufficiency is the most common cause of death in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and non-invasive ventilation (NIV) can be used as a palliative treatment. The current guidelines recommend performing spirometry, and recording nocturnal oxyhemoglobin saturation and arterial blood gas analysis to assess the severity of the hypoventilation. We examined whether the respiratory rate and thoracic movement were reliable preliminary clinical signs in the development of respiratory insufficiency in patients with ALS.

Validation of indirect calorimetry for measurement of energy expenditure in healthy volunteers undergoing pressure controlled non-invasive ventilation support.

The aim of this validation study was to assess the reliability of gas exchange measurement with indirect calorimetry among subjects who undergo non-invasive ventilation (NIV). Oxygen consumption (VO2) and carbon dioxide production (VCO2) were measured in twelve healthy volunteers. Respiratory quotient (RQ) and resting energy expenditure (REE) were then calculated from the measured VO2 and VCO2 values.

[The viper--Finland's only poisonous snake].

The viper (Vipera berus) is the most common poisonous snake in Europe, and the only one in Finland. In viper bites, highly varying amounts of venom end up into the victim, whereby prediction of the progression of symptoms of poisoning is very difficult. A severe clinical picture must always be anticipated.

Predictive equations over-estimate the resting energy expenditure in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients who are dependent on invasive ventilation support.

Background: Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a form of degenerative motor neuron disease. At the end stage of the disease artificial feeding is often required. Nevertheless, very little is known about the energy demand of those ALS patients who are chronically dependent on tracheostomy intermittent positive pressure ventilation.

Well-being of mothers with children in Finnish low-income families--the mother's point of view.

Introduction: Low income correlates with increased health risks. The well-being of low-income families has received only limited attention in nursing research and most of the work has focused on unearthing their problems rather than on identifying their strengths. This article describes the well-being of mothers with children in Finnish low-income families, from a family health point of view.

Pulseless electrical activity and unsuccessful out-of-hospital resuscitation: what is the cause of death?

Aims: To study the cause of deaths after witnessed cardiac arrest followed by pulseless electrical activity and unsuccessful of out-of-hospital resuscitation; and to detect any differences between causes of death determined at autopsy and those inferred from clinical history.

Methods: In this prospective observational study, data were collected from 91 individuals treated by the emergency medical services in three urban communities in southern Finland.

Results: Cause of death was determined at autopsy in 59 cases and without autopsy in 32 cases.

Incidence of regurgitation and pulmonary aspiration of gastric contents in survivors from out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

Background: The regurgitation of gastric contents and subsequent pulmonary aspiration remain serious adverse events in cardiac arrest and cardiopulmonary resuscitation. The aim of this study was to determine the association between clinical signs of regurgitation and radiological findings consistent with aspiration in resuscitated out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) patients admitted to hospital.

Methods: The incidence of regurgitation was studied in 182 successfully resuscitated OHCA patients.

Bystander mouth-to-mouth ventilation and regurgitation during cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

Objectives: To determine whether there is an association between bystander mouth-to-mouth ventilation and regurgitation in prehospital cardiac arrest patients.

Design: Prospectively conducted observational study.

Setting: Data were collected from patients treated by the emergency medical service (EMS) systems in three middle-sized or large Finnish urban communities, the Tampere District EMS and the physician-staffed Helicopter EMSs in the Helsinki and Turku areas in southern Finland.

Time matters; what is the time in your defibrillator? An observational study in 30 emergency medical service systems.

Background: Measuring different intervals during cardiopulmonary resuscitation is a key element of resuscitation performance. For accurate time measurements, the internal clocks of automated external defibrillator (AEDs) need to be synchronized with the dispatch centre time.

Aim: To determine the present practice of using and synchronizing the AED clocks in five regions in Finland.

Effects of post-operative pain treatment using non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics, opioids or epidural blockade on systemic and local immune responses in children.

Background: Many studies have been carried out on the effects of anaesthetic drugs and methods on the immune response, but pain and its relief also affect the immune response. We measured systemic immune responses in the blood circulation and local responses in the surgical wound when non-steroidal anti-inflammatory analgesics (NSAIDs), opioids or epidural blockade was used in the peri-operative treatment of pain.

Methods: Responses were measured in 51 children, aged from 2 to 12 years and undergoing major surgery under balanced anaesthesia.

Adder bites. A report of 68 cases.

Background And Aims: The adder (Vipera Berus) is the only venomous snake that exists naturally in Scandinavia. The aim of this study is to estimate the severity of adder bites, to form a general picture of symptoms of bites and to find out how effective the present treatment methods of adder bites are.

Material And Methods: 68 true adder bites treated in Turku University Hospital during the years 1995-2000 were reviewed retrospectively.

Family health in everyday life: a qualitative study on well-being in families with children.

This article describes the subjective health views of young Finnish families with children. The data were collected in unstructured focused interviews with 19 families, most of whom were interviewed twice. Set within a phenomenological-hermeneutic framework, the study applies a qualitative method in order to uncover the meanings attached by the families to different facets of their everyday life.

Family health in everyday life: a qualitative study on well-being in families with children.

Family health in everyday life: a qualitative study on well-being in families with children¶This article describes the subjective health views of young Finnish families with children. The data were collected in unstructured focused interviews with 19 families, most of whom were interviewed twice. Set within a phenomenological-hermeneutic framework, the study applies a qualitative method in order to uncover the meanings attached by the families to different facets of their everyday life.

Minimum pulse pressure and peripheral temperature needed for pulse oximetry during cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass.

The lowest values of pulse pressure (dPP) and peripheral temperature (Tp) associated with reliable readings from three different pulse oximeters (Biox Ohmeda 3700, Datex Satlite, and Nellcor N-200) were assessed, along with the ability of the pulse oximeters to work immediately before and after total cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB). The lowest mean dPP with a reliable O2 saturation reading was 13 mm Hg and the lowest mean Tp was 23.6 degrees C.

Accuracy of three pulse oximeters at low cardiac index and peripheral temperature.

Objective: To assess the ability of three different pulse oximeters to give reliable readings during poor cardiac index and peripheral temperature states as compared with normal cardiac index and peripheral temperature states in the same patients.

Design: The accuracy of the oximeters was tested against a blood oximeter (measuring actual arterial oxygen saturation) during four different physiologic situations: normal and low cardiac index; normal and low peripheral temperature.

Patients: Thirty-three open-heart surgery patients, mean age 52 yrs, were studied immediately after open-heart surgery and in the ICU after the operation.