Impact of teaching interventions on nurse compliance with hand disinfection.

The impact of teaching interventions and the availability of additional dispensers for alcoholic hand disinfection was measured during three study periods. A nursing care system of relevant nursing interventions was found to be a useful tool for the assessment of compliance with hand hygiene requirements if combined with an analysis of hand disinfectant use. This study shows that compliance with hand disinfection can be improved through targeted teaching and supportive structural improvements, and that this positive impact may persist even after targeted teaching activities have ended.

[Sudden coma in a 20-year-old man].

A 20-year-old male patient was brought to the emergency department by Emergency Medical Services after having been found unconscious. Upon arrival the patient was comatose with a GCS of 3, his vital signs were stable (with blood pressure 100/54 mmHg, heart rate 48 per minute, respiration rate 12 per minute and oxygen saturation 98% on room air). Both pupils were 3 mm, symmetric, and only minimally responsive.

[Logistics of antidotes in Switzerland].

Antidotal compounds are principally classified into three groups. The most important compounds are available in all hospitals and pharmacies. They guarantee the basic supply of antidotes in all part of Switzerland.

[The effect of food intake on drug action].

Interactions between medicaments and food are only incompletely documented--despite their frequent occurrence. Food can influence the effect of medicaments in a variety of ways: the effect of the medicament can be delayed or weakened; in some cases the effect may also be increased. The interactions between the kinetics of medicaments and food are described in the present survey.