Importance of dietary advice, nutritional supplements and compliance for maintaining body weight and body fat after hip fracture.

Objective: Poor nutritional status amongst elderly individuals with hip fractures is well documented. Studies have suggested that 30-50 % of patients admitted to orthopaedic departments suffer from protein-energy malnutrition (PEM).

Design: An 6 month intervention study.

Advancing nursing documentation--an intervention study using patients with leg ulcer as an example.

Aim: The aim was to implement and evaluate a standardised nursing record, using patients with leg ulcer as an example, regarding the content of the nursing record and district nurses' experiences of documentation.

Method: This was a prospective, stratified and randomised intervention study, with one intervention group and one control group. A standardised nursing wound care record was designed and implemented in the electronic patient record in the intervention group for a period of 3 months.

Impact of primary care management on nursing documentation.

Aim: The aim was to investigate whether perceptions of electronic nursing documentation and its performance differed because of primary health care management.

Background: Success in leading people depends on the manager's personality, the context and the people who are led. Close proximity to clinical work, with manager and personnel sharing the same profession, promotes the authority to carry out changes.

Pain sensations to the cold pressor test in normally menstruating women: comparison with men and relation to menstrual phase and serum sex steroid levels.

The role of gonadal hormones on pain sensations was investigated in normally menstruating women (n = 16) using the cold pressor test. Tolerance time, pain threshold, and pain intensity were examined once a week during a 4-wk period, and serum concentrations of 17beta-estradiol and progesterone were determined at each test session, which were classified into the early follicular phase, late follicular phase, early luteal phase, and late luteal phase, as determined by the first day of menses and the actual hormone levels recorded. A group of men (n = 10) of the same age interval was examined for comparison.

Gender differences in predictors of survival in elderly nursing-home residents: a 3-year follow up.

This study focus on predicting factors of survival possible to modify by nursing care, and the incidence and mortality rate of nursing-home-acquired pneumonia, allocated to 1, 2 and 3 years of follow ups. The residents consisted of 156 women and 78 men living in special housing for the elderly. Data on chronic disease and medication were obtained at baseline, and activities of daily living (ADL) status, nutritional status and body temperature were assessed.

Health experiences and employment status in subjects with chronic back pain: a long-term perspective.

The purpose of this study was to describe health experiences, focused on gender and return to work, in subjects with chronic low back pain in a long-term perspective. The convenient sample consisted of 12 subjects who had attended a pain rehabilitation program 6 years earlier. Typed interviews were transcribed, and a content analysis approach was used.

Headache and coping in a female working population.

Tension-type headache is a common disorder amongst working people and, because of its very high prevalence, represents one of the most costly ailments in modern society. To study the frequency of tension-type headache in a working female population and to investigate how females who have experienced tension-type headache cope with pain compared with the way healthy pain-free subjects cope with stress. A total of 400 females working at a university hospital in Sweden were asked about their experience of headache in the previous 3 months.

Errors in body temperature assessment related to individual variation, measuring technique and equipment.

Errors in body temperature measurement might seriously influence the evaluation of an individual's health condition. We studied individual variation, measurement technique and the equipment used when assessing body temperature. In the first part of the study, three volunteers performed repeated measurements for five mornings.

Electronic nursing documentation in primary health care.

The aim of this study was to describe and analyse nursing documentation based on an electronic patient record (EPR) system in primary health care (PHC) with emphasis on the nurses' opinions and what, according to the nursing process and the use of the keywords, the nurses documented. The study was performed in one county council in the south of Sweden and included 42 Primary Health Care Centres (PHCC). It consisted of a survey, an audit of nursing records with the Cat-ch-Ing instrument and calculation of frequencies of keywords used during a 1-year period.

The impact of ADL status, dementia and body mass index on normal body temperature in elderly nursing home residents.

A subset of seniors might demonstrate a lower body temperature compared with younger subjects. However, data on normal body temperature in seniors are sparse. The aim of the study was to study normal body temperature with a view of predicting factors of low body temperature in non-febrile seniors.

Morbidity, mortality and clinical presentation of nursing home-acquired pneumonia in a Swedish population.

Pneumonia has been estimated to be the second most common infection in nursing-home residents. However, to the authors' knowledge, no such Swedish data are available. Therefore, this study investigated the incidence, risk factors, and 30 d case-fatality rate and clinical presentation of nursing home-acquired pneumonia (NHAP) in 234 nursing-home residents aged 66-99 y.

Coping strategies and life satisfaction in subgrouped fibromyalgia patients.

The present study describes pain- and stress-coping strategies and life satisfaction in subgroups of fibromyalgia patients. Thirty-two females with fibromyalgia syndrome (FMS) and 21 healthy pain-free women were studied. Those with FMS were classified as thermal (both heat and cold) pain sensitive or slightly cold pain sensitive based on pain thresholds determined using a Thermotest device.

Catastrophizing and health-related quality of life: a 6-year follow-up of patients with chronic low back pain.

A pain rehabilitation model that focused on emotions was implemented to influence catastrophizing by, and health-related quality of life (HRQL) for, persons with chronic low back pain. Twelve individuals, 7 men and 5 women (aged 33 to 57 years), all with long-term pain despite treatment, were included in the study and a single case research experimental design (SCRED) was used to follow the patterns of coping with pain for 6 years. The HRQL was measured before and 6 years after the intervention.

Normal oral, rectal, tympanic and axillary body temperature in adult men and women: a systematic literature review.

Normal oral, rectal, tympanic and axillary body temperature in adult men and women: a systematic literature review The purpose of this study was to investigate normal body temperature in adult men and women. A systematic review of data was performed. Searches were carried out in MEDLINE, CINAHL, and manually from identified articles reference lists.

Background pain in fibromyalgia patients affecting clinical examination of the skin.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between on-going pain and acute thermal pain in patients suffering from chronic pain. This experimental study in cold and heat sensitivity was performed in order to test the following hypothesis: that fibromyalgia patients scoring high in current background pain tolerate less experimental thermal pain in the skin than patients with low scores. Ethical aspects of the study are discussed.

Stress coping strategies in thermal pain sensitive and insensitive healthy subjects.

The aim of this study was to investigate stress coping strategies used in relation to heat and cold pain thresholds in healthy subjects. After using the Jalowiec Coping Scale, cold and heat pain thresholds were examined using the Quantitative Somatosensory Test in 47 healthy subjects. The participants were separated into thermal pain sensitive and insensitive groups, based on thermal pain perception.

Quantitative sensory testing in fibromyalgia patients and in healthy subjects: identification of subgroups.

Objective: To determine perception and pain thresholds in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome and in healthy controls, and to investigate whether patients with fibromyalgia syndrome can be grouped with respect to thermal hyperalgesia and whether these subgroups differ from healthy controls and in clinical appearance.

Design: The authors conducted a quasi-experimental clinical study.

Subjects: Twenty-nine women patients with fibromyalgia syndrome and 21 healthy pain-free age-matched women participated in the study.

Assessment and prevention of shivering in patients with severe cerebral injury. A pilot study.

Low body temperature is induced by surface cooling to reduce metabolic demands in patients with severe cerebral injury. Shivering, which increases energy expenditure, is a common effect of surface cooling. The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether increased gradient between the set point and peripheral temperature is related to shivering and whether modifying the loss of body heat during surface cooling decreases the frequency of shivering.

Effect of education on evidence-based care and handling of peripheral intravenous lines.

Deficient routines in use, care, handling and documentation of peripheral intravenous vein cannulae (PIV) have previously been reported, and complications have been noted in 50-75% of the patients. The aim of the study was to examine whether specially trained nurses change their actions to decrease complications when using cannulae. The study included 36 nurses assigned to experimental and control groups.

Side effects after surgical treatment of snoring.

In a questionnaire study detailed side effects after snoring surgery were examined in 415 individuals 2-8 years after surgery. Three years later a new questionnaire was answered by those with side effects affecting taste, smell and voice (n = 74). At the first follow-up 255 had side effects of globus, regurgitation, taste, smell and voice.

Patients' and cohabitants' reports on snoring and daytime sleepiness, 1-8 years after surgical treatment of snoring.

A follow-up study was performed with the aim to evaluate all individuals surgically treated by the uvulopalatopharyngoplasty (UPPP) or laser uvulopalatoplasty (LUPP) method from a whole county in Sweden, 1-8 years after surgery, by assessing snoring occurrence and daytime sleepiness, as experienced by the patients and their cohabitants. Questionnaires were mailed to all operated people (n = 457) and were returned by 91% (346 men, 69 women) preoperatively diagnosed as habitual snorers (n = 255), cases of obstructive sleep apnea syndrome (n = 110) and unspecified snorers (n = 48). In addition 345 bedpartners participated.

Immediate assessment of HbA1c under field conditions in Tanzania.

In Tanzania, assessment of blood glucose is the most frequently used method for evaluating glycaemic control in diabetic patients. The patients' metabolic control is often poor and the determination of glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c) for long-term control could be a valuable tool to better manage the treatment. The aim of this study was to determine whether an immediate assessment method for HbA1c (DCA 2000 analyzer) gives reliable results in the warm and moist climate of east Africa.

Handling and control of peripheral intravenous lines.

The purpose of the study was to describe nurses' routines in connection with the planning, care and handling, and documentation of a peripheral intravenous cannula (PIV) and also to examine factors that control how nurses act. Nurses and physicians in three English hospitals were interviewed. The results showed a difference between nurses' and physicians' opinions about PIV routines, except in few cases.

Peripheral intravenous lines: time in situ related to complications.

The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between time in situ and the frequency of thrombophlebitis. Nurses' care and handling when using a peripheral intravenous (p.i.

Noradrenaline-evoked pain in neuralgia.

We have tested the effects of cutaneous application of noradrenaline in 35 patients presenting with neuropathic pain. Depending on the outcome of sympatholytic interventions the patients were considered to have sympathetically maintained pain (SMP; n = 25) or sympathetically independent pain (SIP; n = 10). Iontophoretic application or cutaneous injection of noradrenaline into symptomatic skin aggravated pain and mechanical or thermal hyperalgesia in 7/25 SMP patients.