Impact of duration of chest tube drainage on pain after cardiac surgery.

Objective: This study was designed to analyze the duration of chest tube drainage on pain intensity and distribution after cardiac surgery.

Methods: Two groups of 80 cardiac surgery adult patients, operated on in two different hospitals, by the same group of cardiac surgeons, and with similar postoperative strategies, were compared. However, in one hospital (long drainage group), a conservative policy was adopted with the removal the chest tubes by postoperative day (POD) 2 or 3, while in the second hospital (short drainage group), all the drains were usually removed on POD 1.

Mechanical analysis of the bone to plate interface of the LC-DCP and of the PC-FIX on human femora.

The scope of this analysis was to evaluate the mechanical behaviour of newly developed plates at the junction between plate and bone (friction between plate and bone) for the limited contact dynamic compression plate (LC-DCP) and the point contact fixator (PC-Fix) under simulated physiological load and using the tension band principle on the human femur. The intact human cadaveric femora were plated on the lateral aspect according to the tension band principle (AO) and subjected to a load which simulated careful physiological load in single stance. Five strain gauges were glued around the bones, parallel to the bone axis, at five levels, whereby three of them had to be covered by a bone plate and the two others were just outside the plate location.

[Endothelial lesions caused by intra-aortic counterpulsation balloons].

Intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) is the most frequently used mechanical circulatory support. Repeated trauma on the aortic wall has been reported as a cause of balloon perforation by endothelial denudation of atheromatous plaque. This study analyses the effect of IABP on the endothelium of the calf aorta.

[Laser transmyocardial revascularization--a potential risk in an acute situation?].

Morphological and functional effects of transmyocardial laser revascularization (TMLR) are analyzed in an acute setting on a porcine model. Ten channels were drilled in the left lateral wall of the heart of 15 pigs (mean weight, 73 +/- 4 kg) with a Holmium-YAG laser (wavelength: 2.1 mu, probe diameter: 1.

Intra-aortic balloon: evaluation of heparin-coating under various experimental conditions.

In a calf model, heparin coated intra-aortic balloon (IAB) was compared with standard balloon. In group 1, 9 of each IAB type were set to the automatic mode for 15 min, 45 min and 6 hours respectively, while in group 2, 3 of each IAB type were left deflated during 20 minutes to simulate balloon dysfunction. At the end of the procedures, 3 samples of each IAB were analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for surface deposits.

Myocardial scarring after transmyocardial laser revascularization: A potential mechanism of clinical improvement?

Background And Objective: The morphological evolution of transmyocardial laser channels was analyzed in a pig model.

Materials And Methods: Five channels were created in the lateral wall of the left ventricle of 12 animals, using a Ho:YAG laser. In half of the animals, an additional infarction was induced in the same area.

Experimental evaluation of the Medtronic Maxima Forté hollow fiber membrane oxygenator.

A new hollow fiber membrane oxygenator, the Medtronic Maxima Forté, was tested for gas transfer, blood path resistance and blood handling characteristics in a standardized setting with surviving animals. Three calves (mean body weight: 71 +/- 9.6 kg) were placed on cardiopulmonary bypass at a mean flow rate of 50 ml/kg/min for six hours.

[Hemodynamic effects of maximum laser transmyocardial revascularization].

The aim of this study was to determine the haemodynamic reaction of a heart in which the left lateral wall was bored with laser channels until cardio-vascular collapse. Four calves were selected for the study. Series of five channels were bored with a 1.

Long-term results of mitral-aortic valve operations.

Objective: We analyzed the long-term morbidity and mortality of our experience with combined mitral-aortic surgery, as well as their determinants.

Methods: Among 2109 consecutive patients undergoing valve operations, 200 had mitral-aortic valve procedures with at least implantation of a mechanical prosthesis: 163 of 200 (81.5%) patients had double valve replacement and 37 of 200 (18.

[Screening for cardiovascular disease risk factors among employees of a hospital].

A health promotion and screening program for the detection of the major risk factors for ischemic heart disease was carried out in 1990 among the employees (n = 4,521; 70% female) of the Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV). The prevalence of risk factors among the 1,425 employees (73% female) who took part in the study (participation rate: males 29%, females 33%) was compared with the prevalence of risk factors within three other populations: 1) new CHUV employees, who are systematically screened (n = 424: 71% female); 2) a representative sample of the general population; and 3) a group of employees from 44 companies located in the same region. Smoking was the most common of the three main risk factors; its prevalence was lowest among CHUV employees and highest among employees of the 44 firms.

Teaching nurses about torture.

Nursing educators realize the need to teach their students about ethics and about their future confrontations with torture. The question however is how? Differences abound on the methods. Below is a thought-provoking approach taken by Christiane Dind, derived from her increasing awareness of the phenomenon of torture as a member of Amnesty International's Health Professional Group and from her personal soul-searching into why she, as a nurse, could tolerate and not question the daily routine "torture" situations in her professional setting.