Surgical Site Infection Arising from the Operating Room.

Surgical site infections (SSIs) pose a significant challenge in surgical care, leading to increased patient morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. This article examines the risk factors for SSIs, particularly within the operating room environment, and highlights effective prevention strategies. Key pathogens, such as Staphylococcus aureus, are identified, and the role of infection control practices, including hand hygiene, surgical techniques, and environmental controls, is discussed.

Common Oncologic Wounds.

This article presents clinically focused, evidence-based summary of common wounds and alterations in tissue/skin associated with oncologic treatment, with a focus on risk factors, identification, prevention, and management of acute radiation dermatitis and chemotherapy-induced extravasation.

Wounds in the Unhoused Population.

This study investigates the unique challenges of wound care among the unhoused population, focusing on assessment, treatment, and documentation strategies in low-resource settings. The research underscores the prevalence of trauma, chronic illnesses, and environmental exposures that complicate wound management. The paper illustrates the diverse and complex nature of wounds encountered in this population through detailed case studies, providing practical insights for health care providers.

Chronic Wounds and Dressings: An Overview of Management and Effectiveness.

Chronic wounds are complex conditions categorized into pressure injuries, diabetic foot ulcers, venous leg ulcers, and arterial ulcers. In managing these wounds, the selection of appropriate wound care products is of critical importance. Commonly used dressings include hydrocolloid, hydrogel, alginate, foam, and silver-containing dressings.

Physicians Who Provide Primary Care in US Nursing Homes: Characteristics and Care Patterns.

Objectives: To examine practice trends and characteristics of primary care physicians providing care in US nursing homes.

Design: Retrospective cohort study using Medicare Fee-for-Service claims.

Setting And Participants: Physicians who provided primary care to long-stay nursing home residents.

Urinary Incontinence Is an Independent Risk Factor for Nursing Home Placement Among Assisted Living Residents.

Objectives: Prior studies suggested that urinary incontinence (UI) may be a risk factor for nursing home (NH) placement among older community-dwelling individuals. Our objectives were to evaluate if UI is an independent risk factor in NH placement among assisted living (AL) residents and assess the impact of UI on NH placement by race/ethnicity.

Design: This retrospective cohort study is based on the 2019-2021 Medicare enrollment and claims data.

A protocol for a wait list control trial of an intervention to improve pain and depressive symptoms among middle-age and older women living with disability.

Background: Women aging with disabilities experience higher rates of chronic pain and co-occurring depressive symptoms than women without disabilities and men with and without disabilities. Pain and depression can exacerbate the inability to fulfill social roles and complete activities of daily living among women with disabilities. Although there are existing interventions for both pain and depressive symptoms, few interventions have been developed with women aging with disabilities that address both chronic pain and depressive symptoms.

Microfluidic design and preparation of hydrogel microcapsules of Mesona chinensis polysaccharide: Characterization, pH-responsive behavior and gastrointestinal protection for Lactobacillus plantarum.

Probiotics have brought many health benefits to the human body. However, their viability during gastrointestinal transit is a concern. Therefore, this study selected Mesona chinensis polysaccharide (MCP), an edible natural polysaccharide, and constructed a new type of microcapsules using MCP as raw material to prepare cross-linked calcium ions through a microfluidic system as an ideal intestinal targeting carrier to achieve precise delivery of bioactive substances.

Carbohydrate polymer-based nanoparticles in curcumin delivery for cancer therapy: A review.

The use of natural products for cancer treatment has a lengthy history. The safety and multifunctionality of naturally occurring substances have rendered them appropriate for cancer treatment. Curcumin influences multiple molecular pathways and is advantageous for treating both hematological and solid tumors.

Parenterally administered amino acids decrease acute mortality in fasting patients with aspiration pneumonia: A retrospective study.

Background & Aims: To prevent food aspiration, numerous patients with aspiration pneumonia are restricted from eating early during their hospital stay. Although they receive parenteral nutrition (PN) on a fasting regimen, the optimal dose and composition remain unknown. The current study aimed to investigate whether PN with amino acids (AA) affects 30-day mortality of patients with aspiration pneumonia.

Outcomes After Surgical Management of Early-Stage Lung Cancer in Octogenarians: An in-depth Analysis of a Nationally Representative Cohort.

Unlabelled: IntroductionAs the U.S. population ages more octogenarians are undergoing surgical resection for lung cancer (LC).

Key Standards and Principles for Developing Evidence-Based Clinical Guidelines: Balancing Health Professional, Patient, Funder, and Government Needs.

Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) are critical tools to inform healthcare decision-making, yet development faces significant challenges in ensuring rigorous, reliable, and globally applicable recommendations. This review examines the essential standards and evolving approaches for creating high-quality, evidence-based guidelines that can effectively support clinical practice across diverse healthcare settings. Key standards for high-quality CPG development emerge from leading global health organizations, emphasizing several critical components - establishing a multidisciplinary development group, defining a clear and relevant scope, conducting systematic evidence reviews and meta-analyses, and ensuring transparency throughout the development process.

Effect of auricular acupressure on comfort, pain and physiological indices after coronary artery angiography: A randomized controlled trial.

Background And Purpose: Interventions to prevent bleeding may cause discomfort after coronary angiography. This study aimed to examine the effectiveness of auricular acupressure on comfort, pain intensity, and physiological indices after coronary angiography.

Material And Method: This two-arm (1:1) randomized controlled trial was conducted at Farshchian Heart Center, Hamadan (western Iran) from April to June 2024.

Illness behavior and its predictors in young and middle-aged colorectal cancer patients: A latent profile analysis.

Purpose: To describe the characteristics of sick role adaptation and understand the differences in young and middle-aged colorectal cancer (CRC) patients.

Methods: 225 colorectal cancer patients aged 18-59 admitting to a specialized oncology hospital in Guangzhou, China were involved from January to April 2022. Socio-demographic characteristics, disease-related characteristics, scores of Illness Behavior Questionnaire, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale, the Brief Illness Perception Questionnaire, Mishel Uncertainty in Illness Scale and Medical Coping Modes Questionnaire were applied to collect quantitative data.

Patient clusters based on demographics, clinical characteristics and cancer-related symptoms: A cross-sectional pilot study.

Purpose: This study aimed to identify and preliminary validate distinct clusters of patients with cancer based on demographics, clinical characteristics, and symptoms and to inform future research on sample size requirements for achieving sufficient power in clustering analyses.

Methods: This cross-sectional pilot study involved 114 patients with cancer from two hospitals in northern Italy. Data were collected on demographics, clinical characteristics, and 20 symptoms using the Edmonton Symptom Assessment System in October 2022.

The relationship between trajectories of intrinsic capacity and differences in the risk of functional ability decline in community-dwelling older adults: A socio-ecological approach.

Background: Functional ability (FA), a key determinant of healthy aging, is determined by intrinsic capacity (IC), environmental factors, and their interactions. IC is a composite of physical and mental capacities that undergo constant change. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence IC requires a multi-level analysis of individuals to optimize its trajectory.

Risk factors of anxiety, depression, stress, job burnout, and characteristics of sleep disorders in critical care nurses: An observational study.

Aim/objective: The aim of this study was to determine risk factors and associations between anxiety, depression, stress, and job burnout and describe sleep disorders in critical care nurses.

Setting: Data were collected in six intensive care units.

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional design was used.

Airborne personal protective equipment availability and preparedness in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units: A point prevalence survey.

Background: Personal protective equipment is essential to protect healthcare workers when exposed to aerosol-generating procedures in patients with airborne respiratory pathogens.

Aim: This study aimed to provide information regarding the level of airborne protection offered to nursing staff and other healthcare workers in Australian and New Zealand intensive care units (ICUs) 1 year into the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic.

Methods: In this cross-sectional survey, ICUs in Australia and New Zealand were asked to participate in the Australian and New Zealand Intensive Care Society Clinical Trials Group Point Prevalence Program in June 2021.

Reliability, validity and practicability of the Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment tool (CPAx) following an e-learning programme: A clinimetric study.

Objectives: To investigate inter- and intra-rater reliability, content and concurrent validity, and practicability of the Chelsea Critical Care Physical Assessment tool (CPAx) - a measurement instrument for physical function and activity for patients with a critical illness - from multidisciplinary, German-speaking healthcare professionals.

Methods: This was a prospective, longitudinal, clinimetric study. Participants who completed a novel German CPAx e-learning were invited to participate in a voluntary, web-based, piloted, two-round survey.

Paediatric traumatic brain injuries: A descriptive analysis of incidence, visits, cause, and admission rates in Iceland from 2010 to 2021.

Background: Traumatic brain injuries (TBI) are common in emergency departments (ED) and may cause long-term negative outcomes but knowledge on how the first assessment of children with TBI may predict outcomes is lacking. This study aimed to expand the knowledge by describing the incidence, visits, causes, and outcomes of TBI in children in Iceland.

Methods: A retrospective descriptive data analysis was conducted on electronic medical records of children aged 0-17 that visited Landspitali EDs due to a traumatic head injury in 2010-2021.

Physical inactivity is the most important unhealthy lifestyle factor for pain severity in older adults with pain: A SHARE-based analysis of 27,528 cases from 28 countries.

Background: Limited knowledge exists on the association between lifestyle factors and pain severity in older adults.

Objective: To assess the associations between unhealthy lifestyle variables and pain severity in the European population of older adults with pain.

Design: Cross-sectional.

Exploring the impact of a pain assessment information visualization tool on provider-patient pain discussion with limited English proficiency Hmong patients.

Objective: This pilot study examines the impact of the Pain Assessment Information Visualization (InfoViz) Tool on the length of the patient visit for Hmong patients with limited English proficiency (LEP).

Methods: A static design study was used to collect data from a triad of 20 Hmong patients with LEP, medical interpreters, and clinicians in the usual care group followed by 20 triads in the intervention group in primary care. We analyzed patient-clinician communication audio-recorded visits in primary care, examining both the length of the visit and the nature of the clinician efforts to gather more information using Svarstad's clinician conversation conceptualization to explore probing frequencies for three pain categories: pain location, severity, and quality in the intervention group (Pain InfoViz Tool) and usual care group.

An exploration into the experiences of newly qualified midwives during their transition to practice in the UK: A systematic review.

Aim: The aim of this systematic review was to explore the experiences of newly qualified midwives (NQMs) during their transition to practice in the UK.

Background: It has been recognised that the transition from student to NQM is a time of significant change that has implications for staff recruitment and retention. Thus, the rationale for this review was that understanding the experiences of NQMs at this crucial time in their career is essential for developing systems of support to improve maternity care and no previous reviews were found on this topic based in the UK.

A π-Extended AIE Platform for Pattern Recognition of Glycosaminoglycans.

Accurate discrimination of complicated glycosaminoglycans is a challenging but meaningful task for ensuring their safe use in clinics. With the purpose of reducing the production cost of sensor arrays for glycosaminoglycans, three fluorescence turn-on sensors named , , and were readily synthesized by simple alkylation of the pyridyl units of the π-extended AIEgen, namely, tetra-(4-pyridylphenyl) ethylene. The designed sensors are cross-reactive toward tested glycosaminoglycans including heparin, chondroitin sulfate, hyaluronic acid, and dextran sulfate, whose mechanism could be ascribed to the multivalent electrostatic, CH···π, and hydrophobic interactions between the sensors and different glycosaminoglycans to form corresponding fluorescent aggregates.