Optimizing telemedicine to facilitate amyotrophic lateral sclerosis clinical trials.

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) has the largest drug pipeline among neuromuscular diseases, with over 160 companies actively involved in ALS research. There is a growing need to recruit trial participants, but ALS patients often have limited mobility and most ALS trials are conducted in a small number of major centers. These factors effectively limit patient participation, particularly for those in rural areas.

Evaluation of bedside shift report: A research and evidence-based practice initiative.

This evaluation of bedside shift report describes the process of involving clinical nurses in evidence-based practice (EBP) and research at an academic medical center by using existing structures and resources. Nurse involvement and study findings are described from idea inception to asking the clinical question, searching and synthesizing literature, collecting and analyzing data, interpreting results, and deriving conclusions. Study findings and conclusions demonstrate that nurses' active participation in a clinical relevant project promotes implementation and integration of EBP and research in the practice setting.

Addition of doxycycline to ciprofloxacin for infection prophylaxis during autologous stem cell transplants for multiple myeloma.

Background: The most commonly used antibacterial prophylaxis during autologous stem cell transplants (ASCT) for multiple myeloma (MM) involves a fluoroquinolone, such as ciprofloxacin or levofloxacin. We assessed the impact of adding doxycycline to ciprofloxacin as routine antibacterial prophylaxis in these patients.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed electronic medical records and our ASCT database to analyze rates and types of bacterial infections in MM patients who underwent ASCT in our institution.