Scholarly Commons @ Baystate Health
Not a member yet
8474 research outputs found
Sort by
Evaluating the Perceived Value of Holistic Certification Among Nurses: A Descriptive Survey Study
No full textPurpose: Specialty nursing certifications serve as a validation of nursing knowledge in specific areas. Holistic nursing emphasizes comprehensive patient care and incorporates complementary alternative modalities (CAM) into daily care. Despite its significance, limited research has evaluated the perceived value of holistic nursing certification among nurses. Study Design: Descriptive survey design. Methods: The Likert-scale survey Perceived Value of Certification (PVCT)-12 Tool was given to holistic certified and non-certified nurses at a large, academic Magnet hospital in the northeast United States from 10/2022 to 2/2023. Additionally, non-certified nurses were asked to select the top three barriers to certification from a list of nine. The responses between certified and non-certified nurses were compared using the Chi-square test, Fisher\u27s exact test, or Student\u27s t-test as appropriate. Findings: A total of 59 nurses (25 certified, 34 non-certified) met inclusion criteria. Ninety-six percent of certified nurses versus 64.7% of non-certified nurses agreed that certification demonstrates a commitment to the nursing profession, p = 0.004, but, otherwise, responses to the PVCT-12 Tool were similar. Both groups felt certification was more strongly associated with intrinsic factors (e.g., sense of accomplishment) than extrinsic factors (e.g., salary). Conclusion: Nurses were consistent in their perceived value of holistic certification, regardless of their certification status
Is Phenobarbital an Effective Treatment for Alcohol Withdrawal Syndrome?
No full textBackground: Alcohol use disorder is associated with a variety of complications, including alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS), which may occur in those who decrease or stop alcohol consumption suddenly. AWS is associated with a range of signs and symptoms, which are most commonly treated with GABAergic medications.
Clinical question: Is phenobarbital an effective treatment for AWS?
Evidence review: Studies retrieved included two prospective, randomized, double-blind studies and three systematic reviews. These studies provided estimates of the effectiveness and safety of phenobarbital for treatment of AWS.
Conclusions: Based on the available literature, phenobarbital is reasonable to consider for treatment of AWS. Clinicians must consider the individual patient, clinical situation, and comorbidities when selecting a medication for treatment of AWS.
Keywords: GABA; alcohol; alcohol use disorder; alcohol withdrawal syndrome; benzodiazepines; phenobarbital
Submucosal injection fluid and tattoo agents
No full textBackground and aims: EMR and endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) are minimally invasive endoscopic techniques, developed for the removal of benign and early malignant lesions throughout the GI tract. Submucosal injection of a marking agent can help to identify lesions during surgery. Endoscopic resection frequently involves lifting of the lesions by injection of a substance within the submucosal space to create a cushion for safe resection. This review summarizes the current techniques and agents available for endoscopic marking and lifting of GI tract lesions.
Methods: The MEDLINE database was searched through April 2023 for relevant articles related to the lifting and marking aspect of EMR by using key words such as endoscopy or endoscopic combined with marking, tattoo, and lifting. The report was drafted, reviewed, and edited by the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Technology Committee and approved by the Governing Board of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
Results: This technology review describes the techniques for endoscopic tattoo placement and submucosal lifting, along with currently available agents, safety, and costs.
Conclusions: Endoscopists performing EMR and ESD have several choices in submucosal injection materials for lifting and marking agents for tattoos. These may be commercially prepared agents or off-the-shelf materials with or without additives to facilitate visualization. A thorough understanding of the indications, techniques, properties of various agents, costs, and adverse events is necessary in choosing the appropriate materials and technique to optimize lesion resection in EMR and ESD
More than Just Buying a Van: Lessons Learned from a Mobile Telehealth HCV Testing and Treatment Study
No full textHepatitis C virus (HCV) disproportionately affects people who inject drugs (PWID). Although HCV has become universally curable since the arrival of direct-acting antivirals, barriers exist to facilitating care and cure in this historically hard-to-reach population, including limited testing and healthcare services and healthcare stigma, issues that are compounded in rural areas. Telehealth is effective in increasing access to HCV care and cure, but innovative approaches of testing and care are required to fully address the need among rural PWID, which led to our study examining a mobile telehealth model for treating HCV. In this commentary, we discuss lessons learned delivering telehealth on a mobile unit, important factors for consideration when designing a mobile intervention, and we suggest an ideal model to increase access to HCV testing and treatment and other services for rural PWID.
Keywords: Hepatitis C virus (HCV); harm reduction; integrated care; mobile interventions; people who inject drugs (PWID); rural; telemedicine
Navigating Safe Discharge: Improving Medication Reconciliation on Springfield 3 Discharge
Get PDFhttps://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nurs_presentations2024/1020/thumbnail.jp
Travel Nurses: A Review of the Literature
Get PDFhttps://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nurs_presentations2024/1017/thumbnail.jp
Sips of Joy: Providing Positive Affirmations to Oncology Patients
Get PDFhttps://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nurs_presentations2024/1015/thumbnail.jp
Systolic blood pressure, a predictor of mortality and life expectancy following heart failure hospitalization, 2010-2023
No full textBackground: Optimal systolic blood pressure (SBP) targets for the treatment of hospitalized acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) patients are not known.
Objectives: To investigate the association between SBP \u3c130 mmHg at discharge or within 30 days and all-cause mortality or years of life lost (YLL) after ADHF hospitalization.
Methods: We analyzed medical records of 14,611 adults who survived ADHF hospitalization at 17 hospitals (2010-2022) with follow-up until May 2023. Sensitivity analysis included 10,515 patients with post-discharge SBP measured within 30 days.
Results: Mortality rates at 30 days, 180 days, 1 year, and 3 years were higher in patients with discharge SBP \u3c130 mmHg (6.9 %, 21.1 %, 29.1 %, and 45.1 %) vs. SBP ≥130 mmHg (4.8 %, 16.0 %, 23.6 %, and 40.3 %). Hazard ratios (HR) for mortality were consistently higher in patients with discharge SBP \u3c130 at 1.30 (95 % CI, 1.11-1.52), 1.45 (95 % CI, 1.33-1.58), 1.40 (95 % CI, 1.30-1.51), 1.31 (95 % CI, 1.23-1.38) at these intervals. The average YLL per deceased individual was 1-2 years greater in the discharge SBP \u3c130 group (incidence rate ratios, 1.004 to 1.230). Restricted cubic spline analysis showed that HR for mortality shifted toward better outcomes at discharge SBP ≥130 Sensitivity analysis supported these findings.
Conclusion: In hospitalized ADHF patients, SBP \u3c130 mmHg at discharge or within 30 days post-discharge was linked to higher mortality and YLL, while SBP ≥130 mmHg or improvement to ≥130 mmHg post-discharge led to better short and long-term outcomes. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms and benefits of SBP optimization.
Keywords: And years of life lost; Heart failure; Mortality; Systolic blood pressure
Nursing News & Views - October 2024
Get PDFNursing News & Views - October 2024https://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/nursing_newsletters/1038/thumbnail.jp
Library & Knowledge Services Newsletter - Fall 2024
Get PDFLibrary & Knowledge Services Newsletter - Fall 2024https://scholarlycommons.libraryinfo.bhs.org/library_newsletters/1048/thumbnail.jp