221 research outputs found

    Acute oxygen therapy: a review of prescribing and delivery practices

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    Joyce L Cousins,1–3 Peter AB Wark,3–5 Vanessa M McDonald2–5 1Faculty of Arts, Nursing and Theology, Avondale College of Higher Education, Sydney, 2School of Nursing and Midwifery, 3Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, 4School of Medicine and Public Health, The University of Newcastle, 5Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Hunter Medical Research Institute, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, NSW, Australia Abstract: Oxygen is a commonly used drug in the clinical setting and like other drugs its use must be considered carefully. This is particularly true for those patients who are at risk of type II respiratory failure in whom the risk of hypercapnia is well established. In recent times, several international bodies have advocated for the prescription of oxygen therapy in an attempt to reduce this risk in vulnerable patient groups. Despite this guidance, published data have demonstrated that there has been poor uptake of these recommendations. Multiple interventions have been tested to improve concordance, and while some of these interventions show promise, the sustainability of these interventions are less convincing. In this review, we summarize data that have been published on the prevalence of oxygen prescription and the accurate and appropriate administration of this drug therapy. We also identify strategies that have shown promise in facilitating changes to oxygen prescription and delivery practice. There is a clear need to investigate the barriers, facilitators, and attitudes of clinicians in relation to the prescription of oxygen therapy in acute care. Interventions based on these findings then need to be designed and tested to facilitate the application of evidence-based guidelines to support sustained changes in practice, and ultimately improve patient care. Keywords: chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD, type II respiratory failure, oxygen therapy, prescribing, hypoxia, hypercapni

    Nebulised hypertonic saline for cystic fibrosis

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    Web-Based Library Information System at Private High School PAB 8 Saentis

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    56 HalamanPengelolaan perpustakaan SMA Swasta PAB 8 saentis saat ini masih dilakukan secara manual seperti dalam pencatatan buku , data anggota data peminjaman dan pengembaliannya yang masih di catat dalam buku besar sehingga mempengaruhi dalam proses pelayanan terhadap siswa menjadi lama. Melalui laporan kerja praktek ini penulis mengusulkan untuk dilakukan perancangan sistem informasi perpustakaan berbasis web dengna elalui beberapa tahapan yaitu pengumpulan data, analisis, perancangan sistem, perancangan database, perancangan interface, implementasi dan uji coba. The management of the PAB 8 Saentis Private High School library is currently still done manually, such as in book recording, data on borrowing and returning data members which are still recorded in the ledger so that it affects the service process to students to be long. Through this practical work report, the author proposes to design a web-based library information system through several stages, namely data collection, analysis, system design, database design, interface design, implementation and testing

    Treatment burden, clinical outcomes, and comorbidities in COPD: an examination of the utility of medication regimen complexity index in COPD

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    Netsanet A Negewo,1,2 Peter G Gibson,1–3 Peter AB Wark,1–3 Jodie L Simpson,1,2 Vanessa M McDonald1–4 1Priority Research Centre for Healthy Lungs, 2Hunter Medical Research Institute, Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, 3Department of Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, John Hunter Hospital, Newcastle, 4School of Nursing and Midwifery, Faculty of Health and Medicine, The University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, Australia Background: COPD patients are often prescribed multiple medications for their respiratory disease and comorbidities. This can lead to complex medication regimens resulting in poor adherence, medication errors, and drug–drug interactions. The relationship between clinical outcomes and medication burden beyond medication count in COPD is largely unknown.Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore the relationships of medication burden in COPD with clinical outcomes, comorbidities, and multidimensional indices.Methods: In a cross-sectional study, COPD patients (n=222) were assessed for demographic information, comorbidities, medication use, and clinical outcomes. Complexity of medication regimens was quantified using the validated medication regimen complexity index (MRCI).Results: Participants (58.6% males) had a mean (SD) age of 69.1 (8.3) years with a postbronchodilator forced expiratory volume in 1 second % predicted of 56.5 (20.4) and a median of five comorbidities. The median (q1, q3) total MRCI score was 24 (18.5, 31). COPD-specific medication regimens were more complex than those of non-COPD medications (median MRCI: 14.5 versus 9, respectively; P<0.0001). Complex dosage formulations contributed the most to higher MRCI scores of COPD-specific medications while dosing frequency primarily drove the complexity associated with non-COPD medications. Participants in Global Initiative for Chronic Obstructive Lung Disease quadrant D had the highest median MRCI score for COPD medications (15.5) compared to those in quadrants A (13.5; P=0.0001) and B (12.5; P<0.0001). Increased complexity of COPD-specific treatments showed significant but weak correlations with lower lung function and 6-minute walk distance, higher St George’s Respiratory Questionnaire and COPD assessment test scores, and higher number of prior year COPD exacerbations and hospitalizations. Comorbid cardiovascular, gastrointestinal, or metabolic diseases individually contributed to higher total MRCI scores and/or medication counts for all medications. Charlson Comorbidity Index and COPD-specific comorbidity test showed the highest degree of correlation with total MRCI score (ρ=0.289 and ρ=0.326; P<0.0001, respectively).Conclusion: In COPD patients, complex medication regimens are associated with disease severity and specific class of comorbidities. Keywords: medication burden, medication counts, complex pharmacotherapy, clinical scores&nbsp

    Comparison of Particle-Associated Bacteria from a Drinking Water Treatment Plant and Distribution Reservoirs with Different Water Sources

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    This study assessed the characteristics of and changes in the suspended particles and the associated bacteria in an unchlorinated drinking water distribution system and its reservoirs with different water sources. The results show that particle-associated bacteria (PAB) were present at a level of 0.8–4.5?×?103 cells ml?1 with a biological activity of 0.01–0.04?ng l?1 ATP. Different PAB communities in the waters produced from different sources were revealed by a 16S rRNA-based pyrosequencing analysis. The quantified biomass underestimation due to the multiple cells attached per particle was???85%. The distribution of the biologically stable water increased the number of cells per particle (from 48 to 90) but had minor effects on the PAB community. Significant changes were observed at the mixing reservoir. Our results show the characteristics of and changes in suspended PAB during distribution, and highlight the significance of suspended PAB in the distribution system, because suspended PAB can lead to a considerable underestimation of biomass, and because they exist as biofilm, which has a greater mobility than pipe-wall biofilm and therefore presents a greater risk, given the higher probability that it will reach the customers’ taps and be ingested.Water ManagementCivil Engineering and Geoscience

    A feasibility study of anticorrosion applications of modified hydrotalcites in reinforced concrete

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    A carbonate form of Mg-Al-hydrotalcite with Mg/Al =2 and its p-aminobenzoate (pAB) modified derivative were synthesized and characterized by means of XRD, IR and TG/DSC. Mg(2)Al-CO3 was prepared by a coprecipitation method and was subsequently modified by pAB through the calcination-rehydration technique. The results from the relevant characterizations combined with total organic carbon (TOC) analysis further confirmed that pAB anions were successfully intercalated into the interlayer space of the hydrotalcite. The anticorrosion behavior of Mg(2)Al-pAB was evaluated on the basis of open circuit potential (OCP) monitoring of carbon steel in simulated concrete pore solution at pH 13 contaminated with chloride. The preliminary results from this study demonstrated that ion-exchange indeed occurred between free chloride ions in simulated concrete pore solution and the intercalated pAB anions in Mg(2)Al-pAB structure. The simultaneously released pAB anions were found to exhibit the envisaged inhibiting effect and cause a shift of corrosion initiation of the steel to higher chloride concentrations than without the modified hydrotalcite.Structural EngineeringCivil Engineering and Geoscience

    Mechanisms and management of asthma exacerbations

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    Copyright © 2019 by the American Thoracic Society. Acute asthma remains an important medical emergency, the most frequent cause of acute admissions in children and a major source of morbidity for adults with asthma. In all ages with asthma, the presence of exacerbations is an important defining characteristic of asthma severity. In this review, we assess the epidemiology of acute asthma, the triggers of acute exacerbations, and the mechanisms that underlie these exacerbations. We also assess current treatments that prevent exacerbations, with an emphasis on the role of type 2 airway inflammation in the context of acute exacerbations and the novel treatments that effectively target this. Finally we review current mana ement strate ies of the exacerbations themselve
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