Nurse Intervention: Attitudes and Knowledge About Organ Donation and Transplantation in Adolescents.

BACKGROUND: The problems involved in obtaining authorization in favor of organ donation have led us to evaluate the level of knowledge and attitudes of a group of Spanish adolescents (14-16 years) regarding organ donation, transplantation, and brain death. The evaluation was carried out before and after a health education intervention by nursing personnel. METHODS: Experimental, prospective and quantitative study. The educational intervention was carried out at Las Salinas high school (Laguna de Duero, Spain). We collected 86 preworkshop questionnaires and 88 post-workshop questionnaires. RESULTS: The composition of the groups did not differ significantly in sex (P = .653), age (P = .266), or in the desire to be a donor (P = .099). We found significant postworkshop improvements in knowledge about brain death (P < .001) and which organs can be donated (P < .001), as well as in the total score (18.29 ± 2.45 before vs 21.47 ± 2.70 after) (P < .001). We discovered a vast lack of knowledge about the organs that cannot be transplanted, which included the penis (38.4%), uterus (31.4%), prostate (41.9%), or bladder (37.2%); these beliefs decreased significantly after the intervention (P < .01). The increase in knowledge of the organs that can be donated, including eye (P = .024), lung (P = .025), stomach (P < .001), intestine (P = .001), and skin (P < .001), was also significant. CONCLUSIONS: The good results reflected the importance of conducting educational programs taught by health personnel on donation and organ transplantation in adolescents.

Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus in Pediatric Patients and Its Impact on Relationships in the Family Environment.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study is to assess the impact of type 1 diabetes mellitus on family environment relationships, as well as the management and approach to this disease. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred one children, 52.47% male and 47.52% female, with an average age of 8.55 ± 4.01 years, diagnosis of type 1 diabetes mellitus. Quantitative cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted using the validated questionnaires "Modified Diabetes Quality of Life" and "Questionnaire for the assessment of psychological impact in parents/guardians of diabetic children". RESULTS: Most of the children (70.3% versus 29.7%) identified diabetes as unpleasant or not fun. The ≤5-year-olds expressed that they felt concerned about the consequences of being diabetic (8.1% by age group), as opposed to the 10-year-olds who did not feel concerned (85.1% by age group), P <0.001. The family environment was affected in 98.1% (n=99) of the cases. CONCLUSION: Self-care of type 1 diabetes mellitus in pediatric patients is a complex process that impacts the family environment and their relationship with their peers, especially for children under the age of 5. Fear, concern and insecurity were prevalent feelings in children suffering type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Effect of different calcium sources on the bioactive compounds stability of extruded and nixtamalized blue maize flours.

The stability of antioxidants in extruded and nixtamalized blue maize flours with calcium hydroxide [Ca(OH)2] and calcium lactate [C6H10O6Ca] were evaluated. Extruded blue maize flours batches were obtained by mixing blue maize flours separately with different Ca(OH)2 (0.1, 0.2 and 0.3 %) and C6H10O6Ca (0.3, 0.6 and 0.9 %) concentrations respectively and extruded to obtain the extruded flours. For nixtamalized flours, the maize grains were cooked at 1 % Ca(OH)2 and 2.95 % C6H10O6Ca concentrations respectively. Color, antioxidant activity, total phenolics, total anthocyanins and individual anthocyanins, contents were analyzed. Color, antioxidant activity, anthocyanins contents and total phenolics decreased as the calcium hydroxide concentration increased. In contrast, increasing the calcium lactate concentration on the extruded flours had the opposite effect. The extrusion process retained 57-47 %, 72-62 % and 79-65 % of the anthocyanins content, total phenolic content and antioxidant activity, respectively. These retention rates were higher than those of the nixtamalized flours using the same calcium sources. Cyanidin-3-glucoside and pelargonidin-3-glucoside were identified in the maize kernel and flours. Cyanidin-3-glucoside concentration was increased by both extrusion and nixtamalization processed with either of the two calcium sources. In contrast, pelargonidin-3-glucoside concentration decreased by both processes. Other anthocyanins were observed, but they were not identified.