A case report of ivabradine used for heart rate control of atrial fibrillation in acute decompensated heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Achieving pharmacologic rate control in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) with rapid ventricular response (RVR) can be tricky when the patient's underlying cardiac function is decreased. We present a case illustrating how ivabradine can be useful in this clinical scenario. CASE SUMMARY: A 95-year-old woman with a history of systolic heart failure (HF) presented with acute decompensated HF in AF with RVR. Beta blockade and calcium channel blockade were avoided given her cardiac history, and diuresis with high doses of furosemide was ineffective. Her ventricular response slowed with ivabradine, allowing for rapid decongestion and a safe discharge home. DISCUSSION: Ivabradine acts on the I f current of cardiac pacemaker cells to slow heart rate (HR), and it currently carries a class IIa recommendation to reduce the risk of HF hospitalization and cardiac death in patients with left ventricular ejection fraction ≤35% and a symptomatic HR ≥70 b.p.m. Although current recommendations are for patients in sinus rhythm, ivabradine has a theoretical benefit in patients with AF given its mechanism of action. Because it does not negatively affect inotropy or blood pressure, ivabradine was used in our patient with a good clinical outcome. Our case provides an example of ivabradine's usefulness in patients with AF in RVR with a history of depressed systolic function.

Original Research: Nurses' Perspectives on Caring for Patients with Do-Not-Resuscitate Orders.

BACKGROUND: Confusion about what a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order means, including its misinterpretation as "do not treat," has been extensively documented in the literature. Yet there is a paucity of research concerning nurses' perspectives on DNR orders. PURPOSE AND DESIGN: This mixed-methods study was designed to explore nurses' perspectives on the meaning and interpretation of DNR orders in relation to caring for hospitalized adults with such orders. METHODS: Direct care nurses on three units in a large urban hospital were asked to respond online to a case study by indicating how they would prioritize care based on the patient's DNR designation. These nurses were then invited to participate in open-ended interviews with a nurse researcher. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed, and analyzed. FINDINGS: A total of 35 nurses responded to the case study survey. The majority chose to prioritize palliative care, despite no indication that any plan of care was in place. Thirteen nurses also completed a one-on-one interview. Analysis of interview data revealed this overarching theme: varying interpretations of DNR orders among nurses were common, resulting in unintended consequences. Participants also reported perceived variances among health care team members, patients, and family members. Such misinterpretations resulted in shifts in care, varying responses to deteriorating status, tension, and differences in role expectations for health care team members. CONCLUSIONS: Nurses have opportunities to address misconceptions about care for patients with DNR orders through practice, education, advocacy and policy, and research.

The effect of PARO robotic seals for hospitalized patients with dementia: A feasibility study.

Robotic seals have been studied in long-term care settings; though, no studies of patients with dementia in the acute care setting have been reported. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of PARO interventions for hospitalized patients with dementia, determine physiological effects and describe social-affective interactions. Using a prospective descriptive design with pre-post PARO intervention physiological measurements, we studied 55 participants who received up to five 15-min PARO interventions. The PARO was favorably accepted for 212 (95%) of the 223 PARO interventions. Differences in pre- and post-physiological measures for mean arterial pressure, pulse, respiration, oxygenation, stress, and pain levels were evaluated using Wilcoxon Signed Rank test with statistically significant pre and post differences (p=<0.05); however, the differences were not clinically significant. Participants (95%) demonstrated beneficial PARO interactions with the most frequent interactions being speaking and petting. The PARO shows promise for enhancing social and affective responses for hospitalized patients with dementia.

Effect of Timing of the First Bath on a Healthy Newborn's Temperature.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if a healthy newborn's age in hours (3, 6, or 9 hours after birth) affects thermoregulatory status after the first bath as indicated by axillary and skin temperatures. DESIGN: Quasi-experimental, mixed-model (between subjects and within subjects) design with hours of age as the nonrepeated variable and prebath and postbath temperatures as the repeated variables. SETTING: Family-centered care unit at an urban hospital in the southwestern United States. PARTICIPANTS: Healthy newborns (N = 75) 37 weeks or more completed gestation. METHODS: Mothers chose time of first bath based on available time slots (n = 25 newborns in each age group). Research nurses sponge bathed the newborns in the mothers' rooms. Axillary temperature, an index of core temperature, was measured with a digital thermometer, and skin temperature, an index of body surface temperature, was measured with a thermography camera. Temperatures were taken before the bath; immediately after the bath; and 5, 30, 60, and 120 minutes after the bath. Immediately after the bath, newborns were placed in skin-to-skin care (SSC) for 60 or more minutes. RESULTS: We found a difference (p = .0372) in axillary temperatures between the 3- and 9-hour age groups, although this difference was not clinically significant (0.18 °F [0.10 °C]). We found no statistically significant differences in skin temperatures among the three age groups. Regardless of age group, axillary and skin temperatures initially decreased and then recovered after the bath. CONCLUSION: For up to 2 hours postbath, axillary and skin temperatures were not different between healthy newborns bathed at 3, 6, or 9 hours of age. Thermography holds promise for learning about thermoregulation, bathing, and SSC.

Safety of Rolled and Folded Cotton Blankets Warmed in 130°F and 200°F Cabinets.

PURPOSE: In 2014, ECRI recommended that blanket warming cabinets be set at a maximum temperature of 130°F because of safety concerns with warmed rolled and folded blankets. We could find no research to support this recommendation. The purpose of this study was to measure skin temperatures and thermal comfort in healthy volunteers before and after application of folded and rolled dry cotton blankets warmed in 130°F or 200°F cabinets. DESIGN: Randomized, descriptive, and comparative study. METHODS: Participants (n = 20) received two blankets (one rolled and one folded) from warming cabinets set at 130°F or 200°F. Folded blankets were applied to the back and rolled to the neck. Skin temperatures and thermal comfort were obtained at fixed time intervals. FINDINGS: Skin temperatures from blankets in the 200°F cabinet were greater than those in the 130°F cabinet. No skin temperatures reached temperature and/or duration thresholds for dermal injury. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides supportive evidence that warming cabinets may be set at a maximum of 200°F without compromising patient safety.

Next Generation Sequencing and Multi-Gene Panel Testing: Implications for the Oncology Nurse.

OBJECTIVES: To review past, current, and future events in genetics and discuss how genetic testing information personalizes cancer screening, detection, and treatment. A case study is presented to illustrate key points. DATA SOURCES: National guidelines, evidence-based summaries, peer-reviewed studies, editorials, and web sites. CONCLUSION: Multi-gene testing using next-generation sequencing has changed the landscape for hereditary cancer syndromes. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: Nurses have key roles in personalizing health care including recognizing the complexities of genetic testing, assessing family history, understanding gene/environment factors, referring for genetics consultations, and promoting registry studies. In order to be effective, nurses must stay current with the rapidly-changing technology and guidelines for genetic evaluations and testing.

Stiff person syndrome: a case report.

The case report features a patient who had a diagnosis of a common type of breast cancer with an uncommon neurologic syndrome. She had extreme pain and progressive stiffness with cognitive and functional decline. This article includes the pathogenesis and treatment options for a rare, but treatable, autoimmune disorder of malignancy called stiff person syndrome.

Thermal comfort and safety of cotton blankets warmed at 130°F and 200°F.

BACKGROUND: In 2009, the ECRI Institute recommended warming cotton blankets in cabinets set at 130°F or less. However, there is limited research to support the use of this cabinet temperature. PURPOSE: To measure skin temperatures and thermal comfort in healthy volunteers before and after application of blankets warmed in cabinets set at 130 and 200°F, respectively, and to determine the time-dependent cooling of cotton blankets after removal from warming cabinets set at the two temperatures. DESIGN: Prospective, comparative, descriptive. METHODS: Participants (n = 20) received one or two blankets warmed in 130 or 200°F cabinets. First, skin temperatures were measured, and thermal comfort reports were obtained at fixed timed intervals. Second, blanket temperatures (n = 10) were measured at fixed intervals after removal from the cabinets. FINDING: No skin temperatures approached levels reported in the literature that cause epidermal damage. Thermal comfort reports supported using blankets from the 200°F cabinet, and blankets lost heat quickly over time. CONCLUSIONS: We recommend warming cotton blankets in cabinets set at 200°F or less to improve thermal comfort without compromising patient safety.

Unplanned perioperative hypothermia and agreement between oral, temporal artery, and bladder temperatures in adult major surgery patients.

Accurate body core temperature measurement is essential in perioperative areas to quickly recognize and address abnormal temperatures. The purposes of this prospective, descriptive study were to accurately identify unplanned perioperative hypothermia (UPH) in 64 elective major surgery patients; to describe factors that increased the risk of UPH; to describe active/passive warming measures; to describe thermal comfort in patients with and without UPH; and to compare oral, temporal artery, and bladder temperatures. Based on bladder temperatures, 52% of the patients had UPH in the operating room (OR) and 42% on postanesthesia care unit (PACU) admission. The temporal artery thermometer did not detect any hypothermia. Descriptive data and Bland-Altman plots showed lack of agreement between the temporal artery thermometer readings and those of the oral and bladder thermometers. The patient's thermal comfort report did not accurately reflect hypothermia. Factors found to increase the risk of UPH included older age, BMI lower than 30, and OR ambient temperature lower than 68°F. All but one patient had active warming in the OR; active warming was infrequently used in the PACU. Based on our findings and findings in previous studies, we do not recommend using the temporal artery thermometer in perioperative areas. To prevent UPH, we recommend aggressive use of convective and conductive warming measures in perioperative areas and increasing OR ambient temperatures.

Developing a cardiology-oncology clinical practice guideline.

Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPG) have become an increasingly common method to assist practitioner and patient decisions about health care for specific medical problems. CPGs generally address a single medical diagnosis or syndrome leaving practitioners and patients with little guidance when two major medical diagnoses exist such as in the case of heart disease and cancer. As cancer and heart disease are both diseases of the elderly and share many common risk factors it is likely they will coexist in many patients. Thus screening for and preventing and treating heart disease in the cancer patient assumes increasing importance as aggressive cancer therapies are applied to older patients and as a growing number of cardiovascular side effects of anti-cancer therapy are described. Careful evaluation of heart disease in the cancer patient will likely improve quality of life but may also improve mortality as the presence or development of heart disease may significantly limit life-saving cancer therapies. The rationale, potential problems, and important steps in developing a cardiology-oncology guideline are discussed.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy in NYHA class IV heart failure.

Clinical practice guidelines recommend cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) for ambulatory New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV patients with a QRS duration >or= 120 ms and a left ventricular ejection fraction