Extending the scope of dietetic practice in a regional setting: Dietitians credentialed to insert and manage nasogastric tubes.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: To describe the process of credentialing and implementing dietitian insertion of nasogastric tubes (NGTs) in a regional setting in Australia, and report on patient outcomes, timeliness and safety of insertion, and staff acceptance. METHODS: An observational, mixed-methods study of service and patient outcomes was undertaken during the 2 years (2018-2020) following the implementation of dietitian credentialling for the insertion and management of NGTs. Data relating to the insertion of NGTs by credentialled dietitians were collected prospectively. A staff survey was circulated during and after the data collection period. Data has been reported descriptively. RESULTS: The model of care was successfully implemented with two dietitians credentialed to insert NGTs. There were 38 unique occasions of NGT insertions for 31 individual patients. Eighty-seven percent (n = 33) of cases were inpatients. NGT insertion was successfully performed by the dietitian 82% of the time (n = 31). No medical complications relating to NGT insertion were reported following a dietitian inserted NGT, with the exception of one incidence of mild epistaxis. The average insertion time was 25.5 min (14.1), the average number of insertion attempts by a dietitian was 1.7 (1.27) and on one occasion more than one x-ray was required. CONCLUSION: This study supports the recommendations of Dietitians Australia that this model of care is viable as an extended scope of practice model of care for dietetic departments across Australia. This evaluation adds to the evidence base for extended scope of practice and informs future directions for the service and training of dietitians.

The time has come for evidence-based staffing and scheduling.

At last, we will have a published source of articles documenting evidence and best practices in a practical publication available to everyone. We are grateful to the editor and publisher of Nursing Economic$ for their vision and support of this very serious issue in nursing and health care. We look forward to a future where nurses and the entire health care team embed evidence and not opinion into our staffing. In the words of Florence Nightingale: "No system can endure that does not march. Are we walking to the future or to the past? Are we progressing or are we stereotyping? We remember that we have scarcely crossed the threshold of uncivilized civilization in nursing; there is still so much to do. Don't let us stereotype mediocrity. We are still on the threshold of nursing" (Ulrich, 1992, p. 11).

RACE AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF SOCIAL AND PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTAL RISK: A Case Example from the Detroit Metropolitan Area.

Since W. E. B. Du Bois documented the physical and social environments of Philadelphia's predominantly African American Seventh Ward over a century ago, there has been continued interest in understanding the distribution of social and physical environments by racial make-up of communities. Characterization of these environments allows for documentation of inequities, identifies communities which encounter heightened risk, and can inform action to promote health equity. In this paper, we apply and extend Du Bois's approach to examine the contemporary distribution of physical environmental exposures, health risks, and social vulnerabilities in the Detroit metropolitan area, one of the most racially-segregated areas in the United States. We begin by mapping the proximity of sensitive populations to hazardous land uses, their exposure to air pollutants and associated health risks, and social vulnerabilities, as well as cumulative risk (combined proximity, exposure, and vulnerability), across Census tracts. Next, we assess, quantitatively, the extent to which communities of color experience excess burdens of environmental exposures and associated health risks, economic and age-related vulnerabilities, and cumulative risk. The results, depicted in maps presented in the paper, suggest that Census tracts with greater proportions of people of color disproportionately encounter physical environmental exposures, socioeconomic vulnerabilities, and combined risk. Quantitative tests of inequality confirm these distributions, with statistically greater exposures, vulnerabilities, and cumulative risk in Census tracts with larger proportions of people of color. Together, these findings identify communities that experience disproportionate cumulative risk in the Detroit metropolitan area and quantify the inequitable distribution of risk by Census tract relative to the proportion of people of color. They identify clear opportunities for prioritizing communities for legislative, regulatory, policy, and local actions to promote environmental justice and health equity.

Targeting the kinase activities of ATR and ATM exhibits antitumoral activity in mouse models of MLL-rearranged AML.

Among the various subtypes of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), those with chromosomal rearrangements of the MLL oncogene (AML-MLL) have a poor prognosis. AML-MLL tumor cells are resistant to current genotoxic therapies because of an attenuated response by p53, a protein that induces cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in response to DNA damage. In addition to chemicals that damage DNA, efforts have focused on targeting DNA repair enzymes as a general chemotherapeutic approach to cancer treatment. Here, we found that inhibition of the kinase ATR, which is the primary sensor of DNA replication stress, induced chromosomal breakage and death of mouse AML(MLL) cells (with an MLL-ENL fusion and a constitutively active N-RAS independently of p53. Moreover, ATR inhibition as a single agent exhibited antitumoral activity, both reducing tumor burden after establishment and preventing tumors from growing, in an immunocompetent allograft mouse model of AML(MLL) and in xenografts of a human AML-MLL cell line. We also found that inhibition of ATM, a kinase that senses DNA double-strand breaks, also promoted the survival of the AML(MLL) mice. Collectively, these data indicated that ATR or ATM inhibition represent potential therapeutic strategies for the treatment of AML, especially MLL-driven leukemias.

Weight changes in teens on psychotropic medication combinations at Austin State Hospital.

Psychiatrists commonly treat adolescents with multiple psychotropic medications simultaneously. We studied the effects of psychotropic medications on the weight of adolescent patients at Austin State Hospital between June 1997 and December 2001. The medication combinations that caused the largest weight increases were olanzapine with valproic acid, and olanzapine with venlafaxine. The biggest weight loss combinations were valproic acid with bupropion, and valproic acid with venlafaxine. Medications drove a substantial portion of the changes in weight, not other variables. The specific medication prescribed, rather than the total number of medications, predicted weight gain. As current inpatient adolescents are receiving multiple medications and their weight is subsequently being affected, more study is needed to better understand these effects.

Modeling factors that influence exercise and dietary change among midlife Australian women: results from the Healthy Aging of Women Study.

The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that influence midlife women to make positive exercise and dietary changes. In late 2005 questionnaires were mailed to 866 women aged 51-66 years from rural and urban locations in Queensland, Australia and participating in Stage 2 of the Healthy Aging of Women Study. The questionnaires sought data on socio-demographics, body mass index (BMI), chronic health conditions, self-efficacy, exercise and dietary behavior change since age 40, and health-related quality of life. Five hundred and sixty four (69%) were completed and returned by early 2006. Data analysis comprised descriptive and bivariate statistics and structural equation modeling. The results showed that midlife is a significant time for women to make positive health behavior changes. Approximately one-third of the sample (34.6%) indicated that they had increased their exercise and around 60% had made an effort to eat more healthily since age 40. Modeling showed self-efficacy to be important in making both exercise (߈(Z)=0.099;߈=0.006;95%CI:0.001,0.011) and dietary (߈(Z)=-0.187;߈=-0.009;95%CI:-0.013,-0.005) changes. Although education appeared to influence self-efficacy (߈(Z)=0.148;߈=2.448;95%CI:1.136,3.76) in relation to exercise change, this was not the case for dietary change. The study has application for programs promoting healthy aging among women, and implies that those with low education, high BMI and poor mental health may need considerable support to improve their lifestyles.

Epimorphic regeneration in mice is p53-independent.

The process of regeneration is most readily studied in species of sponge, hydra, planarian and salamander (i.e., newt and axolotl). The closure of MRL mouse ear pinna through-and-through holes provides a mammalian model of unusual wound healing/regeneration in which a blastema-like structure closes the ear hole and cartilage and hair follicles are replaced. Recent studies, based on a broad level of DNA damage and a cell cycle pattern of G2/M "arrest," showed that p21(Cip1/Waf1) was missing from the MRL mouse ear and that a p21-null mouse could close its ear holes. Given the p53/p21 axis of control of DNA damage, cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and senescence, we tested the role of p53 in the ear hole regenerative response. Using backcross mice, we found that loss of p53 in MRL mice did not show reduced healing. Furthermore, cross sections of MRL. p53(-/-) mouse ears at 6 weeks post-injury showed an increased level of adipocytes and chondrocytes in the region of healing whereas MRL or p21(-/-) mice showed chondrogenesis alone in this same region, though at later time points. In addition, we also investigated other cell cycle-related mutant mice to determine how p21 was being regulated. We demonstrate that p16 and Gadd45 null mice show little healing capacity. Interestingly, a partial healing phenotype in mice with a dual Tgfß/Rag2 knockout mutation was seen. These data demonstrate an independence of p53 signaling for mouse appendage regeneration and suggest that the role of p21 in this process is possibly through the abrogation of the Tgfß/Smad pathway.