Smoking and IPMN malignant progression.

BACKGROUND: Patients with intraductal papillary mucinous neoplasm (IPMN) are at risk for invasive pancreatic cancer. We aim to characterize the impact of smoking on IPMN malignant progression. METHODS: Patients undergoing pancreatic resection for IPMN (1991-2015) were retrospectively reviewed using a prospectively collected database. RESULTS: Of 422 patients identified, 324 had complete data for analysis; 55% were smokers. Smoking status did not impact IPMN malignant progression (smokers/non-smokers: 22%/18% invasive grade; p = 0.5). Smokers were younger than non-smokers at the time of IPMN diagnosis (63 versus 68 years; p = 0.001). This association also held in the invasive IPMN subgroup (65 versus 72 years, p = 0.01). Despite this observation, rate of symptoms at diagnosis, cancer stage, and median survival were the same between smokers and non-smokers. CONCLUSION: Although smoking is not associated with IPMN malignant progression, invasive IPMN is diagnosed at a younger age in smokers. These data suggest tobacco exposure may accelerate IPMN malignant progression.

Strategies used by hospital nurses to cope with a national crisis: a manager's perspective.

This article explores the anxiety level of, and coping strategies used by, hospital nurses, during a national state of emergency. The study was guided by a stress and coping framework, developed by Lazarus & Folkman, and was conducted at a large teaching hospital, located in the centre of Israel, during the Iraqi crisis in January and February, 1998. Data were collected from a sample of 100 female nurses, and a descriptive correlational design was used. The findings indicated that approximately 33% of the nurses expressed feelings of stress, tension and a sense of discomfort. The dominant coping strategy used by the nurses was direct-active, which was found to be the most effective strategy. As they were unable to remove or control the stressor, stress management intervention by nursing managers focused mainly on communicating with staff and providing social support - informational and emotional--to buffer the stressful experience. Providing support and help in finding practical solutions is important for maintaining emotional stability of staff, thereby helping them to improve their nursing interventions in assisting people to cope with stressful situations.