Factors influencing oral care in intubated intensive care patients.

BACKGROUND: The practice of oral care in intensive care settings remains inconsistent among intubated patients, yet these patients are at high risk of developing ventilator-associated pneumonia. Therefore, it is important to adopt safe professional behaviour based on clinical practice guidelines. This study was based on Ajzen's (1985) theory of planned behavior, a conceptual framework that allows a better understanding of how internal and external factors influence behaviour adoption. AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To study influential factors in how nurses practice oral care with intubated clients in intensive care settings, referring to the theory of planned behavior (TPB) constructs. DESIGN: A cross-sectional descriptive correlational design was conducted through a provincial postal survey in Quebec, Canada. METHODS: A questionnaire was completed by 375 nurses working in intensive care units (ICUs). RESULTS: Perceived behavioural control and attitude were the most important determinants in the level of intention to engage in oral care. Knowledge, available human and material resources, and number of years of experience in critical care nursing also seemed to be significant influencing factors. CONCLUSIONS: This study improved our understanding of the factors influencing the practice of oral care in intubated patients in the ICU, relying on TPB as an explanatory framework. It would be important to continue to study this professional behaviour and to work in collaboration with health care facilities to promote the importance of oral care as an imperative for the safety and quality of health care. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study represent a solid foundation for advancing continuing education programmes and intensive care orientation programmes tailored to the needs of nurses.

Development of a Survey to Explore Factors Influencing the Adoption of Best Practices for Diabetic Foot Ulcer Offloading.

PURPOSE: The primary purpose of this study was to develop 2 survey tools to explore factors influencing adoption of best practices for diabetic foot ulcer offloading treatment in primary health care settings. One survey was intended for the patients receiving care for a diabetic foot ulcer in primary health care settings and the other was intended for the health professionals providing treatment. The second purpose of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the 2 surveys. DESIGN: Development and validation of survey instruments. METHODS: Two surveys were developed using a published guide. Following review of pertinent literature and identification of variables to be measured, a bank of items was developed and pretested to determine clarity of the item and responses. Psychometric testing comprised measurement of content validity index (CVI) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Only items obtaining satisfactory CVI and ICC scores were included in the final version of the surveys. RESULTS: The final version of the patient survey contained 41 items and the final version of the survey for health care professionals contained 21 items. The patient-intended survey's items demonstrate high content validity scores and satisfactory test-retest reliability scores. The overall CVI score was 0.98. Forty of the 49 items eligible for testing obtain satisfactory ICC scores. One item's test-retest reliability could not be tested but it was retained based on its high CVI. The health professional-intended survey, an overall CVI score of 0.91 but items had lower ICC scores (63%, 31 of the 49 items), did not achieve a satisfactory ICC score for inclusion in the final instrument. CONCLUSION: This project led to development of 2 instruments designed to identify and explore factors influencing adoption of best practices for diabetic foot ulcer offloading treatment in the primary health care setting. Future research and testing is required to translate these French surveys into English and additional languages, in order to reach a broader population.

The incidence of spontaneous arrhythmias in telemetered beagle dogs, Göttingen Minipigs and Cynomolgus non-human primates: A HESI consortium retrospective analysis.

INTRODUCTION: Characterization of the incidence of spontaneous arrhythmias to identify possible drug-related effects is often an important part of the analysis in safety pharmacology studies using telemetry. METHODS: A retrospective analysis in non-clinical species with and without telemetry transmitters was conducted. Electrocardiograms (24 h) from male and female beagle dogs (n = 131), Göttingen minipigs (n = 108) and cynomolgus non-human primates (NHP; n = 78) were analyzed. RESULTS: Ventricular tachycardia (VT) was observed in 3% of the dogs but was absent in minipigs and NHPs. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) was not observed in the 3 species. Ventricular premature beats (VPBs) were more frequent during daytime and atrioventricular blocks (AVBs) were more frequent at night in all species. A limited number of animals exhibited a high arrhythmia frequency and there was no correlation between animals with higher frequency of an arrhythmia type and the frequency of other arrythmias in the same animals. Clinical chemistry or hematology parameters were not different with or without telemetry devices. NHP with a transmural left ventricular pressure (LVP) catheter exhibited a greater incidence of VPBs and PJCs compared to telemetry animals without LVP. DISCUSSION: All species were similar with regards to the frequency of ventricular ectopic beats (26-46%) while the dog seemed to have more frequent junctional complexes and AVB compared to NHP and minipigs. Arrhythmia screening may be considered during pre-study evaluations, to exclude animals with abnormally high arrhythmia incidence.

Cost effectiveness of an air-inflated static overlay for pressure ulcer prevention: a randomized, controlled trial.

UNLABELLED:  Numerous pressure-relieving surfaces of varying costs are available for the prevention of pressure ulcers. There is insufficient evidence to draw conclusions regarding the efficacy or merits of using more expensive technologies. The purpose of this unblinded, randomized, prospective study was to compare the clinical and the cost effectiveness of an inflated overlay with rented, pressure-relieving surfaces for the prevention of pressure ulcers. METHODS: Patients in a 257-bed acute care facility were included if they had a Braden score of ≤ 14, had no skin lesion(s), were ≥ 18 years, weighed < 300 lb, and submitted signed consent. One hundred, ten patients (110) were randomized into a control group using either a microfluid static overlay (MSO) or a low-air-loss dynamic mattress (LALDM) with pulsation (n = 55) or into an experimental group using an inflated static overlay (ISO) (n = 55). Both groups had identical positioning protocols. No statistically significant differences were noted between the 2 groups with regard to age, gender, weight, or Braden scale score. Head-to-toe assessments were performed 3 times a week for a maximum of 14 days to deter- mine presence of pressure ulcers and comfort; Fisher's exact and chi- squared tests were used to assess categorical data, and unpaired t-test and Mann-Whitney statistic tests were used to compare continuous variables. Comparative cost of support surface use was determined at the end of the study. RESULTS: In the control group, 50 patients used an MSO and 5 patients used an LALDM; in the experimental group, 55 patients used an ISO. No significant difference in pressure ulcer incidence was found between the control (n = 6) and experimental groups (n = 2) (11% versus 4%, respectively; P = 0.2706), and there was no significant difference in comfort (90% versus 85%; P = 0.7129). However, a significant difference was noted in total cost ($13,606 CAD versus $3,364 CAD, P ≤ 0.001); the ISO was less expensive. CONCLUSION: The use of an ISO offers a cost-effective option for the prevention of pressure ulcers in a moderate to very high-risk population. .