Characteristics and special challenges of neonatal emergency transports.

BACKGROUND: As a rule, newborns do not require special medical care. If unexpected complications occur peripartum or postpartum, support from and transport to specialised neonatal hospitals might be needed. METHODS: In a retrospective study, all transport protocols of a supraregional paediatric­neonatological maximum care hospital in northwestern Germany from 01.10.2018 through 30.09.2021 were analysed. The particular focus was on transports of newborns (<7 days) and the leading symptoms that led to contact. RESULTS: A total of 299 patients were included (average age of 15.4 h, 61.6 % males). The average complete transport time was approximately 2 h. Five leading neonatal diseases (respiratory, infectious, asphyxia, cardiac, haematological) were found to represent the causes of >80 % of transfers. Respiratory adaptation disorders are the main reason for transferring a newborn to a centre, whereas asphyxia is the most severe condition. The various symptoms differ in their time of onset, a factor which must be taken into account in practice. Differences were also found between different types of hospitals: while a large proportion of transports were carried out from maternity hospitals (80.6 %), children transported from children's hospitals were generally more severely ill. DISCUSSION: Transfers of neonates, especially from maternity hospitals to neonatal intensive care units due to special neonatal diseases, are not rare. In times of increasingly scarce resources, the effective care of sick or at-risk neonates is essential. For low-population regions, this means professional cooperation between maximum care providers and smaller children's hospitals and maternity-only hospitals.

Microteaching: a model for employee counseling education.

An instructional model for the implementation and use of videotape simulation to improve dietetic students' skills in employee counseling was explored in the coordinated undergraduate program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A five-day intensive workshop was conducted for senior students in the program, utilizing the microteaching technique. Students and actors simulated an employee counseling session on videotape; then, a small group and a clinical instructor evaluated the session. Suggestions from these evaluations were used in a repeat of the situation on videotape. A team of experts randomly viewed all the situations, judging a significant improvement in composite scores for the workshop participants. The students indicated on a Self-Perception of Confidence (SPOC) scale that they felt a higher degree of comfort in handling potential employee counseling after completing the workshop. They were pleased with the workshop and suggested expansion of the technique to other phases of their dietetic education.

Dietetic performance evaluation: establishment of validity and reliability.

Performance evaluation as conducted among a number of raters using several evaluation tools requires the qualities of content validity and interrater reliability to be fair and effective. A procedural model was tested and implemented by faculty and students in the Coordinated Undergraduate Program (CUP) at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. A checklist for evaluation of employee counseling techniques achieved an intraclass correlation of 0.72 when used by clinical instructors in a series of workshops. The procedure included development of a form, its use in a standardized situation, discussion, calculation of intraclass correlation, and review. The model is suggested for implementation in any program from which established validity and reliability in evaluation are desired.

A retrospective study of graduates of a coordinated internship/master's degree program.

The coordinated dietetic internship/master's degree program (CDI/MDP) was formed in 1965 as a consortium of three hospitals and a university combining a hospital internship and graduate degree program. As of 1984, there were 317 graduates. The purpose of this study was to determine the employment, professional activity, and further education profiles of graduates in a 20-year period. The critical path method (CPM) was used as the blueprint for the 6-month project in which 267 questionnaires were sent and 152 were returned. Findings on areas of practice of graduates of the CDI/MDP indicated that their employment generally follows the same rankings as those found in previous studies of internship, CUP, and Plan IV programs, except for greater frequency of employment in education. Activities in professional associations were notable, with many graduates serving as officers or committee members. Twenty-one percent of respondents have earned or are in the process of pursuing study beyond the master of science earned with the internship. This may indicate that students interested in completing an internship/master's program have a strong achievement orientation or that they have an unusually high regard for education. Our findings provide valuable data for understanding the career impact of advanced education combined with the internship.

Dietary influences on cardiovascular disease risk in anabolic steroid-using and nonusing bodybuilders.

Recent studies have described an association between high-risk lipoprotein profiles and anabolic steroid abuse by athletes. However, none have included a comprehensive evaluation of diet as a confounding variable. The risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and its associations with drug abuse, dietary patterns, and training regimens were evaluated in 18 steroid-using (SU) and 17 non-steroid-using (NSU; no history of drug use or greater than or equal to 1 year drug-free) male bodybuilders. CVD risk was also evaluated in 10 control males. Fasting serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) and HDL subfractions 2 and 3, low-density (LDL) and very-low-density (VLDL) lipoprotein cholesterol, apoproteins (APO) A-1 and B, and triglycerides (TG) were analyzed at baseline (greater than or equal to 6 months drug-free) and the peak of steroid self-administration in SU. NSU were tested at similar times. Baseline CVD risk factor ratios (TC/HDL) were elevated (greater than 4.97) in 44% of SU and 24% of NSU. When baseline LDL and HDL values were compared to National Cholesterol Education Program CVD risk guidelines, these percentages stayed the same. At the peak of steroid administration significant changes were observed in LDL (22% increase), HDL (63% decrease), HDL-2 (86% decrease), HDL-3 (54% decrease), and TC/HDL (85% increase). No similar measures were observed among NSU or controls. Diets of all bodybuilders were similar, and included a daily intake of 5739 (+/- 2500) kcal, 324 (+/- 163) g protein, 637 (+/- 259) g carbohydrate, 214 (+/- 109) g fat, 5 (+/- 8) g alcohol, 1413 (+/- 1151) mg cholesterol, and a P/S ratio of 0.6 (+/- 0.3). Significant relationships between dietary fats and serum lipids were observed in the NSU. Polyunsaturated fatty acids were correlated with TG and VLDL (r = 0.69; p = 0.01), and TC/HDL (r = 0.06; p = 0.04). Total fats were correlated with TG (r = 0.57; p = 0.05), HDL-3 (r = -0.62; p = 0.04), and VLDL (r = 0.57; p = 0.05), and saturated fats with HDL-3 (r = -0.59; p = 0.055). Diet was moderately associated with lipoproteins in SU, but steroids had a much greater influence on CVD risk. Despite disease promoting diets NSU had relatively average CVD risk that may be attributed to protective effects of rigorous training.