Challenges of Cerebral Perfusion Pressure Measurement.

Monitoring cerebral perfusion pressure (CPP) is recommended by a number of clinical practice guidelines and is a routine function performed by critical care neuroscience nurses. However, several studies highlight theoretical and practice variations in the measurement of CPP regarding the location of the arterial pressure transducer during measurement. Agreement on the technique and process for obtaining valid measurements is lacking. This article identifies the challenges associated with CPP measurement and highlights opportunities for standardizing CPP measurement to improve consistency in care and findings reported in the research literature. The challenges associated with practice variations impact multiple nursing domains, including the environment, patient treatment, and team communication; all ultimately impacting nursing workflow. The practice variation and impact on nursing workflow have significant implications for further research, electronic health record development, and refining monitoring technology.

Psycho-oncology in a united Europe--changes and challenges.

The paper provides an overview on the 11th scientific conference of the European Society for Psycho-Oncology (ESPO), which took place in June 2001, at Heidelberg, Germany. The main topics discussed during the conference were: (1) the state of the art of research on the effects of psychological interventions in cancer patients; (2) psychosocial aspects in the new field of cancer genetics; (3) recent developments in Quality of Life research; (4) Psycho-Oncology from an European perspective; and (5) children and cancer. The conference gave an impressive picture of the many achievements Psycho-Oncology in Europe has accomplished during the last years, in the clinical and scientific domain. With recent biomedical innovations Psycho-Oncology is facing new challenges. Despite these achievements limitations have become apparent. Identifying these limitations, future aims can be outlined. Among these, there is the need for methodological refinement, as well as for proof of clinical relevance of research results, in order to narrow the gap between research and practice.