James A. Rankin

Biological Mediators of Acute Inflammation

Inflammation may be defined as the normal response of living tissue to injury or infection. It is important to emphasize two components of this definition. First, that inflammation is a normal response and, as such, is expected to occur when tissue is damaged. Indeed, if injured tissue did not exhibit signs of inflammation this would be considered abnormal. Secondly, inflammation occurs in living tissue, hence the need for an adequate blood supply to the tissues in order for an inflammatory response to be exhibited. The inflammatory response may be triggered by mechanical injury, chemical toxins, invasion by microorganisms, and hypersensitivity reactions. Three major events occur during the inflammatory response: the blood supply to the affected area is increased substantially, capillary permeability is increased, and leucocytes migrate from the capillary vessels into the surrounding interstitial spaces to the site of inflammation or injury. The inflammatory response represents a complex biological and biochemical process involving cells of the immune system and a plethora of biological mediators. Cell-to-cell communication molecules known collectively as cytokines play an extremely important role in mediating the process of inflammation. An extensive exposition of this complex phenomenon is beyond the scope of this article. Rather, the author provides a review of inflammation, an overview of the role of certain biological mediators in inflammation, and a discussion of the implications of certain biological response modifiers in clinical practice.

Looking beyond the biophysical realm to optimize health: results of a survey of psychological well-being in adults with congenital cardiac disease.

BACKGROUND The purpose was to examine the relationship between the complexity of structural heart disease and psychological well-being in adults with congenital cardiac disease. METHODS A total of 380 patients registered at the Adult Congenital Heart Clinic in Calgary, Alberta, Canada were surveyed. The patients were mailed a socio-demographic questionnaire and an instrument to measure psychological well-being. The instrument of psychological well-being measures six dimensions: positive relations with others, autonomy, environmental mastery, personal growth, purpose in life, and self-acceptance. Of the 380 patients surveyed, 85 of 205 patients with simple structural malformation responded, giving a response rate of 41%, and 78 of 175 patients with complex malformations, thus giving a response of 45%. RESULTS There was no statistically significant difference in the mean scores of each of the six dimensions of psychological well-being between those patients with simple and complex malformations. Two-way analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of variance, found significant differences in mean scores for dimensions when other socio-demographic variables were included in the analysis. For example, significantly higher mean scores for the dimension of purpose in life was found in patients who obtained a higher level of education (p = 0.009), and in patients who were employed (p < 0.001). We present the socio-demographic variables that statistically impact the mean scores for the dimension of psychological well-being. CONCLUSION Psychological well-being is not affected by the complexity of the structural congenital cardiac disease. Certain socio-demographic variables that impact psychological well-being, nonetheless, must be considered when developing multidisciplinary programmes to care for young adults with congenitally malformed hearts.

Momentary Fitting in a Fluid Environment: A Grounded Theory of Triage Nurse Decision Making

BACKGROUND Triage nurses control access to the Emergency Department (ED) and make decisions about patient acuity, patient priority, and placement of the patient in the ED. Understanding the processes and strategies that triage nurses use to make decisions is therefore vital for patient safety and the operation of the ED. The aim of the current study was to generate a substantive grounded theory (GT) of decision making by emergency triage Registered Nurses (RNs). METHOD Data collection consisted of seven observations of the triage environment at three tertiary care hospitals where RNs conducted triage and twelve interviews with triage RNs. The data were analyzed by constant comparison in accordance with the classical GT method. RESULTS In the resultant theory, Momentary Fitting in a Fluid Environment, triage is conceptualized as a process consisting of four categories, determining acuity, anticipating needs, managing space, and creating space. The findings indicate that triage RNs continually strive to achieve fit, while simultaneously considering the individual patient and the ED as a whole entity. CONCLUSION Triage RNs require appropriately designed triage environments and computer technology that enable them to secure real time knowledge of the ED to maintain situation awareness.

Odds Ratios and Confidence Intervals: A Review for the Pediatric Oncology Clinician

Professional registered nurses (RNs) are active participants in seeking and interpreting research evidence. To facilitate knowledge transfer for RNs at the bedside, it behooves researchers to present their findings in a format that facilitates understanding. There is also an expectation that clinicians are capable of interpreting results in a meaningful way. It is important to be able to understand and interpret research reports where statistical methods are used as part of providing the safest and best care for patients. The purpose of this article is to describe the basic concepts of odds ratios and confidence intervals used in research. These statistical measures are used frequently in quantitative research and are often the principle measure of association that is reported. The more comfortable pediatric oncology clinicians are with the interpretation of odds ratios and confidence intervals, the better equipped they will be to bring relevant research results from the “bench” to the bedside.

Nurse-led Care for Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis: A Systematic Review of the Effect on Quality of Care

Objective. In the nurse-led care (NLC) model, nurses take on the primary responsibility for patient management. We systematically assessed the effect of NLC for patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) on multiple dimensions of quality of care from the Alberta Quality of Care Matrix for Health. Methods. We searched MEDLINE, EMBASE, and CINAHL from 1950 to January 2015. English-language studies were included if they reported on NLC for patients with RA and assessed 1 or more dimensions of quality (effectiveness, acceptability, efficiency, accessibility, appropriateness, and safety). Data were synthesized using narrative analysis. Results. We included 10 studies. The NLC models varied in terms of nurses’ professional designation (clinical nurse specialists or nurse practitioners); however, their role in the clinic was fairly consistent. Disease activity was the most common measure of effectiveness, with NLC being equal (n = 2) or superior (n = 3) to the comparator. NLC was equal (n = 1) or superior (n = 5) versus the comparator in terms of patient satisfaction (i.e., acceptability of care). NLC was equally safe as other models (n = 2). Regarding efficiency, results varied across studies (n = 6) and did not allow for conclusions about models’ cost-effectiveness. In qualitative studies, patients found NLC to be superior in terms of accessibility [i.e., continuity of care (n = 3) and appropriateness measured with education and support (n = 4)]; however, no quantitative measures were found. Conclusion. NLC for patients with RA is effective, acceptable, and safe as compared with other models. However, current evidence is insufficient to draw conclusions about its efficiency, accessibility, and appropriateness.

The application of theory to triage decision-making.

Theory in nursing is frequently thought of as being a mainly academic exercise with little relevance to the everyday practice of nursing. In nursing there is disagreement about what theory is and what it is not. Scientific theory is an abstract systematic explanation of how concepts are related to each other. Many nursing theories do not fit this description and should therefore, in the opinion of the authors, be thought of as models. Nursing knowledge has been described as the knowledge that is useful to nurses, whether it is derived from the discipline of nursing or other disciplines. Decision-making (DM) and triage nursing have been investigated by several nurse researchers, however, most have not clearly articulated a theoretical or conceptual framework. The recognition primed decision (RPD) model is based on research about DM under uncertain conditions such as time pressure, limited time available, high stakes, and changing cues. The context of emergency triage nursing DM is congruent with the RPD model. The authors propose that the RPD model can serve as a foundation for research that seeks to understand DM by triage nurses with the aim of yielding new knowledge that is useful for their practice.