A descriptive study to assess the impact of surgical stomas on individuals' sleep perceptions & response to sleep hygiene.

Multiple factors affect the sleep quality of individuals with surgically created stomas. Using Rogers' Diffusion of Innovation as the theoretical framework, a study was conducted to: 1) assess subjective sleep quality perceptions and objective sleep measurement in adults with stomas, 2) determine if there is a correlation between subjective and objective measurement of sleep in this group, and 3) implement a stoma-specific sleep hygiene intervention to improve these sleep quality perceptions. Subjective assessment focused on sleep subset questions from the Stoma Quality of Life Index (SQOLI) and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Respondents' (n = 26) subjective sleep scores were 7.23 mean global score on seven questions (PSQI, range: 0 [no difficulty sleeping] to 3 [severe difficulty sleeping], total 0 to 21) with a mean score of 7.32 on three questions (SQOLI, range 1 [severe difficulty sleeping] to 4 [no difficulty sleeping], total 0 to 12) on sleep subset questions; composite scores of 5 or greater (PSQI) and 3 or less (SQOLI) indicating sleep problems. Scores showed that adults with stomas have increased sleep disruption and poor sleep quality. Five respondents who met intervention enrollment criteria participated in an objective sleep assessment using actigraphy, overnight oxygenation studies, and a 4-week sleep hygiene intervention. Mean PSQI score improved by 1.20 but the difference was not statistically significant. Because the results of this study confirm that sleep problems are common in older adults with a stoma, larger sample size studies of >4 weeks' duration are warranted. Until additional research results are available, the existence of sleep quality and overnight pouching concerns should be recognized and use of the low-cost, easy-to-use, stoma-specific sleep hygiene intervention considered.

Body mass index and mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

BACKGROUND: To examine the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and mortality in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). METHODS: We studied a cohort of patients with IPF who were seen at the Mayo Clinic Rochester from 1994 through 1996. These patients met the current consensus definition of IPF. We excluded patients who had received prior treatment for IPF, had no follow-up data, or had no pulmonary function results available at the index visit. RESULTS: Of the 197 patients fulfilling the inclusion criteria, the mean (+/- SD) age was 71.4 +/- 8.9 years, 137 patients (70%) were men, and the mean BMI was 28.2 +/- 4.6. These patients were categorized by BMI into the following three groups: < 25; 25 to 30; and >/= 30. There were 46 patients (23%) with a BMI of < 25 who had a median survival time of 3.6 years (1-year survival rate, 76% [95% confidence interval (CI), 65 to 90%]; 3-year survival rate, 54% [95% CI, 41 to 70%]). The second group consisted of 85 patients (43%) with a BMI between 25 and 30 who had a median survival time of 3.8 years (1-year survival rate, 84% [95% CI, 76 to 92%]; 3-year survival rate, 58% [95% CI, 48 to 70%]). The final group consisted of 66 patients (34%) with a BMI of >/= 30 and who had a median survival time of 5.8 years (1-year survival rate, 91% [95% CI, 84 to 98%]; 3-year survival rate, 69% [95% CI, 58 to 81%]). Using a proportional hazards regression model, survival was significantly associated with BMI (hazard ratio, 0.93 for each 1-U increase in BMI; 95% CI, 0.89 to 0.97; p = 0.002) with increased BMI being associated with better survival. CONCLUSION: Higher BMI was associated with better survival in patients with IPF.

West Nile virus infection presenting as cerebellar ataxia and fever: case report.

Evidence of West Nile encephalitis virus infection has been documented in most states of the continental United States within a short period of its first introduction in 1999. Health care providers are mostly aware of the usual presentations of this disease, eg, aseptic meningitis, encephalitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome. We present a patient whose only manifestations were cerebellar ataxia and fever.

Location and clinical implications of high-degree atrioventricular block during dipyridamole infusion: a case report.

We describe a patient with bifascicular block, who developed transient high-degree atrioventricular block during dipyridamole infusion. This patient was subsequently found to have significant His-Purkinje disease at electrophysiology study, and underwent permanent pacemaker implantation. Spontaneous atrioventricular block was documented during follow-up. This case report raises the issue of dipyridamole safety in patients with intraventricular conduction defects, and contributes an additional mechanism to the possible explanation of dipyridamole-induced atrioventricular block.