Nutritional implications in the patient with pressure sores.

The relationship between wound healing and nutritional depletion is well accepted, although more specific aspects of repair remain to be established. Additional speculation surrounds the validity of assessment parameters as well as the constituents of replacement therapy. Even in view of this controversy the fact of the matter remains clear; adequate nutriture is one of the most fundamental of patient needs. Hence, the goal of nursing care should focus on the early recognition and intervention of nutritional deficits. Correction of potential and actual deficiency states promotes tissue restoration and reduces associated wound complications.

Development of a screening program for tardive dyskinesia: feasibility issues.

This report is part of a feasibility study focused upon developing a valid and reliable method of screening for tardive dyskinesia. The research questions concerned establishing the validity and reliability of the procedure, the acceptability of the procedure to the subjects, and the characteristics of the subjects with scores that exceeded more than a minimal level. Sixty patients were screened in four randomly selected psychiatric aftercare homes. A 12-hour training program was developed to prepare the raters. The interrater reliability achieved for total score using the Abnormal Involuntary Movement Scale (AIMS) was .90, p less than .01, and the validity of the examination was achieved and maintained at an 80-percent agreement level between the nurse raters and a study expert. Thirty percent of the population had scores exceeding minimal symptoms for tardive dyskinesia. The screening program was acceptable to the subjects. A program of training for professional-level raters is described, which is applicable to many settings.