Reforming the undergraduate nursing clinical curriculum through clinical immersion: A literature review.

Clinical immersion is a method used by various academic programs to narrow the theory-to-practice gap and assist students to transition from school to a new work environment. In the clinical immersion model, students embark upon a concentrated and intensive clinical experience, typically at the end of a semester or program. This literature review explored the various methods by which programs carry out the immersion clinical experience model and if the experience improved students' readiness for entry level positions. Findings from students, faculty, and preceptors showed that immersion experiences are successful in increasing student confidence and nursing skills; however, additional objective evidence is needed to show that the use of immersion experiences can improve graduate readiness for practice. Research is also needed to explore if any differences in student performance outcomes exist between clinical immersion at the end of each semester versus one in a capstone course.

Aldosterone antagonism or synthase inhibition reduces end-organ damage induced by treatment with angiotensin and high salt.

In the setting of high salt intake, aldosterone stimulates fibrosis in the heart, great vessels, and kidney of rats. We used uninephrectomized rats treated with angiotensin II and placed on a high salt diet to exaggerate renal fibrosis. We then tested whether mineralocorticoid receptor blockade by spironolactone or aldosterone synthase inhibition by FAD286 have similar effects on end-organ damage and gene expression. Individually, both drugs prevented the hypertensive response to uninephrectomy and high salt intake but not when angiotensin II was administered. Following 4 weeks of treatment with FAD286, plasma aldosterone was reduced, whereas spironolactone increased aldosterone at 8 weeks of treatment. Angiotensin II and high salt treatment caused albuminuria, azotemia, renovascular hypertrophy, glomerular injury, increased plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1), and osteopontin mRNA expression, as well as tubulointerstitial fibrosis in the kidney. Both drugs prevented these renal effects and attenuated cardiac and aortic medial hypertrophy while reducing osteopontin and transforming growth factor-beta mRNA expression in the aorta. The two drugs also reduced cardiac interstitial fibrosis but had no effect on that of the perivascular region. Although spironolactone enhanced angiotensin II and salt-stimulated PAI-1 mRNA expression in aorta and heart, spironolactone and FAD286 prevented renal PAI-1 mRNA protein expression. Our study shows that mineralocorticoid receptor antagonism and aldosterone synthase inhibition similarly decrease hypertrophy and interstitial fibrosis of the kidney and heart caused by angiotensin II and high salt.

Obesity-related focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis: normalization of proteinuria in an adolescent after bariatric surgery.

Obesity-related glomerulopathy (ORG) is a secondary form of focal and segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS) occurring in severely obese patients. A significant percentage of individuals with ORG will develop renal insufficiency or end stage renal disease. We report here a 17-year-old girl with morbid obesity (body mass index 56.8 kg/m(2)) and ORG presenting with nephrotic range proteinuria, who failed to improve following treatment with diet, exercise and angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor (ACEi)/angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) therapy. Laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery was performed, and within 2 weeks following the surgery, the patient had lost 5.7 kg body weight and showed a remarkable decrease in protein excretion to one tenth of pre-surgery levels. More than 1 year after surgery, the patient's urine protein and kidney function have remained normal while off renin-angiotensin system inhibition therapy. This is the first report of successful use of gastric bypass surgery for obesity-related glomerulopathy in an adolescent. We propose that gastric bypass surgery be considered for patients with ORG.