Tips for writing a NAON research grant proposal.

This article is intended to help the novice nurse researcher prepare a research grant proposal for the National Association of Orthopaedic Nurses (NAON). It summarizes the grant guidelines and describes each component of the research proposal. The components include the abstract, statement of the problem, literature review, purpose, design, methodology, timetable and budget. NAON's research priorities are included as well as contact information for the organization and tips for survival.

Single coronary artery: a case report.

We report a case of a 47-year-old woman with a previous myocardial infarction, in whom coronary angiography showed a right-type single coronary artery (arising from a single ostium in the right sinus of Valsalva) without associated obstructive lesions. We have demonstrated that the transesophageal echocardiogram was complementary to angiography in the assessment of retroaortic course of the anomalous left main coronary artery.

Understanding the devastation of AIDS.

A patient admitted to your unit this morning presents a dauntingly complex clinical picture. Maria DeJesus, 34 years old, has HIV infection, which progressed to AIDS last year with an episode of Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia. She's also experienced recurrent vaginal and esophageal candidiasis and cryptococcal meningitis, and her more recent history includes peripheral neuropathy, causing pain and numbness, as well as cognitive and motor function problems. Her admission was prompted by diarrhea that has persisted despite outpatient treatment. To provide the best care for patients like Ms. DeJesus, you need to understand HIV infection and the diseases associated with it. Yet that's a challenging task, given that the possible manifestations of advanced infection are so many and varied. Though your approach to care is holistic, you may find it helpful to consider the numerous facets of the patient's illness individually. In the following pages, we'll examine how HIV enters the body, infects immune cells, and eventually cripples the immune system. We'll look at some of the more common opportunistic infections preying on people with HIV. And we'll explore the less well-charted territory of complications attributed to HIV infection of the central and peripheral nervous systems.

Repair of a ruptured sinus of Valsalva aneurysm. Associated with annuloaortic ectasia and coarctation of the aorta in a patient with Marfan syndrome.

We report the case of a 16-year-old boy with Marfan syndrome who presented in severe congestive heart failure secondary to rupture of an aneurysm of the sinus of Valsalva into the right atrium, a condition that was aggravated by coarctation of the aorta. The patient also had a large aneurysm of the ascending aorta with the characteristics of annuloaortic ectasia. The patient underwent successful surgical correction and is asymptomatic 3 years after the repair.

Exertional hypotension in spinal cord injury.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To assess blood pressure (BP) response to continuous maximal arm ergometry in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI). DESIGN: Cross-sectional analysis of data collected for a prospective study of functional electrical stimulation in patients with SCI. SETTING: Short-term rehabilitation hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty individuals with SCI; 4 cervical (C6 to C8), 10 high thoracic (T1 to T6), and 6 low thoracic (T7 to T12). MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Each subject performed continuous maximal arm ergometry with expired gas analysis. Blood pressure was measured using a technician-assisted protocol. The BP at maximal exercise was compared with the highest submaximal BP reached during the test (delta BP = final BP minus highest submaximal BP). All 20 subjects had a negative delta BP (mean +/- SD; -22.8 +/- 12.1 mm Hg) for mean BP and 19 of 20 had a negative delta BP (-25.8 +/- 14.4 mm Hg) for systolic BP. The delta BP was not significantly related to maximum exercise parameters, resting BP, or level of lesion. Four able-bodied subjects and six wheelchair-bound individuals without SCI showed no exertional hypotension. Repeated testing on the four able-bodied subjects showed excellent reproducibility for mean BP (coefficient of variation [CV] = 3.6 percent; r = 0.98; p < 0.01) and systolic BP (CV = 2.2 percent; r = 0.99; p < 0.01) using this protocol. CONCLUSIONS: These data describe, for the first time to our knowledge, that exertional hypotension is present in all individuals with SCI during continuous arm ergometry. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanisms responsible for this phenomenon and to evaluate the long-term consequences for individuals with SCI.

Perceived body space and self-esteem in adult females with chronic low back pain.

This comparative descriptive study, an extension of previous research on adult males with chronic low back pain, investigated perceived body space (PBS) and self-esteem in adult females with chronic low back pain (CLBP). Findings were compared to adult males with CLBP and adult female populations without acute or chronic health conditions. Results indicated that no significant difference existed between adult females and males with CLBP regarding PBS and self-esteem. Additional analyses indicated that PBS in adult females with CLBP was significantly different from several groups of "healthy" adult females. Ancillary findings indicated that adult females with CLBP were significantly more depressed than adult males with CLBP.

[Perfusion catheter and cardio-pulmonary support standby: organizational strategy for high risk PTCA. Description of a case treated successfully]. / Catetere perfusore e supporto cardio-polmonare standby: strategia organizzativa per PTCA ad alto rischio. Descrizione di un caso tentato con successo.

The organizational strategy used in a high risk Coronary Angioplasty procedure is discussed. The attempted vessel was a severely stenosed Right Coronary Artery in a patient who had undergone triple graft, with residual obstruction of Left Main Artery and only one patent venous graft on a marginal branch of the Circumflex artery. The procedure was performed using a Stack type autoperfusion balloon angioplasty catheter, with a Cardiopulmonary Support System held in standby.

["Kissing balloon" of the protected common trunk of the left coronary artery: description of a successfully treated case]. / "Kissing balloon" del tronco comune della coronaria sinistra protetto: descrizione di un caso trattato con successo.

The authors describe a case of coronary angioplasty on a distal Left Main coronary lesion. The left coronary tree was protected by the left internal mammary connected to left anterior descending artery. The procedure was performed using the "kissing balloon" technique, with a single guiding catheter. Immediate angiographic result and one-year follow-up have been excellent.

[Coronary angioplasty in patients with compromised left ventricular function]. / Angioplastica coronarica in pazienti con funzione ventricolare sinistra compromessa.

One thousand one hundred and thirty-two percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties have been performed at Centro Cuore Columbus in Milan between January 1987 and September 1989. The whole population was divided into two groups: Group A (90 patients with ejection fraction less than or equal to 0.40); Group B (678 patients with ejection fraction greater than 0.40. Mean ejection fraction in Group A (0.35) was significantly lower (p less than 0.0001) than in Group B (0.56). In each group three subsets were identified: subgroup 1: total obstruction of two major epicardial vessels plus severe stenosis of the patent one; subgroup 2: total obstruction of one vessel plus severe stenosis on a different remote one; subgroup 3: all patent vessels with one or more severe stenoses on one or all. We attempted percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties on 923 stenosed and 161 totally obstructed vessels, with a primary success of 95 and 56% respectively. We experienced 36 major complications (7 deaths, 10 acute myocardial infarctions, 19 emergency aortocoronary bypasses in 21 patients (2.7% of the whole population). Subgroup A1 (7 patients with ejection fraction less than or equal to 0.40 and attempted percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasties on the sole patent vessel) showed the lowest success rate (44%) and the highest complication rate: 3 deaths (42.8%); 1 acute myocardial infarction (14.2%); 3 emergency aorto-coronary by-pass (42.8%). The 83 patients in group A2 and A3, with reduced ejection fraction, did not have significantly higher complication rate than all group B patients, with normal ejection fraction.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

[Rupture of anterior descending artery during coronary angioplasty: benign course and spontaneous repair. Description of a case]. / Rottura di arteria discendente anteriore in corso di angioplastica coronarica: decorso benigno e riparazione spontanea. Descrizione di un caso.

The authors describe a case report on the rupture of the distal left anterior descending artery during PTCA. This complication gave rise to a fistula between the ruptured distal anterior descending and the right ventricular cavity. The patient was asymptomatic and was treated conservatively. The coronary arteriogram at six months follow-up showed the closure of the fistula with patency of the vessel up to that segment.

["Myocardial bridge" and "intramural LAD pathway" are not just a semantic problem]. / "Ponte miocardico" e "decorso intramurale dell'IVA" non solo un problema semantico.

The angiographic definition of "Myocardial Bridge" universally applies to signify systolic narrowing of a coronary segment by strips of myocardial tissue. The Authors report the clinical history of two patients suffering from effort angina and transient myocardial ischemia, in whom coronary angiography showed no atherosclerotic lesions, but wide systolic kinking of the left anterior descending (LAD) artery, without systolic luminal obstruction. The definition of "Intramural LAD Pathway" has been put off in place of "Myocardial Bridge", making a distinction not simply semantic but between two different angiographic and pathologic pictures. It is very likely indeed that coronary flow impairment, solely systolic in myocardial bridge, takes places mainly during diastole in Intramural LAD Pathway.

Perceived body space and self-esteem in adult males with and without chronic low back pain.

This comparative descriptive study investigated differences in perceived body space and self-esteem in adult males with and without chronic low back pain. Results indicated that no significant differences existed between the two groups. Ancillary findings indicated that adult males with chronic low back pain were more depressed than adult males with hypertension. Those with continuous chronic pain demonstrated higher depression scores and lower self-esteem scores than did those experiencing intermittent chronic pain.