ABSTRACT
To determine whether drinks containing caffeine and theophylline cause more fluid loss than equivalent amounts of non-xanthine drinks, a convenience sample of 30 adults between the ages of 57 and 81 was selected. Subjects were picked for 2 groups: those who had developed tolerance to these xanthines and used them freely (the X Group) and those who habitually omitted drinks containing xanthines from their diets (the NO X Group). Both groups consumed approximately 2 liters of fluid daily for 5 days. When overall means were compared by analysis of variance, the two groups did not differ on serum osmolality for Day 5, change in serum osmolality (from Day 0 to Day 5), adjusted I/O ratio, percent weight change from Day 0, or percent weight change from previous day. Analysis of the same variables on a daily basis indicated that the X group was better hydrated on Day 4.
Subject(s)
Coffee , Energy Intake , Tea , Water-Electrolyte Balance/drug effects , Xanthines/pharmacology , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Analysis of Variance , Electrolytes/blood , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Osmolar ConcentrationABSTRACT
1. The most significant action nurses can implement to prevent renal insufficiency in older adults is to encourage an increase in fluid intake. 2. NSAIDs, including aspirin, reduce the effectiveness of virtually all anti-hypertensive drugs through their sodium retention effects, which blunt the action of the anti-hypertensive drugs. 3. People aged 60 and older are considered at increased risk for nephrotoxicity due to the decline of glomerular filtration rate with age.
Subject(s)
Renal Insufficiency/chemically induced , Renal Insufficiency/nursing , Age Factors , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Drug Interactions , Glomerular Filtration Rate , Humans , Middle Aged , Water-Electrolyte BalanceABSTRACT
For the most part, grief research concentrates on type of loss (e.g., loss of spouse, parent, or child) and/or type of death (e.g., expected or sudden). In contrast, the present paper focuses on a category of persons generally assumed to have had troubled childhoods, adult children of alcoholics (ACOAs). Because of assumed problematic histories, the grief process of ACOAs should be expected to differ from the grief process of non-ACOAs. Using both quantitative and qualitative techniques, 27 ACOAs and 20 non-ACOAs, recruited by newspaper, radio, and word-of-mouth, are compared across characteristics generally associated with ACOAs and/or unresolved grief. Implications for counseling are presented.
