Spiritual Support Staff Influence Stress Among Hospital-Based Health Care Personnel: A Cross-Sectional Study.

BACKGROUND: Stress negatively affects well-being, relating to poor physical, emotional, and occupational outcomes for health care personnel. Health care professionals faced extreme stressors in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, making occupational stress relief a top priority for hospital administrators. Many health systems employ specially trained spiritual support staff as one strategy to alleviate work-related stressors. It is unclear whether health care personnels' perceptions of the availability of spiritual care staff influence self-reported stress. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to explore relationships between perceived stress and perceptions of availability of spiritual support among acute care health care personnel. METHODS: This study analyzed cross-sectional, survey-based data collected between February and April 2022 from 1352 interdisciplinary health care staff working in a large, nonprofit Catholic health system in the Western United States. Bivariate tests and multivariate linear regression models were conducted to test for factors influencing perceived stress. RESULTS: Results support that high stress was prevalent in the sample. Perceived availability of spiritual support staff in the hospital and seeking coworker and professional support for work-related stress all independently influence stress in this population when controlling for confounders. CONCLUSIONS: Stress of health care personnel may be influenced by the perceived availability of specially trained spiritual support staff. Hospital administrators should advocate for spiritual support staff availability in all health care settings as one strategy to mitigate occupational stress that health care professionals may experience through providing high-stakes patient care. Further research is warranted to uncover targeted spirituality-related strategies to reduce stress and preserve well-being of health care personnel.

Perceived Barriers to Patient Mobilization Among Therapy and Nursing Acute Care Staff: A Multi-Site Survey Study.

OBJECTIVE: To identify differences in perceived barriers to patient mobilization in acute care among therapy and nursing clinicians, and among hospitals of different sizes and types. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey study. SETTING: Eight hospitals of various sizes and types (teaching vs non-teaching; urban vs rural), from 2 different states in the Western region of the United States. PARTICIPANTS: A nonprobability sample of 568 acute care clinicians (N=586) involved in direct patient care were surveyed. Clinicians indicated a clinical role within the branch of therapy (physical therapy or occupational therapy) or nursing (registered nurse or nurse assistant). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The Patient Mobilization Attitudes and Beliefs Survey (PMABS) was used to assess perceived barriers to early patient mobilization among therapy and nursing staff. A PMABS total score and 3 subscale scores (knowledge, attitudes, or behaviors associated with barriers to mobilization) were calculated, with higher scores indicative of greater mobilization barriers. RESULTS: Mean PMABS total scores were significantly lower (better) for therapy providers (24.63±6.67) than nursing providers (38.12±10.95), P<.001. Additionally, therapy providers had significantly lower scores than nursing providers on all 3 subscales (all P<.001). Item-specific analyses revealed significant differences in responses between therapy and nursing staff on 22 of 25 items, with nursing staff indicating greater perceptions of barriers than therapy staff on 20 of the 22 items. The top 5 items with the largest response differences between therapy and nursing clinicians included adequate time to mobilize patients, understanding appropriate referral to therapy staff, knowledge on when it is safe to mobilize patients, confidence in the ability to mobilize patients, and receiving training on methods of safe mobilization. While hospital type did not affect perceived barriers to early mobilization, PMABS scores were significantly higher for large and small hospitals when compared to medium-sized hospitals. CONCLUSION: Perceived barriers to patient mobilization exist among therapy and nursing acute care clinicians, with greater barriers noted among nursing staff for knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors associated with patient mobility practices. Findings suggest future work is warranted, with opportunities for therapy providers to collaborate with nursing providers to address barriers to implementing patient mobility.

Differences in nutritional profile by chronotype among 12-h day shift and night shift nurses.

Acute care nurses may suffer substantial fatigue if working night shift or if assigned a shift contrasting their preferred sleep-wake patterns, called chronotype. Nurses are at higher risk for diet-related, metabolic diseases compared to other healthcare professionals. Yet, the impact of preferred chronotype and mismatch to assigned shift on nutritional intake and risk for metabolic disease among acute care nurses is unclear. This observational study analyzed dietary data from 52 acute care nurses. Participants completed the revised morningness-eveningness questionnaire which gives a total score between 4 and 26. Lower scores (<12) were flagged as evening type (E-type), higher scores (>17) defined as morning type (M-type), and scores between 12 and 17 were categorized as neither types (N-type). N-type participants were considered chronotype matched when assigned to either shift, whereas E-types were only considered matched if assigned to night shift, and M-types matched only if assigned to day shift. Participants also recorded all dietary intake for 7 d (reflecting a typical workweek) in the MyFitnessPal phone application. Findings indicated that eveningness nurses had markers of MetS, including a significantly larger body mass index and waist circumference than N-types (p < 0.05). E-types also consumed, on average, more calories than other chronotypes (m = 1833.7 kcal), although this was not a statistically significant finding. Mismatched day (n = 7, 13.4%) and night (n = 5, 9.6%) nurses in our sample consumed, on average, more calories (m = 1935.1 kcal, m = 1981.2 kcal, respectively) than matched day (n = 24, 46.2%, m = 1642.6 kcal) or night (n = 16, 30.8%, m = 1599.1 kcal) nurses, although this finding was not statistically significant. Mismatched day nurses consumed significantly less fiber than day matched nurses (median = 10.9 g versus median = 18.5 g, p = 0.04), while night mismatched consumed significantly more fiber compared to night matched (median = 21 g versus median = 12.2 g, p = 0.05) nurses. Participant diets overall did not follow recommendations by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), who consumed a higher percentage of calories from saturated fats and a smaller percentage of calories from fiber, habits which increase risk for metabolic syndrome. Further research surrounding nutritional pathways utilizing larger samples is needed to uncover relationships with metabolic syndrome especially for eveningness-type nurses or if working a shift mismatched with preferred chronotype.

Genetic Characterization of Extensively Drug-Resistant Shigella sonnei Infections, Spain, 2021-2022.

In 2022, the United Kingdom reported an increase in drug resistance in Shigella sonnei isolates. We report 33 cases in Spain genetically related to the UK cases and 4 cases with similar antimicrobial resistance profiles infected with genetically distant strains. Our results suggest circulation of multiple genetic clusters of multidrug-resistant S. sonnei in Spain.

Relationships Between Perceived Importance of Chaplain Presence and Health Professionals' Emotional Well-Being in the United States.

Hospital-based chaplains receive specialized training to provide spiritual support to patients and healthcare staff during difficult health transitions. However, the impact of perceived chaplain importance on healthcare staff's emotional and professional well-being is unclear. Healthcare staff (n = 1471) caring for patients in an acute care setting within a large health system answered demographic and emotional health questions in Research Electronic Data Capture (REDCap). Findings suggest that as perceived levels of chaplain importance increase, burnout may decrease and compassion satisfaction may improve. Chaplain presence in the hospital setting may support healthcare staff emotional and professional well-being following occupational stressors including COVID-19-related surges.

Implementation and impact of an antibiotic control program and multidrug-resistant bacterial colonization in a liver transplant unit.

INTRODUCTION: infections by multidrug-resistant bacteria are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in transplant patients. OBJECTIVE: a retrospective single-center study was performed to evaluate the implementation of an Antimicrobial Treatment Optimization Program (PROA) on multidrug-resistant bacteria colonization and infection after liver transplant (LT). METHODS: colonization by multidrug-resistant bacteria and infections during the first year after a liver transplant were analyzed in a group of 76 transplanted patients in two stages, before and after PROA (2016-2019). Clinical variables related to infection, readmissions and survival one year after the liver transplant were analyzed. RESULTS: there was good adherence to the PROA. Infection was the most frequent cause for readmission during the first year after the liver transplant. Incidence of infections was similar during both periods (mean of 1.25 and 1.5 episodes of bacterial infection per patient/year, respectively) with 19 bacterial infectious episodes, six by hospital-acquired multidrug-resistant and extensively drug-resistant (MDR-XDR) bacteria in the pre-PROA stage, and 18 bacterial infectious episodes, five by MDR-XDR in the post-PROA stage. A 37 % decrease of post-TH of rectal colonization by MDR-XDR after liver transplant was observed during 2019. CONCLUSIONS: epidemiological surveillance policies and antibiotic optimization are key to control the increase of colonization and infection by multidrug-resistant bacteria in liver transplant units. Long-term studies are needed to better evaluate the impact of these programs.

Pharmacologic Pain Management Trends among Adults Hospitalized with Cellulitis: An Evidence-Based Practice Project.

BACKGROUND: Nurses commonly administer opioids, following "as needed" order sets, to patients hospitalized for acute pain conditions like cellulitis. Practice guidelines recommend limiting opioid administration for acute pain management. At two hospitals in the Pacific Northwest, an opioid stewardship committee was formed to align with best practice. AIMS: The main objective was to describe changes to inpatient rates of opioid and non-opioid administration following implementation of evidence-based opioid stewardship efforts. DESIGN: Observational, retrospective, evidence-based practice project. SETTINGS: One 200-bed and one 680-bed hospital in Washington State. PARTICIPANTS/SUBJECTS: Data were included from patients aged 18 years or older hospitalized for cellulitis. METHODS: Demographic and pain-related data were extracted from the electronic health record (n = 4,523 encounters) guided by the symptom management framework. The proportion of patients receiving opioid or non-opioid medications before and after implementation of evidence-based practice opioid stewardship interventions was calculated descriptively. A logistic regression tested factors related to administration of an opioid medication. RESULTS: The proportion of patients receiving an opioid decreased following opioid stewardship efforts while those receiving non-opioid analgesics remained stable. Factors significantly influencing inpatient opioid administration were: average inpatient pain score, pre-hospital opioid prescription, length of stay, and year of hospitalization. CONCLUSIONS: Analgesic administration treating painful, acute cellulitis at two hospitals in the Pacific Northwest included opioid and non-opioid medications. The proportion of patients receiving opioids decreased following best practice opioid stewardship actions. Opportunities may exist for nurses to collaborate with providers to improve inpatient analgesic administration practices.

Implantación e impacto de un programa de control antibiótico y colonización por bacterias multirresistentes en una unidad de trasplante hepático / Implementation and impact of an antibiotic control program and multidrug-resistant bacterial colonization in a liver transplant unit

Introducción: las infecciones por bacterias multirresistentes constituyen una importante causa de morbimortalidad pre coz en los pacientes trasplantados.Propósito: se presenta un estudio unicéntrico, retrospectivo, con objetivo de evaluar la implantación de un programa de optimización del uso de antibióticos y de control epidemio lógico (PROA) en la colonización e infección por bacterias multirresistentes tras el trasplante hepático (TH).Métodos: se analizaron la colonización por bacterias multi rresistentes y las infecciones en el primer año postrasplante hepático (post-TH) en un grupo de 76 pacientes trasplanta dos en dos etapas, anterior y posterior al PROA, entre los años 2016 y 2019. Se analizaron variables clínicas relacio nadas con infección, reingresos y supervivencia a un año.Resultados: se produjo una buena adherencia al PROA. Las infecciones en el primer año post-TH fueron la causa más fre cuente de reingreso. La incidencia de infecciones fue similar en ambos periodos, con una media de 1,25 y 1,5 episodios de infección bacteriana por paciente/año con 19 episodios infecciosos bacterianos, seis por bacterias multirresistentes y de resistencia extendida (MDR-XDR) en la etapa pre-PROA y 18 episodios infecciosos bacterianos, cinco por MDR-XDR. en la etapa posterior. Se objetivó un descenso del 37 % post TH de colonización rectal por MDR-XDR durante el año 2019.Conclusión: las políticas de vigilancia epidemiológica y optimización de antibióticos son necesarias como estrategia de control del incremento de colonización e infección por bac terias multirresistentes en unidades de trasplante hepático. Son necesarios estudios a largo plazo para evaluar mejor el impacto de estos programas (AU)

Influence of a Formal Mentor on Hospital-Based Nurse Research Resources and Outcomes.

ABSTRACT: Magnet® hospitals must conduct nursing research to maintain designation. Relationships between hospital research infrastructure, activities, and a designated nurse research mentor were explored in a large health system using survey methodology. Hospitals with a formal mentor reported more research resources (n = 23, m = 2.5) compared with those without (n = 16, m = 1.8, P < 0.001). Hospitals aspiring for Magnet may benefit from a doctorally prepared research mentor.

The Central Medial Thalamic Nucleus Facilitates Bilateral Movement Execution in Rats.

Intralaminar thalamic nuclei, including the central medial nucleus (CMT), have been classically implicated in the control of attentional functional states such as sleep-wake transitions. In rodents, the CMT innervates large cortical and subcortical areas bilaterally, including sensorimotor regions of the cortex and striatum, but its contribution to motor function, which regularly develops in faster temporal scales than attentional states, is still far from being completely understood. Here, by using a novel behavioral protocol to evaluate bilateral coordination in rats, combined with electrophysiological recordings and optogenetic manipulations, we studied the contribution of the CMT to motor control and coordination. We found that optogenetic stimulation of the central region of the CMT produced bilateral recruitment of neural activity in the sensorimotor cortex and striatum. The same type of stimulations produced a significant increase in bilateral movement coordination of the forelimbs accompanied by a decrease in movement trajectory variability. Optogenetic inactivation of the CMT did not affect motor execution but significantly increased execution times, suggesting less interest in the task. Altogether, our results indicate that brief CMT activations create windows of synchronized bilateral cortico-striatal activity, suitable to facilitate motor coordination in temporal scales relevant for motor execution.

Cortico-striatal circuits for bilaterally coordinated movements.

Movement initiation and control require the orchestrated activity of sensorimotor cortical and subcortical regions. However, the exact contribution of specific pathways and interactions to the final behavioral outcome are still under debate. Here, by combining structural lesions, pathway-specific optogenetic manipulations and freely moving electrophysiological recordings in rats, we studied cortico-striatal interactions in the context of forelimb bilaterally coordinated movements. We provide evidence indicating that bilateral actions are initiated by motor cortical regions where intratelencephalic bilateral cortico-striatal (bcs-IT) projections recruit the sensorimotor striatum to provide stability and duration to already commanded bilateral movements. Furthermore, striatal spiking activity was correlated with movement duration and kinematic parameters of the execution. bcs-IT stimulation affected only the representation of movement duration but spared that of kinematics. Our findings confirm the modular organization of information processing in the striatum and its involvement in moment-to-moment movement control but not initiation or selection.

Molecular characterization of multidrug resistant Enterobacterales strains isolated from liver and kidney transplant recipients in Spain.

The objective of this study was to analyse the mechanisms of resistance to carbapenems and other extended-spectrum-ß-lactams and to determine the genetic relatedness of multidrug-resistant Enterobacterales (MDR-E) causing colonization or infection in solid-organ transplantation (SOT) recipients. Prospective cohort study in kidney (n = 142), liver (n = 98) or kidney/pancreas (n = 7) transplant recipients between 2014 and 2018 in seven Spanish hospitals. We included 531 MDR-E isolates from rectal swabs obtained before transplantation and weekly for 4-6 weeks after the procedure and 10 MDR-E from clinical samples related to an infection. Overall, 46.2% Escherichia coli, 35.3% Klebsiella pneumoniae, 6.5% Enterobacter cloacae, 6.3% Citrobacter freundii and 5.7% other species were isolated. The number of patients with MDR-E colonization post-transplantation (176; 71.3%) was 2.5-fold the number of patients colonized pre-transplantation (71; 28.7%). Extended-spectrum ß-lactamases (ESBLs) and carbapenemases were detected in 78.0% and 21.1% of MDR-E isolates respectively. In nine of the 247 (3.6%) transplant patients, the microorganism causing an infection was the same strain previously cultured from surveillance rectal swabs. In our study we have observed a low rate of MDR-E infection in colonized patients 4-6 weeks post-transplantation. E. coli producing blaCTX-M-G1 and K. pneumoniae harbouring blaOXA-48 alone or with blaCTX-M-G1 were the most prevalent MDR-E colonization strains in SOT recipients.

Altered Sensory Representations in Parkinsonian Cortical and Basal Ganglia Networks.

In parkinsonian conditions, network dynamics in the cortical and basal ganglia circuits present abnormal oscillations and periods of high synchrony, affecting the functionality of multiple striatal regions including the sensorimotor striatum. However, it is still unclear how these altered dynamics impact on sensory processing, a key feature for motor control that is severely impaired in parkinsonian patients. A major confound is that pathological dynamics in sensorimotor networks may elicit unspecific motor responses that may alter sensory representations through sensory feedback, making it difficult to disentangle motor and sensory components. To address this issue, we studied sensory processing using an anesthetized model with robust sensory representations throughout cortical and basal ganglia sensory regions and limited motor confounds in control and hemiparkinsonian rats. A general screening of sensory-evoked activity in large populations of neurons recorded in the primary sensory cortex (S1), dorsolateral striatum (DLS) and substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) revealed increased excitability and altered sensory representations in the three regions. Further analysis revealed uncoordinated population dynamics between DLS and S1/SNr. Finally, DLS lesions in hemiparkinsonian animals partially recovered population dynamics and execution in the rotarod.

Unbalanced Inhibitory/Excitatory Responses in the Substantia Nigra Pars Reticulata Underlie Cannabinoid-Related Slowness of Movements.

The substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr), where the basal ganglia (BG) direct and indirect pathways converge, contains among the highest expression of cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1r) in the brain. Hence, SNr is an ideal locus to study pathway interactions and cannabinergic modulations. The objective of this study was to characterize the effects of systemic injections of the CB1r agonist (CP55940) on the balanced activity of the direct/indirect pathways in the SNr and its associated behaviors. To this aim, we recorded somatosensory and pathway-specific representations in the spiking activity of the SNr of male rats under CP55940. CB1r activation mainly decreased the inhibitory, potentially direct pathway component while sparing the excitatory, potentially indirect pathway component of somatosensory responses. As a result, cutaneous stimulation produced unbalanced responses favoring increased SNr firing rates, suggesting a potential locus for cannabinergic motor-related effects. To test this hypothesis, we implemented an ad hoc behavioral protocol for rats in which systemic administration of CP55940 produced kinematic impairments that were completely reverted by nigral injections of the CB1r antagonist (AM251). Our data suggest that cannabinoid-related motor effects are associated with unbalanced direct/indirect pathway activations that may be reverted by CB1r manipulation at the SNr.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT The cannabinergic system has been the target of multiple studies to master its potential use as a therapeutic agent. However, significant advances have been precluded by the lack of mechanistic explanations for the variety of its desirable/undesirable effects. Here, we have combined electrophysiological recordings, pharmacological and optogenetic manipulations, and an ad hoc behavioral protocol to understand how basal ganglia (BG) is affected by cannabinoids. We found that cannabinoids principally affect inhibitory inputs, potentially from the direct pathway, resulting in unbalanced responses in the substantia nigra pars reticulata (SNr) and suggesting a mechanism for the cannabinoid-related slowness of movements. This possibility was confirmed by behavioral experiments in which cannabinoid-related slowness of purposeful movements was reverted by cannabinoid receptor type 1 (CB1r) manipulations directly into the SNr.

Sensory representations in the striatum provide a temporal reference for learning and executing motor habits.

Previous studies indicate that the dorsolateral striatum (DLS) integrates sensorimotor information from cortical and thalamic regions to learn and execute motor habits. However, the exact contribution of sensory representations to this process is still unknown. Here we explore the role of the forelimb somatosensory flow in the DLS during the learning and execution of motor habits. First, we compare rhythmic somesthetic representations in the DLS and primary somatosensory cortex in anesthetized rats, and find that sequential and temporal stimuli contents are more strongly represented in the DLS. Then, using a behavioral protocol in which rats developed a stereotyped motor sequence, functional disconnection experiments, and pharmacologic and optogenetic manipulations in apprentice and expert animals, we reveal that somatosensory thalamic- and cortical-striatal pathways are indispensable for the temporal component of execution. Our results indicate that the somatosensory flow in the DLS provides the temporal reference for the development and execution of motor habits.

Intervencionismo guiado por ultrasonido en cirugía torácica y pared abdominal / Ultrasound-guided intervention in thoracic surgery and abdominal wall

Resumen: Cada vez es más frecuente el uso de la ecografía para identificar las capas interfasciales, el cual ha llevado al desarrollo de varias técnicas de inyección para la analgesia del tórax y la pared abdominal. Para la realización de este tipo de abordajes es importante tener el conocimiento y dominio del ultrasonido, de los bloqueos troncales, anestésicos locales y toxicidad. Estos bloqueos interfasciales se desarrollaron como alternativas al bloqueo epidural, paravertebral, intercostal e intrapleural torácico, principalmente para la analgesia perioperatoria. En esta revisión incluimos diferentes abordajes guiados por ultrasonido como son el bloqueo del plano del erector espinal (ESP), el bloqueo del serrato anterior, bloqueo PEC1 y PEC2, bloqueo BRILMA, bloqueo paravertebral, bloqueo del plano del transverso abdominal (TAP), bloqueo del cuadrado lumbar, bloqueo de la vaina de los rectos. Se incluyen enlaces con videos para poder revisar la técnica, indicaciones y dosis (visite http://www.painoutmexico.com para ver artículo completo y videos).

Abstract: The increasing use of ultrasound to identify the interfascial layers has led to the development of several injection techniques for analgesia of the thorax and abdominal wall. For this type of approach it is important to have knowledge of ultrasound, trunk blocks, local anesthetics and toxicity. These interfascial blocks were developed as alternatives to epidural, paravertebral, intercostal and intrapleural thoracic block, mainly for perioperative analgesia. In this review, we include different approaches guided by ultrasound such as: erector spinae plane block (ESP), anterior serratus block, PEC1 and PEC2 block, BRILMA block, paravertebral block, transverse abdominal plane block (TAP), quadratus lumbar block (QLB) and rectus sheath block. Links with videos are included to review the technique, indications and dosage (visit http://www.painoutmexico.com obtain full version and videos).