Statistical approaches to modeling symptom clusters in cancer patients.

This study examined statistical methods to identify and quantify symptom clusters in diverse disciplines, discussed methodological issues in symptom cluster research in oncology, and provided guidance to researchers and clinicians as to the choice and conceptual implications of particular methods. Correlation and related measures of association show the mathematical evidence of a concurrent tendency for 2 or more symptoms. Graphical modeling reveals a more concrete image of possible symptom clusters and provides an idea as to how and why they are correlated. Structural equation modeling can be used to identify symptom clusters with a large number of symptoms, complex relationships, and/or directional relationships. Factor analysis can identify groups of symptoms which are interrelated due to a common underlying cause. Cluster analysis can group symptoms which have similar patterns across patients and find clinical subgroups based on symptom experience. The best strategy to study symptom clusters is to combine various methods while recognizing the strengths and limitations inherent in each method. A tight partnership of clinicians, clinical oncology researchers, and statisticians is essential. Designing a research to identify symptom clusters involves practical issues related to levels of measurement, dimensionality, confounding variables, symptom selection, and heuristic versus deterministic search.

Measuring the quality of nursing care to Alzheimer's patients.

Facilities that provide care to Alzheimer's disease patients are under unrelenting pressure to document the quality of nursing care they provide to various stakeholders. Unfortunately, little consensus exists nor is guidance given as to how to measure the quality of nursing care. Regulations and standards exist but are seldom translated into systematic outcome measures that assist nurses and facilities to measure, report,and manage the quality of care they provide to residents in general and Alzheimer's patients in particular. This article offers practical ad-vice on conceptualizing quality of nursing care to Alzheimer's patients and the selection of outcome measures to collect, analyze, use, and re-port quality of nursing care data.

Longitudinal observational studies to study the efficacy-effectiveness gap in drug therapy: application to mild and moderate dementia.

If well-designed, longitudinal observational studies (LOSs) can provide insights to the linkages between real-world outcomes and their multilevel determinants. In this article, some of the scientific and methodologic issues related to LOSs in pharmacotherapeutic evaluations are discussed. A case of such a study in the treatment of mild to moderate dementia is provided-a case in which a pharmaceutic sponsor addressing a medical question (long-term effectiveness) realized that caring for patients who have Alzheimer's disease involves the clinical community of caregivers, physicians, families, nurses, psychologists, and pharmacists, among others, and partnered with nurse researchers to design their inquiry. The authors conclude by presenting an argument for nurses to take the lead in effectiveness research.

Dementia and Alzheimer's disease: a practical orientation.

This article presents a functional, brief, and, above all, practical orientation to Alzheimer's disease. This disease, with its many unanswered questions (and occasional unquestioned answers), is in first instance a disease to be cared for. The burden of this caring initially falls on care-givers and families; however, once Alzheimer's patients enter the formal health care system, nurses will be at the forefront of care. The foundation to good care is a solid but also applied understanding of the disease,how it manifests itself, and how it is experienced by patients, caregivers,and families.

Psychometric properties of the Flemish translation of the NEECHAM Confusion Scale.

BACKGROUND: Determination of a patient's cognitive status by use of a valid and reliable screening instrument is of major importance as early recognition and accurate diagnosis of delirium is necessary for effective management. This study determined the reliability, validity and diagnostic value of the Flemish translation of the NEECHAM Confusion Scale. METHODS: A sample of 54 elderly hip fracture patients with a mean age of 80.9 years (SD = 7.85) were included. To test the psychometric properties of the NEECHAM Confusion Scale, performance on the NEECHAM was compared to the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM) and the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), by using aggregated data based on 5 data collection measurement points (repeated measures). The CAM and MMSE served as gold standards. RESULTS: The alpha coefficient for the total NEECHAM score was high (0.88). Principal components analysis yielded a two-component solution accounting for 70.8% of the total variance. High correlations were found between the total NEECHAM scores and total MMSE (0.75) and total CAM severity scores (-0.73), respectively. Diagnostic values using the CAM algorithm as gold standard showed 76.9% sensitivity, 64.6% specificity, 13.5% positive and 97.5% negative predictive values, respectively. CONCLUSION: This validation of the Flemish version of the NEECHAM Confusion Scale adds to previous evidence suggesting that this scale holds promise as a valuable screening instrument for delirium in clinical practice. Further validation studies in diverse clinical populations; however, are needed.

Orthopedic Surgery Transfusion Hemoglobin European Overview (OSTHEO) study: blood management in elective knee and hip arthroplasty in Europe.

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to assess current practices in blood management in elective orthopedic surgery in Europe. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: For this 225-center prospective survey, data were collected on 3996 patients. Actual perioperative blood loss was compared to preoperative estimates. Differences in Hb levels and other outcome variables for patients receiving allogeneic versus autologous transfusions were evaluated. The probability of allogeneic transfusion based on selected predictor variables was estimated. RESULTS: A total of 2640 (67%) hip and 1305 (33%) knee arthroplasty patients were evaluated. Estimated blood loss (median, 750 mL) was significantly lower than computed blood loss (median, 1944 mL). A total of 2762 (69%) patients received transfusions, including 1393 (35%) autologous-only and 1024 (25%) allogeneic-only. The probability of allogeneic transfusion decreased with increasing baseline Hb, but differentially so for men and women. Transfusion triggers were Hb levels of 8.93 +/- 1.83 g per dL for allogeneic transfusions, and 21 percent of these occurred when the Hb level was greater than 10 g per dL. Autologous blood transfusion was associated with a significantly lower rate (1%) of wound infections than allogeneic blood transfusion (4.2%). CONCLUSION: Accurate assessment of preoperative Hb levels, better estimation of perioperative blood loss, efficient use of autologous blood, adherence to transfusion guidelines, and pharmacologic alternatives contribute to effective and comprehensive blood and anemia management.

Documentation of delirium in elderly patients with hip fracture.

This study determined the accuracy of diagnosis and documentation of delirium in the medical and nursing records of 55 elderly patients with hip fracture (mean age = 78.4, SD = 8.4). These records were reviewed retrospectively on a patient's discharge for diagnosis of delirium, and for description of clinical indicators or symptoms of delirium. Additionally, all patients were monitored by one of the research members on days 1, 3, 5, 8, and 12 postoperatively for signs of delirium, as measured by the Confusion Assessment Method (CAM). Clinicians were blinded to the purpose of the study. According to the CAM criteria, the incidence of delirium was 14.5% on postoperative Day 1; 9.1% on postoperative Day 3; 10.9% on postoperative Day 5; 7.7% on postoperative Day 8; and 5.6% on postoperative Day 12. For those same days, no formal diagnosis of delirium or a description of clinical indicators was found in the medical records. In the nursing records, a false-positive documentation of 8.5%, 4%, 4.1%, 4.2%, and 5.9%, respectively was noted. False-negative documentation was found in 87.5%, 80%, 66.7%, 75%, and 50% of the cases on the respective days. Documentation of essential symptoms--namely onset and course of the syndrome--and disturbances in consciousness, attention, and cognition, were seldom or never found in the nursing records. However, behaviors of the hyperactive variant of delirium and which are known to interfere with nursing care were documented more often (e.g., 13.4% restless, 10.3% fidget with materials, 7.2% annoying behavior). Both medical and nursing records showed poor documentation and under-diagnosis of delirium. However, a correct diagnosis and early recognition of delirium may enhance the management of this syndrome.

School-based rural case management: a model to prevent and reduce risk.

PURPOSE: To describe the development of the School-Based Rural Case Management: A Model to Prevent and Reduce Risk in a primary health care academic nursing center practice in West Virginia. DATA SOURCES: Selected nursing and anthropological literature, regional health planning documents, and case examples. CONCLUSIONS: The model guides identification of health risks and the provision of health service, health education, and support to students, families, and communities. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: As primary health care services are developed within rural schools, a school-based case management system assists matching appropriate services to the client, as well as supports program success.

Effects of Cognitive Group Iterventions on Depression and Cognition Among Elderly Women in Long-Term Care.

The effects of cognitive-behavioral group therapy and focused visual imagery group therapy on cognition and depression in frail women residing in nursing homes were examined.' Twenty-four (24) women participated in a 24-week protocol of cognitive- behavioral group therapy and twenty-one (21) in a protocol of visual imagery group therapy of similar duration. Eleven (11) women in a comparison condition participated in a 24 week series of educational discussion group sessions. Data on cognition and depression are reported for four time points: 4 weeks before treatment initiation, 8 and 20 weeks after treatment initiation, and 4 weeks after treatment termination. Subjects in the cognitive-behavioral and visual imagery groups experienced a significant improvement in cognition over the duration of the study, while subjects in the educational discussion groups did not. There was no effect for any of the interventions on depression. This lack of effect may indicate the tenacity of depression among female nursing home residents and.