Self-treating hypoglycaemia: a longitudinal qualitative investigation of the experiences and views of people with Type 1 diabetes.

AIMS: Despite improvements in insulin therapy, hypoglycaemia remains an inevitable part of life for many people with Type 1 diabetes. Little attention has been paid to how individuals self-treat hypoglycaemia and their likes and dislikes of clinically recommended treatments. We explored participants' experiences of self-treating hypoglycaemia after attending a structured education programme for people with Type 1 diabetes. Our aims were: to identify treatments that are acceptable to people with Type 1 diabetes; and to provide recommendations for promoting self-treatment in line with clinical guidelines. METHODS: Thirty adults with Type 1 diabetes were recruited from the Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) programme in the UK. Study participants were interviewed post-course and 6 and 12 months later, enabling their experiences to be explored over time. RESULTS: Study participants described a poor knowledge of how to self-treat hypoglycaemia correctly pre-course. Post-course, individuals often struggled to adhere to clinically recommended guidelines because of: panic, disorientation, hunger sensations and consequent difficulties ingesting fixed quantities of fast-acting carbohydrate; use of sweets to manage hypoglycaemia; reversion to habituated practices when cognitive impairment as a result of hypoglycaemia supervened; difficulties ingesting dextrose tablets; and other people's anxieties about under-treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Historical experiences of hypoglycaemia and habituated practices can influence present self-treatment approaches. Professionals need to be aware of the range of difficulties individuals may experience restricting themselves to fixed quantities of fast-acting carbohydrate to manage hypoglycaemia. There may be merit in developing a more acceptable range of treatments tailored to people's own preferences, circumstances and needs.

Experiences of using blood glucose targets when following an intensive insulin regimen: a qualitative longitudinal investigation involving patients with Type 1 diabetes.

AIMS: Use of blood glucose targets is considered essential to help patients with Type 1 diabetes achieve tight glycaemic control following structured education. To foster effective use of blood glucose targets, we explored patients' experiences and views of implementing clinically recommended blood glucose targets after attending a structured education programme promoting intensive insulin treatment. METHODS: Repeat, in-depth interviews with 30 patients with Type 1 diabetes recruited from Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) courses in the UK. Data were analysed using an inductive, thematic approach. RESULTS: Patients found use of blood glucose targets motivational. Targets enabled patients to identify problems with blood glucose control and prompted them to make insulin dose adjustments independently, or with assistance. However, patients tended to adapt or simplify targets over time to: make them more attainable and easy to remember; reduce risk of hypoglycaemia; and, mitigate feelings of failure when attempts to attain clinically defined targets were unsuccessful. Some patients were advised to use elevated targets to counter hypoglycaemia unawareness and required help from health professionals to determine when/if these should be reduced. CONCLUSIONS: Although blood glucose targets are an important component of diabetes self-management, patients may adapt and personalize them over time, sometimes inadvertently, with a potentially detrimental impact on long-term glycaemic control. Blood glucose targets should be regularly revisited during clinical reviews and revised/new targets agreed to accommodate patients' concerns and difficulties. Other interventions may need to be considered to promote effective use of blood glucose targets.

How and why do patients with Type 1 diabetes sustain their use of flexible intensive insulin therapy? A qualitative longitudinal investigation of patients' self-management practices following attendance at a Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) course.

BACKGROUND: Conventional insulin therapy requires patients with Type 1 diabetes to adhere to rigid dietary and insulin injection practices. Recent trends towards flexible intensive insulin therapy enable patients to match insulin to dietary intake and lifestyle; however, little work has examined patients' experiences of incorporating these practices into real-life contexts. This qualitative longitudinal study explored patients' experiences of using flexible intensive insulin therapy to help inform the development of effective long-term support. METHODS: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 adult patients with Type 1 diabetes following participation in a structured education programme on using flexible intensive insulin therapy, and 6 and 12 months post-course. Longitudinal data analysis used an inductive, thematic approach. RESULTS: Patients consistently reported feeling committed to and wanting to sustain flexible intensive insulin therapy. This regimen was seen as a logical and effective method of self-management, as patients experienced improved blood glucose readings and/or reported feeling better. Implementing and sustaining flexible intensive insulin therapy was enhanced when patients had stable routines, with more challenges reported by those working irregular hours and during weekends/holidays. Some patients re-crafted their lives to make this approach work for them; for instance, by creating dietary routines or adjusting dietary choices. CONCLUSIONS: Clinical data have shown that flexible intensive insulin therapy can lead to improvement in glycaemic control. This study, drawing on patients' perspectives, provides further endorsement for flexible intensive insulin therapy by demonstrating patients' liking of, and their motivation to sustain, this approach over time. To help patients implement and sustain flexible intensive insulin therapy, follow-up support should encourage them to identify routines to better integrate this regimen into their lives.

Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating: a qualitative longitudinal exploration of the food and eating practices of type 1 diabetes patients converted to flexible intensive insulin therapy in the UK.

AIM: To explore whether, and why, patients change their food and eating practices following conversion to flexible intensive insulin therapy (FIIT), a regimen which requires quick acting insulin doses to be matched to the carbohydrate content of meals/snacks consumed. METHODS: repeat, in-depth interviews with 30 type 1 diabetes patients converted to FIIT recruited from Dose Adjustment for Normal Eating (DAFNE) courses in the UK. Data were analysed using an inductive, thematic approach. RESULTS: despite the potential of FIIT to enable greater dietary flexibility and freedom, most patients reported food and eating practices which were remarkably resistant to change. In some cases, FIIT adoption resulted in greater dietary rigidity over time. The opportunities FIIT presented for greater dietary freedom were counterbalanced by new challenges and burdens (e.g. having to simplify food choices to make carbohydrate estimation easier). Due to the emphasis FIIT places on carbohydrate counting, and patients' fears of hypos, low/no carbohydrate foodstuffs sometimes came to be seen as the healthiest or safest options. CONCLUSION: concerns that FIIT may result in more excessive or unhealthy eating appear largely unfounded; however, consideration needs to be paid to the ways in which patients' conceptualisations of, and relationship with, food may change following FIIT conversion.

Psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia: a systematic review.

The content of interventions for caregivers of dementia patients is highly varied. None of the reviews conducted to date have focused on evaluating the effects of the content of interventions exclusively for dementia caregivers, and this issue is not well understood. The purpose of this review was to first identify the type of components (e.g. education, counselling) that have been utilized in psychosocial/psycho-educational interventions for dementia caregivers, and to evaluate the success of the different components or combination of components in producing positive outcomes for dementia caregivers. Forty studies were included in the review. Approximately two-thirds of the interventions did not show improvements in any outcome measures. Among those studies, which did demonstrate improvements, the inclusion of social components (e.g. social support) or a combination of social and cognitive (e.g. problem solving) components seemed to be relatively effective. It is important to note, however, that these analyses were based on small numbers and the review was limited by a number of methodological issues (e.g. poor description of interventions). To advance our understanding of the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia, a more systematic approach is required. Intervention components need to be carefully contrasted in appropriately designed studies of sufficient size.

Acoustic neuroma surgery: outcome analysis of patient-perceived disability.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have investigated the outcome of acoustic neuroma (AN) treatment using classical medical measures. In an effort to describe the long-term lifestyle consequences of AN removal from the patient's perspective, patients filled out detailed questionnaires concerning their functional status. STUDY DESIGN: This was a retrospective survey. SETTING: This study was performed at a tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: A total of 130 late postoperative acoustic neuroma patients were surveyed a minimum of 6 months following surgery (average, 39 months). Survey response rate was 65% (130/200). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measures were the patient's perception of their hearing, balance, facial expression, and eye function in relation to its impact upon the activities of daily life. A comparison of pretreatment with long-term posttreatment functional levels. RESULTS: When asked to designate their "most significant" symptom, hearing loss was by far most prevalent (61.3%), followed by balance troubles (14.3%) and facial weakness (10.1%). The relatively low incidence of facial weakness as the patient's dominant complaint was somewhat surprising. When considering the incidence of each symptom, women were more likely to complain of facial weakness, dry eye, and headache, whereas men had a marginally higher incidence of hearing loss and imbalance. Patient age had no apparent influence upon either the distribution or severity of symptomatic complaints. Both hearing in the tumor ear and overall auditory function (e.g., the ability to understand in a restaurant) tended to worsen following surgery. One finding, which was both unanticipated and intriguing, was the improvement in sound localization ability reported by 57% of patients following surgery. Although the proportion of patients complaining of frequent tinnitus increased postoperatively, the number of patients who found the tinnitus troublesome decreased markedly. In terms of balance function, only 31% preoperatively and 15% postoperatively described themselves as free of balance difficulties. An aid to ambulation (e.g., cane, walker) was needed in five patients (4%) preoperatively, two of whom regained the ability to walk independently following tumor removal. CONCLUSIONS: These functional outcome data provide much useful information to both patient and clinician to consider when contemplating the optimal course of AN management. Although virtually all acoustic neuroma patients have some degree of persistent symptoms over the long-term, the data indicates that most of these are attributable to the tumor itself as opposed to the after effects of its surgical removal. The relatively slight differences between preoperative and late postoperative symptom profiles was a rather unanticipated finding. As the degree of disability tends to increase with larger tumor sizes, these data tend to support a policy of early intervention.

Socioeconomic impact of acoustic neuroma surgery.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to assess the impact of acoustic neuroma (AN) surgery on socioeconomic function. STUDY DESIGN: This study was a retrospective postal survey. SETTING: The study was performed at a tertiary referral center. PATIENTS: One hundred thirty late postoperative AN patients were surveyed a minimum of 6 months after surgery (average 39 months). The survey response rate was 65% (130 of 200). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: These included effect of AN surgery on employability, income, activities of daily living, social involvement, and psychological well-being. RESULTS: When comparing preoperative occupational status with latest follow-up, 2 of 125 (1.6%) became unemployed from their usual occupations. An additional 15 of 125 (12%) retired, attributing their retirement to the effects of the tumor itself (3), an aftermath of surgery (2), and causes unrelated to their AN (10). After AN removal, two formerly unemployed patients became employed. Among those remaining employed, there was no significant impact of surgery on either income or work responsibility. Return to normal activity was gradual: < or = 6 weeks, 31%; < or = 3 month, 64%; and < or = 6 months, 84%. Among activities of daily living, the tasks most often impaired (both before and after tumor removal) were ladder climbing and night driving, whereas dressing and bathing were seldom problematic. Overall, patients reported a minor decline in ability to perform routine daily activities after tumor removal. Social function (contact with friends, community involvement, and participation in sports) changed little after surgery. The incidence of both stress and depression decreased slightly after tumor removal. CONCLUSIONS: The economic, social, and psychological impact of AN and its surgical management appears to be relatively minor, with few individuals having life altering consequences.

Implants for cranioplasty.

As long as there have been skull defects, there has been a recognized need to cover them in some way. Cranioplasty is the surgical correction of skull defects. The two major purposes of performing a cranioplasty are to protect the brain and to provide reasonable cosmesis. The two physical requirements of the implant are strength and malleability. Originally, foreign materials such as precious metals were used. Autogenous bone grafts have also achieved successful results. Over the past quarter-century, the popularization of acrylics and radiolucent metals has favored them over bone because of their ease of use, the absence of need to harvest donor bone, and, particularly, bone's tendency to resorb or scar. Yet foreign materials can cause excessive inflammation, producing a synovial membrane at the interface between the host bone and cranioplasty construct, increasing the risk of infection. Currently, hydroxyapatite-based ceramics, which may induce bone growth into the implant, are increasingly being used. Future applications will include antibiotic-impregnated implants and computer-generated models to improve the precision of cranioplasty fit and cosmesis.

Raman and fluorescent scattering by molecules embedded in dielectric cylinders.

Fluorescent and Raman scattering by molecules embedded in dielectric particles is strongly dependent on the morphology and optical properties of the particle and the distribution of active molecules within the particle. In this paper, the formalism is derived for the case where the scattering molecules are embedded in an infinite dielectric cylinder. Analytical results for the scattered fields are given for arbitrary angles of incidence. The general results, which involve an integral and a sum, are rather lengthy. Accordingly, the saddle-point method has been used to carry out the integration approximately. Numerical results are given for perpendicular incidence and for observation in the plane perpendicular to the cylinder axis, for single dipoles variously located within the cylinder, and for a uniform distribution of isotropic incoherent dipoles. The angular distribution and polarization of the scattered irradiance depends sensitively upon cylinder radius and refractive index, so that this effect must be considered if inelastic scattering signals are to be used as a diagnostic tool.

Light scattering and fluorescence by small particles having internal structure.

We consider two related, yet distinct queries: 1. How does the internal morphology of a small particle affect the elastic light scattering signals? We have devised an algorithm, presently accurate for particles comparable only to small biological spheres (diameter less than 1 micron), which suggests that light scattering is sensitive to internal morphology only in the backward directions. Accordingly, observations should be obtained in these directions when probing for internal morphology. 2. How are fluorescent signals affected when the active molecules are variously distributed within small particles? One cannot assume that the fluorescent signals are simply proportional to the number of active molecules contained in the particle because there may also be a dependence upon the geometrical and optical properties of the particle and upon the particular spatial distribution of these molecules within the particle. Indeed, even the measured emission spectrum may be affected by such morphological features. Here, too, these calculations are mainly restricted to small particles (diameter less than 1 micron) in which the fluorescent molecules are isotropic and immobile. Under these conditions the effects are quite dramatic. These effects should be considered in quantitative procedures which utilize fluorescence for determining the concentration of specific molecules in small particles such as biological cells. They may provide a clue for discriminating among cells which differ morphologically or in which the spatial distribution of the fluorescent moiety differs. These effects may be minimized by utilizing a light source which is polarized perpendicularly to the scattering plane.

Light scattering in converging beams.

Light scattering by spherical particles in a converging beam is obtained from the earlier solution for a particle in the beam of a dipole light source by reversing the direction of energy flow so that the dipole source becomes a sink. The results are not drastically different from Lorenz-Mie scattering as long as the sink is located at a distance greater than several particle radii from the focus.

Remote sensing of particle size and refractive index by varying the wavelength.

This is a numerical study to explore the feasibility of determining particle size and refractive index from the backscattered signal combined with a signal differentially scattered at one other angle. The wavelength of the radiation is varied over a broad range (in the particular example chosen, from lambda = 0.5 micro to 1.5 micro). Three signatures of the particle size and refractive index are chosen: (1) deviation of the radiance from the inverse fourth power of the wavelength; (2) the first maximum of the variation of the angular intensity function with wavelength; and (3) the first two maxima of the variation of the phase difference of the amplitudes of the polarized radiances with wavelength. For monodisperse systems, these signatures will permit estimation of particle size in the fortyfold range of a = 0.033-1.29 micro (for m = 1.50).

Response calculations for light-scattering aerosol particle counters.

Response calculations for five commercial light-scattering aerosol particle counters have been carried out that take into account the emissive power of the light source, the spectral sensitivity of the phototube, and the specific geometrical factors for each instrument. Earlier calculations had been published for two of these instruments, but these had not considered each of these factors appropriately. The results indicate a strong dependence of response upon both the real and imaginary part of the refractive index and, for a given refractive index a multivalued response in the submicrometer range for three of the five instruments.

Electrooptic properties of absorbing spheroids.

The electrodichroic ratio q(ro) for suspensions of absorbing spheroids has been calculated using dipolar light scattering theory. This theory predicts, in accordance with experimental observations on Varad suspensions, that the transmission will usually be higher when the particles are aligned nose-on in the incident beam than in the random state. The effect of complex refractive index and of the axial ratio of the spheroids upon q(ro) is discussed in some detail. It appears that metals having the refractive properties of aluminum offer the best possibility for preparing optical windows from these suspensions.