Effectiveness of oral sucrose for pain management in infants during immunizations.

This study examined the effects of oral sucrose as an analgesic agent during routine immunization for infants at 2, 4, and 6 months of age. A sample of 113 healthy infants were recruited from three ambulatory clinics and randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups. Infants were given 2 mL orally of either 50% sucrose, 75% sucrose, or sterile water 2 minutes before administration of immunizations. No significant difference was found among the different age groups with the different treatments for pain as measured with the FLACC scores and crying time. Consolability factors are felt to have some influence.

Does international family nursing need a professional organization?

An International Family Nursing Conference has been held on a periodic basis since the 1980s. It started with several nursing professionals with a common interest: wanting to meet to share research and practice ideas. The organization of these conferences has been completely voluntary and sponsored by some very benevolent individuals and an institution of higher education. The fact that any of these conferences came off is attributed to considerable personal financial support and an untold number of volunteer hours. A group met in 2005 at the 7th International Family Nursing Conference in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, to discuss whether there was any interest in forming a professional organization for family nursing. This article explores the cost/ benefits of such an endeavor. Input from other small newly created professional nursing organizations is shared. Conclusions provide summative questions related to development of a formal international professional nursing organization that family nurses must address.

Comparison of two pain-management strategies during chest tube removal: relaxation exercise with opioids and opioids alone.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine whether the use of a slow deep-breathing relaxation exercise, when used as an adjunct to opioid analgesia, decreases pain during chest tube removal (CTR) after coronary bypass surgery. DESIGN: A two-group quasi-experimental pretest/posttest design was used. SAMPLE: A convenience sample of 40 adults who had undergone coronary artery bypass graft surgery and met all inclusion criteria were recruited before CTR. SETTING: Data were collected in the Cardiothoracic Surgical Intensive Care Units of three acute care facilities in the Midwestern United States. METHOD: A 10-cm vertical Visual Analog Scale was used to measure pain at three points: before CTR, immediately after CTR, and 15 minutes after CTR. The experimental group received slow breathing relaxation exercises in addition to the usual opioid doses administered. FINDINGS: Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, and multivariate analysis of covariance yielded a significant difference in pain ratings immediately after CTR and 15 minutes after CTR for the group receiving relaxation exercise as an adjunct to opioid analgesic. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the use of a slow deep-breathing relaxation exercise as an adjunct to the use of opioids for pain management during CTR among patients who have undergone coronary bypass surgery.

Childhood obesity and insulin-resistant syndrome.

Childhood obesity has become a national concern, health threat, and is increasing at an alarming rate. Obesity is associated with many comorbidities that last into adulthood. Insulin-resistant syndrome (IRS) is developing in growing numbers of obese children. Pediatric nurses play a unique and important role in identifying which children are at risk for obesity and IRS. This article gives current information on what tools to use, how to identify those children, and the interventions needed.