Treatments of coronary artery disease improve quality of life in the long term.

BACKGROUND: Cardiovascular diseases are currently the most common cause of death worldwide. This trend has been predicted to continue until 2020. The effects of treatments by bypass operation or angioplasty on the long-term health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) have not been adequately studied. OBJECTIVE: To measure the HRQoL and its changes during 8 years of follow-up after a treatment intervention. METHODS: The primary study series consisted of 280 patients, of whom 100 underwent coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG), 100 had percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), and 80 were prescribed medication. At 1 year, 81 CABG patients, 74 PTCA patients, and 64 patients in the medication group responded. In the final analysis after 8 years, 63 CABG patients, 57 PTCA patients, and 34 patients in the medication group remained. HRQoL surveys were conducted 1 and 8 years after the treatment interventions. HRQoL was measured using the Nottingham Health Profile (NHP), which has been tested and evaluated in Finland. RESULTS: CABG patients had a statistically significantly better HRQoL 8 years after the operation than at baseline on the dimensions of mobility (p <.001), energy (p =.003), and pain (p =.031). PTCA patients had a statistically significantly better HRQoL 8 years after the intervention on the dimensions of emotional reactions (p =.002), pain (p =.003), mobility (p =.004), and energy (p =.005). A significant impairment on the dimension of sleep had taken place during the 8 years follow-up after PTCA (p =.018). No significant changes were seen in the HRQoL of the patients on medication at either 1 or 8 years. DISCUSSION: The need for treatment and primary and secondary prevention of CAD will increase in the future, especially in the case of high-risk patients. The present findings indicate that CABG and PTCA continue to significantly improve CAD patients' HRQoL 8 years after the intervention.

Validation of the new Intensive Care Nursing Scoring System (ICNSS).

OBJECTIVES: To validate a new Intensive Care Nursing Scoring System (ICNSS). DESIGN: Retrospective data collection. SETTING: Adult 19-bed intensive care unit (ICU) in a tertiary care university hospital. PATIENTS: A total of 1,538 patient records of which 30 documents were included in the validation. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Data included admission scores of the Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II (APACHE II) and the Simplified Acute Physiology Scores II (SAPS II), daily Therapeutic Intervention Scores (TISS) and ICNSS scores. Data were compared using Spearman's correlation, t-test and chi-square test. Receiver operating characteristics (ROC) curve analysis was used to assess the ability of ICNSS and TISS to predict mortality. Intra-class correlation, percentage agreement and kappa statistics were used to test the validity of given scores. Nursing workload assessment using ICNSS showed that medical and emergency-operated patients caused a greater nursing workload than electively operated patients (p<0.001). Six variables of the sub-scale that described vital function nursing accounted for 27.4% of the variation of SAPS II and for 37% of the variation of APACHE II. The ICNSS sub-scale of vital function nursing accounted for a ROC area of 0.91. In the validity of the given ICNSS scores, kappa was 0.81 and weighted kappa 0.82. CONCLUSIONS: Nursing workload varied between the different admission types. ICNSS explained a similar percentage of the variation of the admission scores of APACHE II and SAPSS II as TISS and discriminated between non-survivors and survivors. ICNSS is a suitable nursing workload instrument to be used with the TISS score.

Conducting a qualitative child interview: methodological considerations.

BACKGROUND: Studies of children have a long history, but the literature related to young children consists for the most part of studies on rather than with children and taking little account of what is regarded as significant and meaningful by children themselves. Researchers have relied almost exclusively on adults when collecting data about children's thoughts, feelings and experiences. Interviewing children, however, gives an opportunity to gain information about their subjective experiences. AIM: The purpose of this article is to illustrate the theoretical premises of child interviewing, as well as to describe some practical methodological solutions used during interviews. Factors that influence data gathered from children and strategies for taking these factors into consideration during the interview are also described. METHOD: This paper is based on literature and the experience of one of the authors in interviewing children aged from 4 to 11 years about their experiences of pain. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSION: A consideration of literature dealing with the principles of child interviewing shows that there is surprisingly little guidance available on conversational methods involving children. The empirical and conceptual foundation for child interviewing is not very clear. Novice researchers especially may need recommendations about how to conduct a qualitative child interview. The method must suit both the purpose and the context.

Spouse caregivers' perceptions of influence of dementia on marriage.

OBJECTIVES: To investigate what kind of changes spouse caregivers of demented patients experience after the onset of dementia (a) in the general atmosphere, happiness, and relations of marriage and (b) in the sexual side of marriage. DESIGN: Semistructured telephone interviews of spouse caregivers of demented patients. SETTING: Community-living demented patients and their spouse caregivers in eastern Finland. PARTICIPANTS: The spouse caregivers of 42 demented patients recruited from a previous intervention study. MEASURES: The questionnaire covered different areas of marriage from the time before and after the onset of dementia. RESULTS: A statistically significant decline had occurred in extent of happiness (p = .012), in equal relations (p = .001), and in patients' expressions of sexual needs (p < .001) when compared the time before and after dementia. Twenty-five (60%) of the caregivers reported that the demented patient had shown at least one negative sexual behavioral change during the course of dementia. Seven male patients (24%) had shown the behavioral symptom of constantly expressing need for making love. One in 10 caregivers had experienced positive sexual behavioral changes. In one third of the patients, the expressions of tenderness towards the caregiver had increased. Dementia did not affect significantly the general atmosphere of the marriage. Out of those still in home care, at 3 years from the onset of dementia, 19 couples (46%) continued to practice intercourse, at 5 years the number was 15 couples (41%), and at 7 years it had declined to 7 couples (28%). CONCLUSIONS: Dementing illness has a major negative impact on many dimensions of marriage. However, there are also positive changes and preserved aspects of marriage. Dementia seems to have a surprisingly little impact on whether the couple continues to have intercourse when compared with the general aging population.