Feasibility of mitigating out-toeing gait using compression tights with inward-directing taping lines.

Out-toeing gait may cause alterations in lower limb biomechanics that could lead to an increased risk of overuse injuries. Surgery and physical therapy are conventional methods for mitigating such gait, but they are costly and time-consuming. Wearable devices like braces and orthoses are used as affordable alternatives, but they apply non-negligible stress on the skin. Haptic feedback-delivering shoes were also recently developed, but they require actuators and power sources. The purpose of our study is to develop compression tights with inward directing taping lines that apply compression to lower limb muscles and segments to facilitate inward rotation of the foot, overcoming the drawbacks of previous methods. These compression tights were manufactured to fit the average height, leg length, hip girth, and waist girth of South Korean females in their twenties. The efficacy of these compression tights was evaluated by comparing walking kinematics and user satisfaction of 12 female dancers with an out-toeing gait under three conditions: wearing tights with taping lines, tights without taping lines, and basic bicycle shorts. The foot rotation angles and joint kinematics were recorded using a pressure-pad treadmill and motion capture system, respectively. Multiple pairwise comparisons revealed that the compression tights with inward-directing lines significantly reduced foot rotation angles (up to an average of 20.1%) compared with the bicycle shorts (p = 0.002 and 0.001 for dominant and non-dominant foot, respectively) or the compression tights without taping lines (p = 0.005 and p = 0.001 for dominant and non-dominant foot, respectively). Statistical parametric mapping revealed significant main effects of the tight type on joint kinematics. Also, t-tests revealed that the participants reported significantly higher ratings of perceived functionality and usability on the compression tights with inward-directing taping lines. In conclusion, we developed a comfortable and practical apparel-type wearable and demonstrated its short-term efficacy in mitigating out-toeing gait.

Predictors of mortality attributable to Clostridium difficile infection in patients with underlying malignancy.

PURPOSE: This study aimed at evaluating the clinical severity and treatment outcomes of Clostridium difficile infections (CDI) and identifying predictors associated with mortality in patients with malignancy. METHODS: A retrospective study was conducted in a teaching hospital from January 2004 to June 2013. The subjects included adult patients (aged ≥ 18 years) receiving treatment for malignancy whose conditions were complicated by CDI. Clinical severity was determined using the guidelines from the Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America and the Infectious Diseases Society of America (SHEA/IDSA). Multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify predictors independently associated with CDI-related mortality. RESULTS: Of the 5,594 patients treated for malignancy at the Division of Hematology/Oncology during the study period, 61 (1.1%) had CDI complications. CDI-related mortality was 19.7% (12/61). Twenty-seven (44.3%) patients were diagnosed with neutropenia (ANC ≤ 500/mm(3)) at initial CDI presentation. Forty-one patients (67.2%) received antimicrobial therapy for CDI. Based on the SHEA/IDSA guidelines, only 12 patients (19.7%) presented with severe CDI, but 25 (61.0%) patients experienced treatment failure. Multiple logistic regression modeling showed neutropenia to be an independent risk factor for CDI-related mortality (odds ratio, 5.17; 95% confidence interval, 1.24-21.59). CONCLUSIONS: This study tracked poor CDI treatment outcomes in patients with malignancy and identified neutropenia as a previously unrecognized risk factor of CDI-related mortality. Alternative definitions of severe CDI that include neutropenia might be necessary to more accurately determine clinical severity.

Nonmotor symptoms more closely related to Parkinson's disease: comparison with normal elderly.

Nonmotor symptoms (NMSs) commonly occur in Parkinson's disease (PD). This study sought to explore the domains of NMSs that are more closely related to PD using nonmotor symptoms scale (NMSS), through a quantitative comparison of NMSs' prevalence and NMSS scores of PD patients with normal controls, and clinical implications. We performed a prospective case-control study on PD patients (n=131) and age- and gender-matched normal controls (n=129). We compared NMSs' prevalence and NMSS scores of the PD patients with those of normal controls, and obtained the ratio to identify the domains that were more closely related to PD than normal aging using the NMSS. NMSs are very common among normal elderly as well as PD patients. The domains with the highest ratio of NMSs' prevalence and NMSS scores between the patient and control groups were the miscellaneous, perceptual problems/hallucinations, and sexual function. These three domains were found to be most closely related to PD. NMSs with higher prevalence in PD patients do not always relate more to PD. As NMSs in PD can also commonly occur among the normal elderly, the NMS prevalence should be interpreted with extreme caution. To properly manage the NMSs in PD, it should be kept in mind that avoiding the overestimation of NMSs as part of PD is as important as their early recognition in PD.

[Development and application of a computerized nursing process program for orthopedic surgery inpatients-- NANDA, NOC, and NIC linkages].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to develop and to apply the NANDA, NOC, and NIC (NNN) linkages into a computerized nursing process program using the classification systems of nursing diagnoses, nursing outcomes and nursing interventions. METHOD: The program was developed with planning, analysis, design and performance stages. The program was applied to 117 patients who were admitted to orthopedic surgery nursing units from January to February, 2004. RESULTS: Thirty-five of fifty-three nursing diagnoses were identified. Five nursing diagnoses in order of frequency were: Acute pain (28.4%), Impaired physical mobility (15.6%), Impaired walking (8.7%), Chronic pain (5.5%) and Risk for disuse syndrome (5.0%). The nursing outcomes of the 'Acute pain' nursing diagnosis tended to have higher frequencies (cumulative) in order of Pain management (95.2%), Comfort level (35.5%) and Pain level (17.7%). The nursing interventions of the 'Acute pain' nursing diagnosis tended to have higher frequencies (cumulative) in order of Pain management (71.0%), Splinting (24.2%) and Analgesic administration (17.7%). In comparison of outcome indicator scores between before and after the intervention according to the 61 nursing outcomes, the mean scores of 52 outcome indicators after the intervention were significantly higher than before the intervention. CONCLUSION: It is expected that this program will help nurses perform their nursing processes more efficiently.

[A correlation study of perceived importance of nursing interventions with performance frequency in psychiatric nursing units using the 3th NIC].

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived importance of nursing interventions of psychiatric nurses according to domains, classes and interventions using the 3th NIC. METHOD: In this study, a 435 of 486 nursing interventions were selected from 75% consent reached by experts. Data were collected from 9 hospitals and 141 nurses(return rates : 94.0%) in Seoul, Kyonggi, Chungnam, Gwang-ju and Chonnam region from January, 2002 to February, 2002 using 4 point Likert scale. RESULT: Total perceived importance score was 2.905+/-0.463 and total correlation score with performance frequency was r=0.295. The most important perceived domain and class was found to be 'safety' (3.217+/-0.465) and 'community health promotion' (3.285+/-0.866). The most correlated domain and class with performance frequency appeared to be 'behavioral' (r=0.431, p=0.000) and 'communication enhancement' (r=0.439, p=0.000). The most important perceived nursing intervention was found to be 'active listening' (3.652+/-0.549). CONCLUSION: In conclusion, nurses in clinical settings were found to perform less than perceive its importance. Therefore, further researches are needed to identify factors related to impede and develop strategies to improve the performance of nursing interventions.