Can Nurse-Based Management Screening Ensure Adequate Outcomes in Patients With Gestational Diabetes? A Comparison of 2 Organizational Models.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is an impaired glucose tolerance with onset or first recognition during pregnancy. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical outcomes of a blood glucose monitoring protocol implemented by nurses and dietitians in a diabetes team to the previously established protocol of direct monitoring of GDM patients by a diabetologist. METHODS: Two groups of patients were formed: The first group was based on a traditional protocol (P1: 230 patients) with patients' blood glucose constantly checked by a diabetologist. In the second structured group (P2: 220 patients) patients were referred to a diabetologist only if they required insulin therapy. RESULTS: The number of medical visits (P2: 1.28 ± 0.70 vs P1: 3.27 ± 1.44; P < .001) and the percentage of patients with hypoglycemia (P2: 6.8% vs P1: 15.2%; P < .006) were found to be lower in group P2 than in group P1. In both groups, a direct relationship was found between a parental history of diabetes and the risk of GDM (odds ratio [OR]: P1 = 2.2 [1.17-4.12]; P2 = 2.5 [1.26-5.12]). In group P1, it was observed that hyperweight gain in patients who were already overweight before becoming pregnant significantly increased the risk of macrosomia (OR: 3.11 [1.39-25.7]), whereas this was not detected in patients in group P2. In group P2, a correlation was found between macrosomia and insulin therapy (OR: 0.066 vs 0.34). In group P1 and group P2, a correlation was observed between insulin therapy and a family history of diabetes (OR: 2.20 vs 2.27), and a body mass index of greater than 30 kg/m in group P2 (OR: 3.0 vs 1.47). CONCLUSIONS: The data we collected show that creating a structured protocol for GDM management reduces the number of medical visits required by patients without increasing the risk of hypoglycemia, macrosomia, or hyperweight gain during pregnancy.

Home enteral feeding: analysis and improvement of organizational models.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to analyze the organizational models of home enteral feeding used in 5 local health authorities (LHAs) in the Veneto region (Italy). By comparing these models with the main guidelines, the authors have attempted to determine the "minimum standards" to be adopted at an organizational level. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This 3-stage study analyzes procedures, precoded actions, and recordable processes. Stage 1: objectives were defined, work methods selected, and reference guidelines chosen. Stage 2: flowcharts were drafted to show the actions and work paths taken for the 5 LHAs. Stage 3: flowcharts were compared with data from the literature. RESULTS: The study shows that very different organizational models exist. For instance, by comparing organizational processes with the procedures prescribed by the guidelines, it can be seen that the mean percentages of actions taken by the 5 LHAs, for patients in both rest homes and nursing homes, rarely exceeds the threshold of 50% (on a scale from 0% to 100%). CONCLUSION: This study shows that home enteral feeding is neither optimized nor uniform in the 5 LHAs and that standardized methods are not used for clinical monitoring.

Home enteral nutrition in adults: a five-year (2001-2005) epidemiological analysis.

BACKGROUND: In the last twenty years Home Enteral Nutrition (HEN) has undergone considerable development and has determined economic and organisational changes. The aim of this study is to evaluate the epidemiological data of 655 patients treated in the five-year period (2001-2005) in an area in the North-East of Italy. METHODS: The following data were analysed at the initiation of HEN: age, sex, pathology, Karnofsky index, type of enteral access device, presence of pressure ulcers, weight, body mass index, haematochemical tests, daily enteral intake. Length of therapy and patient survival were then considered. The outcome was based on patient mortality and the patient's ability to resume oral nutrition. RESULTS: HEN was prescribed for the following pathologies: 26.7% neurovascular, 40.9% neurodegenerative, 11.5% head-neck cancer, 9.8% abdominal cancer, 1.5% head injury, 2.6% congenital anomaly, 7.0% other pathologies. Before commencement of enteral feeding an average of 22.9% weight loss from past weight was observed across all indications for HEN. Mean incidence (cases/10(6) inhabitants/year) and prevalence (cases/10(6) inhabitants) were respectively 308.7 (range 80.7-355.6) and 379.8 (range 138.7-534.6). The median length of HEN was 196 days; only 7.9% of patients resumed oral nutrition. The median survival rate was 9.1 months and resulted influenced by age (Odds ratio: 1.80; 95% Confidence Interval: 1.19-2.72), sex (0.22; 0.08-0.59), and Karnofsky index (0.65; 0.43-0.97). Resumption of oral nutrition was influenced by age (0.50; 0.36-0.68), sex (2.50; 1.23-5.06), Karnofsky index (1.55; 1.15-2.10) and type of enteral access device (0.44; 0.26-0.76). CONCLUSIONS: Efficient organisation means being able to look after a greater number of patients undergoing HEN, raising awareness regarding the nutritional treatment.

Application criteria of enteral nutrition in patients with anorexia nervosa: correlation between clinical and psychological data in a "lifesaving" treatment.

BACKGROUND: Data and research increasingly point to multiple factors in the genesis of eating-behavior disorders, but the lack of a clear etiological definition prevents a unique therapeutic or prognostic approach from being defined. Therapeutic approaches, as well as scientific research, have separately analyzed the psychological aspects and the clinical-nutrition aspects without integrating the variables or correlating clinical and psychological data. This work has several goals because it aims at considering the problem from the 2 different perspectives. Psychological and clinical variables are analyzed both separately and together in order to assess (a) the minimal criteria to define a cure as "lifesaving" and submit a patient to artificial nutrition; (b) the kind of implementation artificial nutrition should follow; (c) which indicators of the efficacy of artificial nutrition must be taken into account; (d) the results in nutrition terms that may be obtained during the follow-up; (e) if artificial nutrition may be used as a therapeutic tool; (f) if there are any psychological effects after artificial nutrition; (g) if there are any effects due to the patients' age; and (h) the correlation between the psychological profile of a patient and the acceptance of the nutrition treatment. METHODS: Several psychological and pharmacologic variables, together with clinical and anthropometric data and blood chemical values, were all considered. CONCLUSIONS: Besides defining minimal criteria for a "lifesaving" cure and proposing 2 ad hoc scales for the assessment of patients' subjective willingness toward feeding and for the objective measurement of feeding itself, clinical data and correlations with psychological data evidenced the importance of artificial nutrition and specifically of enteral nutrition as a therapeutic tool, allowing us to define the modalities of implementation of enteral nutrition. Results show that, because enteral nutrition did not deteriorate the psychological state of the patients, and was found to be accepted more positively than feeding orally in the most critical initial phase, it should be included in the therapy.