The lived experiences of patients post coronary angioplasty: A qualitative study

© 2014 Society for Vascular Nursing, Inc. Few qualitative studies have focused on the experiences of patients post angioplasty. A deep understanding of patient experiences of care and the way a treatment can affect their everyday life is particularly important in chronic disease management. The aim of this study was to explore experiences that patients undergo after angioplasty. Using a phenomenological study design, 15 patients participated in individual, face-to-face, semistructured interviews. Data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The following core themes emerged from the analysis, which reflect the experiences of patients post angioplasty: (a) Angioplasty is a milestone in the patient's life, (b) living with a mended heart, and (c) psychological distress as an integral part of the patient's life. Participants after angioplasty went through both positive and negative changes in their life. Understanding these experiences is essential to modifying high-risk behaviors while supporting patients through their rehabilitation

Apoptotic Effect of Phosphatidylinositol 3-Kinase Inhibition on Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Cells Using Buparlisib

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Resistance to chemotherapy is one of the most important problems in treatment of patients diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Pathway interruption of the phosphatidylinositol -3 kinase (PI3K) and its relation to resistance phenomena cause the inhibitors of this pathway, particularly buparlisib are introduced as one of the most promising cancer drugs. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of PI3K pathway inhibition on reducing the survival and induction of apoptosis in Nalm-6 cells using buparlisib. METHODS: In this experimental study, the phosphorylation level of Akt was evaluated using western blot to measure the effect of buparlisib on PI3K/Akt pathway in Nalm-6 cells. Nalm-6 cells were treated with different concentrations of buparlisib (0.5-4 µM) for 24, 36 and 48 hours to study the cytotoxic effect of this inhibitor and then, the metabolic activity, induction of apoptosis and changes in expression of genes involved in apoptosis were evaluated using MTT assay, Annexin/PI staining and Rq-PCR, respectively. FINDINGS: Results showed that PI3K pathway inhibition using buparlisib causes the cytotoxic effect on Nalm-6 cells in a dose- and time-dependent manner through reducing p-Akt. These findings suggested that probably, the anti-leukemic effect of buparlisib is mediated through almost 17-fold increase in apoptotic cells (p≤0.001) and rising the mRNA expression level of pro-apoptotic genes (p≤0.01). CONCLUSION: The results indicated that buparlisib has anti-tumor activity against Nalm-6 cells so this inhibitor can be used as a promising agent for the treatment of ALL

Barriers to intensive care unit nurses' autonomy in Iran: A qualitative study

© 2016 Elsevier Inc. Background The acute nature of the intensive care unit (ICU) environment necessitates that urgent clinical decisions are frequently made by the health care team. Therefore, it is important that critical care nurses have the authority to make decisions about their patient care. Purpose The purpose of this study was to explore perceived barriers to the practice of professional autonomy from the perspectives of ICU nurses in Iran. Methods In this qualitative study, 28 critical care nurses were interviewed using a semistructured in-depth interview method. The interviews were recorded, transcribed verbatim, and analyzed using content analysis. Discussion Data analysis led to identification of two main themes and five subthemes: (a) the profession-related barriers with two associated subthemes of “lack of capacity to exercise autonomy” and “lack of strong professional bodies”; (b) organizational barriers with the associated subthemes of “role ambiguity,” “a directive rather than supportive workplace,” and “lack of motivation.” Conclusion ICU nurses in Iran may face many challenges in gaining professional autonomy. The identified inter- and intraprofessional barriers to the exercise of autonomy need to be addressed to promote critical thinking, job satisfaction, and motivation of ICU nurses, which can in turn lead to improved patient outcomes