Evaluation of the side-effects of chemotherapy in patients with cancer

Background: Cytotoxic chemotherapy destroys not only cancer cells but also normal healthy cells, leading to the occurrence of multiple side effects, the nature and extent of which depend on several factors. Aim: The purpose of this study was to explore the type and the intensity of the side effects and symptoms produced by anticancer agents. Method: The study sample comprised 153 cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy who were attending a one-day clinic for the administration of their chemotherapeutic agents in a private hospital in Athens from January 2007 to January 2008. Data collection was conducted using the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory (MDASI). Statistical analysis was performed using x -test of the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) 16. The statistical significance level adopted was p<0.05. Results: Of the 153 cancer patients who participated, 49% were men and 51% women. Regarding gender differences, men more frequently reported experiencing intense pain (p=0.031), intense nausea (p=0.046) and vomiting (p=0.010), respiratory symptoms, (p=0.003), memory problems (p=0.009), severe diarrhoea (p=0.001) and severe constipation (p=0.001), symptoms which significantly affected their ability to walk (p=0.004). Conversely, women reported feeling more intense sadness than men (p=0.007). Compared to postmenopausal women, perimenopausal female patients reported experiencing more severe pain (p=0.004), fatigue (p=0.013), nausea (p=0.001),anxiety (p=0.016), respiratory symptoms (p≤0.001), anorexia (p=0.005), sadness (p≤0.001) and diarrhoea (p=0.003). These symptoms exerted a negative effect on the perimenopausal women's general activity (p=0.001), mood (p=0.003), their work and housekeeping (p=0.002), interpersonal relationships (p=0.023), walking (p=0.003) and their capacity to enjoy life (p=0.003).Regarding the specific type of anticancer treatment, patients undergoing chemotherapy with concurrent radiotherapy more frequently reported mild pain (p=0.031) and intense nausea, anxiety and anorexia (p=0.042, p=0.022, p=0.021, respectively). Finally, regarding the type of the chemotherapy regime received, those patients receiving taxane-based regimes more often reported intense anorexia (p=0.032), a sense of dryness of the mouth (p=0.027) and severe cough (p=0.001). Conversely, patients undergoing platinum-based chemotherapy treatment reported memory deficits of greater severity (p=0.027). Conclusions: The most frequent side effects of chemotherapy that were reported by the respondents in the present study included fatigue, mouth dryness, nausea, constipation, anorexia, vomiting, pain, sadness and anxiety. All these side-effects should be taken seriously into consideration during the planning of treatment, and arrangements should be made for individual nursing treatment to be applied

Assessing anxiety and depression in parents of preterm infants

Purpose: To measure state and trait anxiety, as well as depression, among parents of preterm infants hospitalized in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs). Design: A convenience sample of 200 parents of preterm infants (124 mothers and 76 fathers) hospitalized in two Greek pediatric hospital NICUs participated in the study. Results: Among the 200 participating parents, mothers (which constituted 62% of the total sample) experienced higher levels of state anxiety, trait anxiety and depression than the fathers (p = 0.04, p &lt; 0.001 and p = 0.001, respectively). State anxiety scores were also higher in individuals aged ≥40 years (p = 0.038). Other factors that contributed to higher levels of state anxiety, trait anxiety and depression included being unemployed, living in rural areas and having complications during pregnancy. Conclusion: The severity of state anxiety, trait anxiety and depression among parents of preterm infants hospitalized in NICUs is influenced by various socio-demographic factors and by clinical characteristics of the infants. © 2018 Neonatal Nurses Associatio

Bullying and Suicidality in Children and Adolescents Without Predisposing Factors: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Published evidence has suggested that engaging in school or cyber bullying may potentially be associated with a suicidal ideation and suicide attempts. The aim of our review/meta-analysis was to evaluate the potential association between school and cyber bullying and suicidality (including suicidal ideation, planning and/or committing a suicide attempt) in children and adolescents (&lt; 19 years old) who are considered as a “healthy” population, without predispositions for suicidality factors (not subpopulations with characteristics that may constitute proneness to bullying and its consequences, including sexual minorities, drug users and youth with psychiatric comorbidity). Regarding school bullying, victims and bullies independently, and victims and bullies together, were significantly more likely to present suicidal ideation and commit a suicide attempt, compared to non-involved participants. Victims of school bullying were found to be significantly more likely to commit a suicide attempt that required medical treatment. Victims of cyber bullying were significantly more likely to present suicidal ideation and commit a suicide attempt. A positive relationship between involvement in both school bullying and cyber-bullying with suicidal ideation and suicidal behavior was observed. This review/meta-analysis contributes to further understanding bullying and suicidality as it includes results of participants without any predisposing factors for suicidality, thus providing more clear results with regard to the magnitude of the effects of both school and cyber bullying on suicidality. © 2018, Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature

Psychiatric Care in Acute Care Units with Locked Doors: Nursing Care Providers’ Perceptions and Experiences

Social distancing and the recent lockdown due to COVID-19 have increased the feeling of disconnection, isolation, and suffering in vulnerable individuals and have brought forward questions regarding locked acute care psychiatric units that cannot be answered by the literature. In Greece, there is no available research on how locked ward environments are perceived and experienced by mental health professionals. The aim of the present study is to illuminate nursing care providers’ perceptions of psychiatric care in units with locked doors. Fifteen nursing care providers were interviewed and inductive content analysis was employed to explore their experiences of working in locked psychiatric acute care units. Negative and positive feelings about door locking did not appear to match the specific system of practice. Some participants described how locked doors influenced their professional role by placing emphasis on control rather than care while others regarded locked doors as a symbolic way of therapeutic boundary setting. Participants had positive experiences when they perceived their working environment as caring. The therapeutic benefits of locked doors were prominent when locked doors were perceived as “invisible.” © 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Systemic Reprogramming of Translation Efficiencies on Oxygen Stimulus

Protein concentrations evolve under greater evolutionary constraint than mRNA levels. Translation efficiency of mRNA represents the chief determinant of basal protein concentrations. This raises a fundamental question of how mRNA and protein levels are coordinated in dynamic systems responding to physiological stimuli. This report examines the contributions of mRNA abundance and translation efficiency to protein output in cells responding to oxygen stimulus. We show that changes in translation efficiencies, and not mRNA levels, represent the major mechanism governing cellular responses to [O2] perturbations. Two distinct cap-dependent protein synthesis machineries select mRNAs for translation: the normoxic eIF4F and the hypoxic eIF4FH. O2-dependent remodeling of translation efficiencies enables cells to produce adaptive translatomes from preexisting mRNA pools. Differences in mRNA expression observed under different [O2] are likely neutral, given that they occur during evolution. We propose that mRNAs contain translation efficiency determinants for their triage by the translation apparatus on [O2] stimulus