Viewpoint comparison between mothers and nurses about stressor sources of parents who have premature newborn in NICU Dept

Abstract Introduction: Increase of premature newborn, cause to develop research for this group of newborns. However, despite this progress, low weight and prematurity of newborns are the most important reasons for death, during the first year of their life. It seems to be important to pay close attention to the psychological and social effects of premature newborn on parents. On the other hand, investigations have showed that emotional responses of mothers in relation to premature infants born are more than fathers. Concerning special status of nurses in NICU, they have more effects in decreasing parents stress. Therefore this study has been performed to recognize viewpoints of mothers and nurses about stress in NICU for decreasing parental stress.Method: This is a comparative-descriptive study, that has been done during the first 6 months in year 2007, and the study population consisted of nurses (n=32) and all mothers with premature newborn, hospitalized in NICU (n=300) in three training centers - Health in Tabriz (Taleghani, Alzahra, Koodakan). Sampling method was census and data collected by PSS (parent stressor scale) questionnaire, developed by Margaret Miles et al in 1998. Validity of scale was determined by content validity with cooperation of ten faculty members of Nursing-Midwifery college of Tabriz, and validity of translation assessed by one English language expert. Reliability of scale was evaluated by participation of 30 mothers and 6 nurses which the related method was Cronbach's alpha, (for mothers calculated, 0/87 and for nurse 0/94). Data was analyzed by SPSS version 13.5 software.Results: For viewpoint of mothers and nurses, Mann-Whitney U test showed that, there are significant difference between three ranges of stressors, and for viewpoint of mothers, Friedman test showed that, the most stressor sources were “relationship of parents and parental role” and for viewpoint of nurses, were “baby appearances and behavior, and special treatments” and “relationship of parents and parental role”.Conclusion:Accurate researches of parent stressor, specially, mothers who have premature newborn, to introduce solutions for family cares and satisfaction increase is very necessary and important.   Keywords: Premature infant .Stressors. Mother. Nurse .Intensive care unit   

Medication errors in oral dosage form preparation for neonates: The importance of preparation technique

Objective: Considering the inability of neonates to swallow oral drugs in the form of solid tablets, the lack of appropriate dosage forms for infants, and the necessity to prepare some pills for neonates, the current study investigated dosage accuracy in drugs for neonates prepared from tablets by analyzing the concentrations of final products. Methods: Captopril and spironolactone, oral dosage forms that are not suitable for infants, were chosen as the drug model for this study. Demographic characteristics of nurses providing medications and tablet preparation methods were documented in a random observational method. To determine concentrations of final solutions, 120 drug samples (60 captopril and 60 spironolactone samples) prepared by Neonatal Intensive Care Unit nurses of the Children Cure and Health Hospital of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences were analyzed using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and spectrophotometry. Findings: There was a significant error rate in the concentration of captopril in prepared solutions compared with the ordered dosage. No differences were observed in the demographic characteristics of the nurses and the method of preparation between the two drugs. The only difference related to the preparation technique was that in most cases (70.8%), one whole spironolactone tablet was used, whereas in around 50% of samples in captopril group, half or a quarter of one captopril tablet was utilized for the intended dosage (P = 0.009). Conclusion: This research suggests that the use of a whole tablet instead of a divided tablet in the manual preparation of medication dosage forms for neonates is the most appropriate approach

Effects of Gentle Human Touch and Field Massage on Urine Cortisol Level in Premature Infants: A Randomized, Controlled Clinical Trial

Introduction: Hospitalization in neonatal intensive care unit may leads to many stresses for premature infants. Since premature infants cannot properly process stressors, identifying interventions that reduce the stress level for them is seems necessary. The aim of present study was to compare the effects of Field massage and Gentle Human Touch (GHT) techniques on the urine level of cortisol, as an indicator of stress in preterm infants. Methods: This randomized, controlled clinical trial was carried out in Al-Zahra hospital, Tabriz. A total of 84 premature infants were randomly assigned into three groups. First groups were touched by their mothers three times a day (15 minutes in each session) for 5 days by GHT technique. The second group was received 15 minutes Field massage with sunflower oil three times a day by their mothers for 5 days. The third group received routine care. In all groups, 24-hours urine samples were collected in the first and sixth day after the intervention and analyzed for cortisol level. Data were analyzed by SPSS software. Results: There were significant differences between mean of changes in cortisol level between GHT and control groups and Field massage and control groups (0.026). Conclusion: Although the massage with Field technique resulted in a significant reduction in blood cortisol level, but the GHT technique have also a similar effect. So, both methods are recommended for decreasing of stress in preterm infants

Anti-cancer effects of Bifidobacterium species in colon cancer cells and a mouse model of carcinogenesis.

INTRODUCTION:Probiotics are suggested to prevent colorectal cancer (CRC). This study aimed to investigate the anticancer properties of some potential probiotics in vitro and in vivo. MATERIALS AND METHODS:Anticancer effects of the following potential probiotic groups were investigated in LS174T cancer cells compared to IEC-18 normal cells. 1. a single strain of Bifidobacterium. breve, 2. a single strain of Lactobacillus. reuteri, 3. a cocktail of 5 strains of Lactobacilli (LC), 4. a cocktail of 5 strains of Bifidobacteria (BC), 5. a cocktail of 10 strains from Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium (L+B). Apoptosis rate, EGFR, HER-2 and PTGS-2 (COX-2 protein) expression levels were assessed as metrics of evaluating anticancer properties. Effect of BC, as the most effective group in vitro, was further assessed in mice models. RESULTS:BC induced ~21% and only ~3% apoptosis among LS174T and IEC-18 cells respectively. BC decreased the expression of EGFR by 4.4 folds, HER-2 by 6.7 folds, and PTGS-2 by 20 folds among the LS174T cells. In all these cases, BC did not interfere significantly with the expression of the genes in IEC-18 cells. This cocktail has caused only 1.1 folds decrease, 1.8 folds increase and 1.7 folds decrease in EGFR, HER-2 and PTGS-2 expression, respectively. Western blot analysis confirmed these results in the protein level. BC significantly ameliorated the disease activity index, restored colon length, inhibited the increase in incidence and progress of tumors to higher stages and grades. CONCLUSIONS:BC was the most efficient treatment in this study. It had considerable "protective" anti-cancer properties and concomitantly down regulated EGFR, HER-2 and PTGS-2 (COX-2), while having significant anti-CRC effects on CRC mice models. In general, this potential probiotic could be considered as a suitable nutritional supplement to treat and prevent CRC

Correction: Anti-cancer effects of Bifidobacterium species in colon cancer cells and a mouse model of carcinogenesis.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0232930.]

Nurses’ Knowledge Regarding Hand Hygiene and Its Individual and Organizational Predictors

Introduction: Based on recommendations from World Health Organization, hand hygiene is the most important way to control the hospital infections. Due to the critical role of nurses in patient care, they should have essential and updated information regarding hand hygiene. So this study aims at determining the knowledge of hand hygiene and its individual and organizational predictors among nurses in neonatal units. Methods: This descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted in neonatal units in the hospitals affiliated to Tabriz University of Medical Sciences. The participants surveyed in this study were 150 nurses who were invited by census sampling method. A researcher prepared questionnaire that investigated the knowledge of participants about hand hygiene and was used after approving its validity and reliability. The quantitative analysis of this study used Statistical Package for Social Sciences SPSS version 13 by descriptive statistics and pearson correlation test, independent samples t-test, One-way ANOVA. For multivariable explanation of nurses’ knowledge based on independent variables multiple linear regressions was used. Results: Most of participants have an acceptable level of knowledge regarding hand hygiene. The highest score was for infection control domain and the lowest score was for definition of hand hygiene domain. Multivariable analysis showed that work experience and history of previous training were the most important predictors of participants’ knowledge about hand hygiene. Conclusion: It is recommended that infection control committees should revise their educational methods and give more emphasis on update guidelines regarding hand hygiene. Also, more experienced nurses should be employed in neonatal units