The evaluation of the level of knowledge of nurses participating in the Regional Program of Workshops for Diabetic Education — initial report

Wstęp. W systemie opieki diabetologicznej w Polsceodpowiedzialność za edukację pacjenta spoczywagłównie na pielęgniarkach. Problemem jest brakszkoleń dostępnych dla większego grona pielęgniarek,które w swojej codziennej praktyce mają stycznośćz pacjentami diabetologicznymi. Celem pracy była analiza poziomu wiedzy pielęgniarek z zakresu diabetologiiuczestniczących w Regionalnym ProgramieWarsztatów Edukacji Diabetologicznej.Materiał i metody. Badaniem objęto 272 pielęgniarkiz województwa kujawsko-pomorskiego, które wzięłyudział w Warsztatach Edukacji Diabetologicznej. Wiedzępielęgniarek przed szkoleniem i po nim ocenianona podstawie identycznego testu diagnostycznegozłożonego z 12 pytań, dotyczącego tematyki poruszanejw czasie warsztatów.Wyniki. Po określeniu granicy zdawalności testu na 60%poprawnych odpowiedzi wykazano, że początkowy testzdało 10% pielęgniarek z oddziałów szpitalnych (grupa A)oraz 18% pielęgniarek pracujących w placówkach podstawowejopieki zdrowotnej (grupa B). Końcowy testzaś zdało 96% pielęgniarek z grupy A oraz 93% pielęgniarekz grupy B. Średnia punktacja uzyskana w teściepoczątkowym przez pielęgniarki grupy A i grupy B się nieróżniła (4,88 ± 2,04 vs 4,67 ± 2,3 punktów; p = 0,46),natomiast w teście końcowym była istotnie wyższaw grupie A w porównaniu z grupą B (10,3 ± 1,26 vs9,41 ± 1,54 punktów, p < 0,0001).Wnioski. Przed warsztatami znajomość zagadnieńz zakresu diabetologii była w obu grupach pielęgniarekniedostateczna. Warsztaty Edukacji Diabetologicznejpodniosły poziom wiedzy obu grup pielęgniarek.Dlatego też istnieje potrzeba prowadzenia szkoleńz zakresu diabetologii dla pielęgniarek.Introduction. In the Polish health care system, responsibilityfor the education of diabetic patients lies solelyon unspecialised nurses. A signifi cant problem is thelack of courses available to those nurses, who havecontact with diabetic patients in their daily practice.The aim of this study was to evaluate the nurses’ knowledgeconcerning diabetes.Material and methods. The study involved 272 nurses,who participated in the The Regional Program of Workshopsfor Diabetic Education. The level of knowledgewas evaluated before and after the workshops via thetest consisting of 12 questions.Results. After determining the passing percentage ofthe test as 60%, only 10% in group A — nurses workingin the clinics — and 18% in group B — nurses workingin the outpatients departments — passed the initialtest. The fi nal test was passed by 96% and 93% ofnurses, respectively. The average scores obtained inthe initial test by group A and group B didn’t differ(4.88 ± 2.04 vs 4.67 ± 2.3 points, p = 0.46), while inthe fi nal test it was signifi cantly higher in group A comparedwith group B (10.3 ± 1.26 vs 9.41 ± 1.54 points,p < 0.0001).Conclusions. Nurses working in outpatients departments,as well as nurses working in hospitals, didnot present a satisfactory level of knowledge aboutdiabetology. The Workshops for Diabetic Educationincreased the level of knowledge of both groups. Thereis a need for better education for nurses in the fi eld ofdiabetology

Homocysteine, heat shock proteins, genistein and vitamins in ischemic stroke - pathogenic and therapeutic implications

Stroke is one of the most devastating neurological conditions, with an approximate worldwide mortality of 5.5 million annually and loss of 44 million disability-adjusted life-years. The etiology of stroke is often unknown; it has been estimated that the etiology and pathophysiology remains unexplained in more than 40% of stroke cases. The conventional stroke risk factors, including hypertension, diabetes mellitus, smoking, and cardiac diseases, do not fully account for the risk of stroke, and stroke victims, especially young subjects, often do not have any of these factors. It is very likely that inflammation, specific genetic predispositions and traditional risk factors interact with each other and may together increase the risk of stroke. Inflammatory and immune responses play important roles in the course of ischemic stroke. Hyperhomocysteinemia (hcy) is considered a modifiable risk factor for stroke, possibly through an atherogenic and prothrombotic mechanism. Both genetic and environmental factors (e.g., dietary intake of folic acid and B vitamins) affect homocysteine level. Identification of the role of hcy as a modifiable risk factor for stroke and of HSPs as regulators of the immune response may lead to more effective prevention and treatment of stroke through dietary and pharmacological intervention. Dietary modification may also include supplementation with novel preventive compounds, such as the antioxidative isoflavones - genistein or daidzein

Improved HPLC method for total plasma homocysteine detection and quantification

Recent clinical research has pointed at hyperhomocysteinemia as an independent risk factor in a number of cardiovascular and neurological diseases. We have improved a chromatographic method of total plasma homocysteine measurements in order to obtain higher sensitivity, reliability and reproducibility. The method demonstrates excellent linearity (R = 0.999), range (< 2-100 µM), precision (instrumental RSD 0.06 and method RSD 1.17), accuracy (recovery of 99.92 and RSD 1.27), reproducibility, quantification limit and ruggedness (e.g. pH from 2.0 to 2.5). Because even a small increase in homocysteine level can be a significant risk factor of cardiovascular diseases, such a precise method is required. The constructed method allows the measurement of plasma pyridoxal phosphate, PLP, the co-enzyme form of vitamin B6, on the same column and similar reagents. The developed method has been successfully applied to measure both total plasma and serum homocysteine in a group of acute stroke patients