Professionalism Characteristics of Nurses Working in Internal Medicine Clinics

Abstract Although there has long been a focus on professionalism in nursing in many countries, it is just now gaining importance in Turkey. In fact, few studies on this topic have been conducted in our country, and this is the first study carried out in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey. The aim of the current study was to determine professionalism characteristics of nurses working in the internal medicine clinics of a university hospital located in Trabzon Province. This descriptive study was done with 103 nurses between Feb.1 and Feb. 28, 2015. The data were gathered using a "Personal Information Form" and a "Professionalism Information Form" through face-to-face interviews. To assess the data, numbers, percentages and arithmetical means were employed. In the current study, 95.1% of the participating nurses were female. Their mean age was 31.54+7.42 years, 66.0% of them had an undergraduate degree, 85.4% were clinic nurses, and their average work duration was 8+6.2 years. This current study determined that nurses thought the most important professionalism characteristics were "taking individual responsibility in nursing practices (92.2%)" and "paying attention to using a simple and clear language by establishing a good communication with patients and team members (90.3%)". The characteristics of "becoming a member of a nursing association (24.3%)" and "feeling the necessity to use the titles of specialist nurse, doctorate nurse (19.4%)" were less meaningful to our study participants

Early-Onset Neonatal Sepsis in Turkey: A Single-Center 7-Year Experience in Etiology and Antibiotic Susceptibility

Background: The pathogen distribution and antibiotic susceptibility of the pathogens in early-onset sepsis (EOS) differ between countries. The epidemiological data from a limited number of studies about EOS in Turkey are insufficient. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the culture-proven EOS cases, causative microorganisms, antibiotic susceptibility patterns, and risk factors for mortality in EOS. Methods: This is a retrospective, single-center study over a 7-year period, from 2013 to 2020, at Zeynep Kamil Maternity and Children’s Hospital, İstanbul, Turkey. Results: During the study period, 8229 newborns were admitted to our neonatal intensive care unit. Culture-proven EOS was detected in 101 patients (0.12%). Out of these, 56 (55.4%) were Gram-positive, and 45 (44.5%) were Gram-negative sepsis. The most common isolated organism was E. coli (28.7%, n = 29), followed by GBS (16.8%, n = 17) and S. aureus (15.8%, n = 16). An ampicillin and gentamicin combination had antimicrobial coverage in 92.6% of cases. Seventeen patients (16.8%) died because of EOS. Severe neutropenia was found to be an independent risk factor for mortality in EOS (p = 0.001, OR = 14.4, CI 95%: 2.8–74). Conclusions: Although the majority of causative agents were Gram-positive (55.4%), the most common isolated organism was E. coli. An empirical antibiotic regimen of ampicillin and gentamicin continues to have an adequate coverage for EOS in our population

Inflammation Markers in Infants of Mothers with Gestational Diabetes

Aim Pentraxin-3, high sensitive CRP (HsCRP) and adropin were investigated in cord blood of infants of mothers with gestational diabetes mellitus (IDM) to evaluate the exposure of fetus to inflammation and whether there is any correlation with clinical findings. Methods Forty IDM and forty three infants whose mother did not have diabetes were included in this prospective study. Adropin, pentraxin-3 and HsCRP levels were measured in the cord blood samples. Echocardiographic measurements were performed in the first three days of life. Results Adropin and pentraxine-3 levels were significantly lower and HsCRP levels were significantly higher in IDM group. Echocardiographic measurements of myocardial hypertrophy were negatively correlated with adropin. Conclusion Alterations in these markers in IDM supports the hypothesis of in utero fetal exposure to inflammation caused by gestational diabetes mellitus. Potentially, cord blood adropin might be used as a predictor for complications of diabetes

Comparison of Efficacy of Beractant and Poractant Treatment Performed with Minimal Invasive Technique

Background: The literature review has demonstrated the short-term benefits of minimally invasive surfactant therapy (MIST) in spontaneously breathing preterm neonates. This study was conducted to compare the efficacy of beractant and poractant alfa treatments performed with the MIST method in newborns with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and its effect on preterm morbidity and mortality. Methods: The patients diagnosed with RDS less than 35 weeks of gestational age and stabilized with nasal continuous positive airway pressure (nCPAP) in the delivery room were screened retrospectively. The cases were divided into two groups of beractant (BG) and poractant alfa (PG). While the BG (n=24) consisted of patients receiving beractant treatment with MIST during nCPAP, the PG (n=34) were those subjected to poractant alfa treatment. Results: It was found out that in PG the scores of surfactant reflux to esophagus and desaturation during surfactant administration were significantly lower (P=0.012 and P=0.009, respectively). No significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding bronchopulmonary dysplasia, sepsis, patent ductus arteriosus, pneumothorax, intubation rate in postnatal 72 h, total period of intubation, nCPAP, duration of hospitalization, and mortality rate. Conclusion: According to the results of this study, surfactant reflux to esophagus and desaturation during the intervention procedure were lower in the PG group, most probably due to a lower volume of poractant than beractant. However, since a small number of patients were included in this study, it is recommended to perform further studies consisting of a larger number of cases

The Association between Oxidative Stress and Cardiac Functions in Infants Born to Preeclamptic Mothers

Objective The present study aimed to assess the global oxidant and antioxidant status in infants born to preeclamptic mothers and their correlation with cardiac functions. Study Design We compared 40 infants born to preeclamptic mothers with 40 premature infants born to normotensive mothers. We assessed the relationship between echocardiographic measurements and total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant status (TOS) values. Results In the study group, TAC, TOS, and oxidative stress index (OSI) levels were significantly higher in the cord blood ( p = 0.03, 0.04, and 0.039, respectively) than in the control group. We did not observe any correlation between echocardiographic measurements and TAC, TOS, and OSI levels in infants born to preeclamptic mothers. Conclusion Compared with the control group, despite higher TAC levels in infants born to preeclamptic mothers, concurrent elevated OSI levels reveal that the oxidant-antioxidant balance is disturbed in favor of oxidants. Furthermore, the findings of this study suggest that echocardiographic parameters are unaffected by the oxidant status

The relationship between the oxidative stress and the cardiac hypertrophy in infants of diabetic mothers

Recently, oxidative stress was suggested to play a role in maternal and fetal complications of diabetic pregnancies. The aim of this study is to evaluate the global oxidant and antioxidant status in infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) via measurement of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and total oxidant status (TOS) and to determine their association with the clinical and cardiac manifestations of gestational diabetes on infants. Forty five infants constituted the IDM group, 51 infants born to non diabetic mothers served as the control group. Umbilical cord blood was drawn from IDM and controls for TAC and TOS measurement. Echocardiographic measurements were performed in the first three days of life. Infants of diabetic mother had significantly higher TAC (p = 0.024), TOS (p = 0.03) and oxidative stress index (OSI, p = 0.04) levels compared to controls. Hemoglobin values were correlated to TOS (r = 0.310, p = 0.03) and OSI (r = 0.310, p = 0.03). Maternal HbA1c values were also correlated to TOS (r = 0.576, p = 0.001) and OSI (r = 0.606, p < 0.001). Systolic and diastolic interventicular septum measurements, and left ventricular mass were also correlated with TOS (r = 0.330, p = 0.02; r = 0.453, p = 0.002; r = 0.404, p = 0.006, respectively) and OSI (r = 0.330, p = 0.02; r = 0.300, p = 0.04, r = 0.300; p = 0.04, respectively). Oxidant-antioxidant balance is disturbed in favor of oxidants in IDM despite compensatory increase in TAC. The degree of oxidative stress is related to the severity of myocardial and hematological involvement in IDM in the first days of life and maternal glycemic control. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved