Communicative and organizational aspects of clinical ethics support

Studies show that healthcare professionals need inter-professional clinical ethics support (CES) in order to communicate and reflect on ethically difficult care situations that they experience in their clinical practice. Internationally, various CES interventions have been performed, but the communication processes and organisation of these interventions are rarely described in detail. The aim of this study was to explore communicative and organisational conditions of a CES intervention with the intention of promoting inter-professional communication about ethically difficult care situations. Eight audio- and video-recorded inter-professional CES sessions, inspired by Habermas' theory of communicative actions, were conducted. The observations were transcribed, sorted, and analysed using concept- and data-driven content analysis methods. The findings show three approaches to promoting communicative agreement, which include the CES facilitators' and participants' approaches to promoting a permissive communication, extended views, and mutual understanding. The CES sessions had organizational aspects for facilitating communicative agreement with both a given structure and openness for variation. The dynamic structure of the organization, promoted both safety and stability as well as a creativity and responsiveness, which in turn opened up for a free and dynamic inter-professional dialogue concerning ethically difficult care situations. The findings constitute a step towards a theory-based CES method inspired by Habermas' theory of communicative action. Further research is needed in order to fully develop the method and obtain increased knowledge about how to promote an inter-professional dialogue about ethically difficulties

The association between Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination (1331 SSI) skin reaction and subsequent scar development in infants

Abstract Background The Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccine (BCG) against tuberculosis is administered intradermally, and vaccination is often followed by a scar at the injection site. Among BCG-vaccinated individuals, having a scar has been associated with lower mortality. We aimed to examine the impact of vaccination technique for scarring in a high income setting, by assessing the associations between the post injection reaction, the wheal size, and the probability of developing a scar, and scar size. Methods This study was nested within a clinical multicenter study randomizing 4262 infants to either BCG vaccination (BCG 1331 SSI) or no intervention. In this substudy, including 492 vaccinated infants, the immediate post BCG vaccination reaction was registered as either wheal (a raised, blanched papule at the injection site), bulge (a palpable element at the injection site), or no reaction. The presence or absence of a BCG scar and the size the scar was measured at 13 months of age. Results Of 492 infants included, 87% had a wheal after vaccination, 11% had a bulge, and 2% had no reaction. The mean wheal size was 3.8 mm (95% confidence interval 3.7–3.9). Overall, 95% (442/466, 26 lost to follow-up) of BCG-vaccinated infants had a scar at 13 months of age. In infants with a wheal, the probability of developing a scar was 96%, declining to 87% in the case of a bulge, and to 56% in the case of no reaction (p for same probability = 0.03). Wheal size was positively correlated with the probability of getting a scar and scar size. Conclusion Scarring after BCG vaccination has been associated with lower infant mortality. In a high-income setting, we found that correct injection technique is highly important for the development of a BCG scar and that registration of the category of BCG skin reaction (as wheal, bulge, or no reaction) may be used to identify infants at risk of scar failure. Finally, the wheal size was positively associated with both the probability of getting a scar and scar size. Trial registration The study was registered at www.ClinicalTrials.gov with trial registration number NCT01694108

Additional file 1: Table S1A. of The association between Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination (1331 SSI) skin reaction and subsequent scar development in infants

Comparison of baseline characteristics for BCG vaccinated children in the present substudy with BCG vaccinated children in the Danish Calmette Study. (DOCX 16 kb

Additional file 2: Table S2B. of The association between Bacillus Calmette-Guérin vaccination (1331 SSI) skin reaction and subsequent scar development in infants

Comparison of baseline characteristics between infants vaccinated by the three different vaccinators A, B and C. (DOCX 17 kb