Undergraduate research is shown to be particularly effective among first-generation college students. Esmeralda Carretero is the first person in her family to attend college. Her research is combined with community action. Take a moment to get to know her.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-20CotnxL5h9brM_Wf1hIZcRwvN0x7CgXNiHXPUM1co/pub
Doctors from Scripps Memorial Hospital La Jolla conducted on the validity of using a Zio Patch to monitor heart rhythms on emergency room patients who may have a possible arrhythmia. A Zio patch is a wireless, ambulatory cardiac monitor that adheres to the skin for 14 days. The purpose of this study was to improve patient care and a way for emergency room patients to avoid unnecessary follow-up care, but also it’s a way to detect patients who have a dangerous arrhythmia in a comfortable manner and is less invasive. Of the 285 patients from Scripps, Stanford Hospital and Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas who entered the emergency rooms with possible arrhythmia signs and symptoms were given a Zio Patch. After the Zio patch is no longer adhering to the skin then patient’s were instructed to mail it back with a prepaid envelope given to them. The doctor would then study the data and follow up on patients who had threatening or different types of arrhythmia. It is also compared to the Holter monitor which is a wired, cardiac monitor; however, it limits the things and is uncomfortable for patients. Furthermore, the Zio Patch is able detect arrhythmia better than a Holter monitor.
The advancements in cardiovascular technology alone is amazing. I did not only look at this website, but others as well from fellow classmates and it is amazing to see how far we are coming. I think that using technology to improve patient care and outcome is important as long as we do not forget to continue to see our patients as humans and not machines. Furthermore, it is important to continue to deliver compassionate care as well. I think that the combination of technology and human compassion will benefit the healthcare industry and consumer satisfaction as long as we do not forget that we are all humans are not seen as the machines (the machines that are or will be keeping us alive). I think as nurses and future nurses we should be aware of the technological advancements that are out there and the advancements in health information applications that are on smartphones. We should review the applications on the mobile devices before we recommend or offer the application as another resource of information for our patients to ensure it is understandable and accurate information.
Reference
http://www.scripps.org/news_items/4217-scripps-doctors-study-novel-new-device-to-diagnose-irregular-heart-beat
Graft Preservation with heparinized blood/saline solution induces server graft dysfunction
As we have learned in class, coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is the most common surgical procedure performed on the heart and the patient’s prognosis largely depends on the long-term patency of the bypass grafts. In practice, grafts are stored at temperatures between 4 C and room temperature in various preservation solutions including saline, heparinized blood, or Custodial solution (Veres et al., 2014). According to Veres et al. (2014), heparinized autologous blood solutions is considered the most suitable solution for storing human arterial and venous grafts and samples, however there have been conflicting results on the effect of this solution on endothelial cells. This article looked at the early and mid-term effect of ischemia/reperfusion injury on endothelial cells of implanted grafts using a rat model of aortic transplantation. They examined the both the functional and molecular aspects of endothelial dysfunction induced.
A major finding of this study was that application of the daily used physiological saline or heparinized blood to preserve the arterial graft was incapable of reducing the endothelial damage after cold storage and warm reperfusion (Veres et al, 2014). They also concluded that both had similar weak preservation effect on the endothelial cells, however blood preservation solutions had a negative impact on these cells as compared to normal saline solution.
The peak of endothelial damage in both heparinized and saline groups occurred after twenty-four hours of reperfusion. This is said to correlate with the early complications in bypass grafts that lead to transient ST segment elevations occurring in the first 12-24 hours after CABG (Veres et al., 2014). Additionally this study found that endothelial integrity was damaged however it took the cells sample about one week of reperfusion to recover supporting previous findings of the ability of endothelial cells to regain functional integrity.
This study is important because the goal and current protocol for graft recovery is to minimize mechanical damaged during harvesting and this study demonstrates that both saline and heparinized blood solutions are incapable of this function as previously believed.
Veres, G., Hegedus, P., Barnucz, E., Zoller, R., Klien, S., Radovits, T., Korkmax, S., Karck, M. & Szabo, G. (2014). Graft Preservation with heparinized blood/saline solution induces server graft dysfunction. Interactive CardioVasular and Thorasic Surgery. 1-7. doi:10.1093/icvts/ivv010.
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