AJN in December: Lifestyle Factors and Metabolic Syndrome, Contrast-Induced Kidney Injury, Pearl Harbor Nurses, More

The December issue of AJN is now live. Here are some articles we’d like to bring to your attention.

CE Feature: “Original Research: Examining the Links Between Lifestyle Factors and Metabolic Syndrome”

In 2008, according to the World Health Organization, more than 1.4 billion adults were overweight and more than half a billion were obese, and those numbers have likely increased since these data were reported. The authors of this study examined lifestyle risk factors for metabolic syndrome—such as dietary and exercise habits—in people who are overweight or obese, aiming to distinguish those lifestyle factors associated with metabolic health in this population.

CE Feature: “Preventing Contrast-Induced Acute Kidney Injury”

Diagnostic radiographic imaging scans using intravascular iodinated contrast media can lead to various complications. The most salient of these is contrast-induced acute kidney injury (CI-AKI) or contrastinduced nephropathy, a potentially costly and serious patient safety concern. In order to ensure safe, high-quality care, nurses must be involved in efforts to prevent CI-AKI as well as interventions that minimize patients’ risk of kidney injury. This article provides an evidence-based review of screening, risk assessment, and hydration protocols for the clinical management of patients receiving contrast agents for radiographic imaging studies.

Supporting Family Caregivers: “Administration of […]

2016-11-28T09:42:20-05:00November 28th, 2016|Nursing|0 Comments
Read More

Are the Benefits of Nutrition for Cardiovascular Health Being Undersold ?

By Betsy Todd, MPH, RN, CIC, AJN clinical editor

By Eric Hunt/via Wikimedia Commons By Eric Hunt/via Wikimedia Commons

A nutrition conference at which physicians and medical students outnumber either nurses or dietitians is a rare event. This was the case at last month’s International Conference on Nutrition in Medicine: Cardiovascular Disease in Washington, DC, cosponsored by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and George Washington University.

The speakers, shared a wealth of data on the influence of different types of diets on weight, blood pressure, lipids, serum inflammatory markers, hemoglobin A1c levels, and diseased coronary arteries. More than one pointed out that we too often overestimate the benefits of drugs and medical procedures and discount the effectiveness of diet and lifestyle changes. Some highlights:

Does heart disease begin in utero? Children who are large for gestational age (> 95th percentile) and those born to overweight mothers are at increased risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD). Vascular physiologist Michael Skilton, PhD, associate professor at the University of Sydney in Australia, has also identified microscopic lesions in aortic endothelium of babies born small for gestational age (< 10th percentile). He suggests that their diets include the American Heart Association’s recommendations for omega-3 fatty acid intake beginning in childhood (breast milk, flax seeds, walnuts, or child-friendly omega 3 supplements can be used in lieu of fish-derived omega 3s when mercury is a concern).

Children and […]

2017-03-15T16:58:14-04:00September 14th, 2015|Nursing, personal health practices|1 Comment
Read More

New CE for Nurses: Understanding the Origins of the Obesity Epidemic

By Gaulsstin/via Wikimedia Commons By Gaulsstin/via Wikimedia Commons

One of our two December feature CE articles, “The Obesity Epidemic, Part 1: Understanding the Origins,” is about a pervasive and complex issue that nurses see the health consequences of in every practice setting:

. . . more than 35% of adults and 16% of children ages two to 18 are obese. Obesity disproportionately affects racial and ethnic minorities as well as people at lower income and educational levels, though it is prevalent among men and women in every segment of society. Obese children and adults are at risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, musculoskeletal dysfunction, and certain types of cancer. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services estimates the annual national health care expenditure on obesity to be about $147 billion, with per capita spending on obese people averaging $1,429 more than spending on individuals of normal weight.

Knowledge about this epidemic continues to evolve. This article is part 1 of a two-part series and provides readers a concise overview of current theories about the pathophysiologic, psychological, and social factors that influence weight control. As the overview points out, ” [t]o contribute to obesity’s treatment and prevention, nurses must be conversant in a wide range of theoretical and clinical perspectives on the problem.” […]

2016-11-21T13:03:22-05:00December 10th, 2014|nursing perspective, patient engagement, Patients|0 Comments
Read More

AJN’s November Issue: Voices of New RNs, Intraosseous Vascular Access, Measuring Dyspnea, Coccidiodomycosis, More

AJN1113 Cover OnlineAJN’s November issue is now available on our Web site. Here’s a selection of what not to miss.

New RNs. Hospitals invest in orientation or residency programs for newly licensed nurses, but turnover rates for first-year nurses remain relatively high. This month’s original research article, “Hearing the Voices of Newly Licensed RNs: The Transition to Practice,” looks at the orientation experience of new nurses in order to explore how institutions can best transition new nurses from an academic to a clinical setting. If you’re reading AJN on your iPad, you can listen to a podcast interview with the author by clicking on the podcast icon on the first page of the article. The podcast is also available on our Web site.

Starting an IV. Nurses are often faced with the challenge of starting an IV line in a patient who is dehydrated, has suffered trauma, or is in shock. This month’s Emergency CE feature, “Intraosseous Vascular Access for Alert Patients,” describes how nurses can use this fast, safe, and effective route for delivering fluids and medications when IV access fails. Earn 2.1 CE credits by reading this article and taking the test that follows. Don’t miss the video demonstration of the placement of an intraosseous  (IO) needle in the proximal tibia using an IO access power driver (click on the video icon on the […]

2016-11-21T13:06:12-05:00October 25th, 2013|nursing perspective, nursing research|0 Comments
Read More

When Loved Ones and Patients Don’t Choose Life

By Karen Roush, AJN clinical managing editor

Photo by the author Photo by the author

This isn’t the blog post I started out to write. That was a more personal story about someone close to me, let’s call this person Jess, who died after years of chronic illness worsened by self-neglect—after years of being that person Olsen talks about in this month’s article (free until August 15) on helping patients who don’t help themselves (and in his related blog post from last week).

But as I wrote, I realized that it wasn’t fair, that I was leaving out the complex story behind their persistent unhealthy behaviors, behaviors that eventually led to a lingering, awful death.

And without that background knowledge, it was too easy to be judgmental—as it is sometimes too easy for us as nurses to be judgmental of patients who don’t help themselves, who even seem to be willfully destroying their own health: the obese person who keeps drinking those giant sodas, the smoker who lights up another cigarette. As a nurse it can be very frustrating to care for a patient who ignores health recommendations, to their own detriment. As a family member or friend, it can be heartbreaking and infuriating.

There are limits to what we can do. We cannot force patients to eat well, take necessary medications, quit smoking, modify their alcohol intake, wear their seatbelts . . . the list goes on and on. Yes, we […]

2016-11-21T13:07:02-05:00July 15th, 2013|nursing perspective|4 Comments
Read More

Comment ground rules

1. Please be respectful.
2. We moderate all comments.

Content disclaimer

Views expressed on the blog are solely those of the authors or persons quoted. They do not necessarily reflect AJN’s views or those of Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Go to Top