Optim Design (United States)

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Purpose: Specialty nursing certifications serve as a validation of nursing knowledge in specific areas. Holistic nursing emphasizes comprehensive patient care and incorporates complementary alternative modalities (CAM) into daily care. Despite its significance, limited research has evaluated the perceived value of holistic nursing certification among nurses. Study Design: Descriptive survey design. Methods: The Likert-scale survey Perceived Value of Certification (PVCT)-12 Tool was given to holistic certified and non-certified nurses at a large, academic Magnet hospital in the northeast United States from 10/2022 to 2/2023. Additionally, non-certified nurses were asked to select the top three barriers to certification from a list of nine. The responses between certified and non-certified nurses were compared using the Chi-square test, Fisher's exact test, or Student's t-test as appropriate. Findings: A total of 59 nurses (25 certified, 34 non-certified) met inclusion criteria. Ninety-six percent of certified nurses versus 64.7% of non-certified nurses agreed that certification demonstrates a commitment to the nursing profession, p = 0.004, but, otherwise, responses to the PVCT-12 Tool were similar. Both groups felt certification was more strongly associated with intrinsic factors (e.g., sense of accomplishment) than extrinsic factors (e.g., salary). Conclusion: Nurses were consistent in their perceived value of holistic certification, regardless of their certification status.

Given increases in drug overdose-associated mortality, there is interest in better understanding of drug overdose out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA). A comparison between overdose-attributable OHCA and nonoverdose-attributable OHCA will inform public health measures. We analyzed data from 2017 to 2021 in the Cardiac Arrest Registry to Enhance Survival (CARES), comparing overdose-attributable OHCA (OD-OHCA) with OHCA from other nontraumatic causes (non-OD-OHCA). Arrests involving patients <18 years, health care facility residents, patients with cancer diagnoses, and patients with select missing data were excluded. Our main outcome of interest was survival with good neurological outcome, defined as Cerebral Performance Category score 1 or 2. From a data set with 537 100 entries, 29 500 OD-OHCA cases and 338 073 non-OD-OHCA cases met inclusion criteria. OD-OHCA cases involved younger patients with fewer comorbidities, were less likely to be witnessed, and less likely to present with a shockable rhythm. Unadjusted survival to hospital discharge with Cerebral Performance Category score =1 or 2 was significantly higher in the OD-OHCA cohort (OD: 15.2% versus non-OD: 6.9%). Adjusted results showed comparable survival with Cerebral Performance Category score =1 or 2 when the first monitored arrest rhythm was shockable (OD: 28.9% versus non-OD: 23.5%, P=0.087) but significantly higher survival rates with Cerebral Performance Category score =1 or 2 for OD-OHCA when the first monitored arrest rhythm was nonshockable (OD: 9.6% versus non-OD: 3.1%, P<0.001). Among patients presenting with nonshockable rhythms, OD-OHCA is associated with significantly better outcomes. Further research should explore cardiac arrest causes, and public health efforts should attempt to reduce the burden from drug overdoses.

BackgroundMigraine affects 1.1 billion people globally and is the second leading cause of disability worldwide. In clinical trials, treatment efficacy is evaluated by comparing the differential responses in the treatment and placebo arms. Although placebo response in preventive migraine trials has been studied, there is limited research examining temporal trends. This study evaluates the trend of placebo response over thirty years in migraine prevention trials and investigates the association of potential confounders, such as patient, treatment, and study characteristics on placebo response using meta-analysis with regression.MethodsWe conducted literature searches from January 1990 to August 2021 in bibliographical databases (PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE). Studies were selected according to PICOS criteria and included randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trials evaluating preventive migraine treatments in adult patients diagnosed with episodic or chronic migraine, with or without aura. The protocol was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021271732). Migraine efficacy outcomes included were either continuous (e.g., monthly migraine days) or dichotomous (e.g., ≥ 50% responder rate (yes/no)). We assessed the correlation of the change in outcome from baseline in the placebo arm, with the year of publication. The relationship between placebo response and year of publication was also assessed after accounting to confounders.ResultsA total of 907 studies were identified, and 83 were found eligible. For the continuous outcomes, the change from baseline in mean placebo response showed an increase over the years (rho = 0.32, p = 0.006). The multivariable regression analysis also showed an overall increase in placebo response over the years. The correlation analysis of dichotomous responses showed no significant linear trend between publication year and mean placebo response (rho = 0.08, p = 0.596). Placebo response also varied by route of administration.ConclusionPlacebo response increased over the past 30 years in migraine preventive trials. This phenomenon should be considered when designing clinical trials and conducting meta-analyses.

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Assessment of water requirements through physical sustainable means is essential to ensuring water security, which is at high risk in desert climates such as Doha, Qatar. The water requirements of biofacade systems are met using a sub-irrigation system (SIS), whereby water is delivered to the plant root zone from below the soil surface. This paper focuses on the assessment of the watering technique, in view of its crucial role in the survival of the biofacades system and its plants. The research aims to analyse the biofacades on Qatar University's campus in terms of improvements or enhancements in the customised irrigation system aimed at minimising the consumption of water, reduce evaporation, propagate healthy growth of plants, and maintain constant, self-managed access to water. The analysis is based on monthly data summaries and the monitored data for four green walls, measuring the number of times a wall is watered, the soil condition (moisture level) of the plants, and the total amount of water consumed. The study concludes by ensuring sustainability in terms of reduced water consumption to attain the required moisture level and orientation of the walls with respect to sun, wind, and plant selection, offering recommendations for adapting biofacades design for hot arid climates.

BackgroundComplicated urinary tract infection (cUTI) is a common emergency department (ED) diagnosis. Results of urine culture and antimicrobial susceptibility testing are usually not available for up to 48 hours after an ED visit; therefore, diagnosis and treatment decisions are empiric and based on symptoms, physical findings, and underlying risk of resistance. We sought to understand the epidemiology and incidence of resistance to commonly used oral antibiotics among patients presenting to US EDs with cUTI.MethodsA retrospective multi-center study using data from the Premier Healthcare Database (2013-18) was performed. Inclusion criteria: (1) age ≥ 18 years, (2) primary cUTI ED/inpatient discharge diagnosis, (3) positive blood or urine culture between index ED service days -5 to +2. Transfers from acute care facilities were excluded. We examined rates of resistance to the following drugs/classes: 3rd generation cephalosporins, fluoroquinolones, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, fosfomycin, and nitrofurantoin in patients presenting to the ED, stratified by those who were ultimately admitted as inpatients vs. not. Regional variation by US Census Division was examined.Results187,789 patients met inclusion criteria; 119,668 (63.7%) were admitted to the hospital. 4.6% had positive cultures only with gram-positive bacteria; the remainder had at least one gram-negative pathogen. E. coli was the most common infecting pathogen, present in 72.1% of ED-only infections and 51.4% of those admitted. 44.7% and 58.4% of ED-only and admitted patients, respectively, were resistant to at least 1 of the 5 drugs/classes examined (see table). We saw substantial regional variation; resistance to at least 3 of 5 drugs/classes across all patients ranged from 5.0% in West North Central region to 11.1% in East South Central region (national average: 9.1%).Resistance Rates by Drug/Drug Class and Hospital Admission StatusConclusionPatients with cUTI infections presenting to EDs in the US are frequently resistant to many commonly used oral antibiotics, even in patients not admitted to the hospital. Local epidemiology and resistance should be considered when making empiric treatment decisions in the ED. New oral options for cUTI patients are needed to address the growing challenge of resistance.DisclosuresThomas Lodise, PharmD, PhD, Paratek Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Consultant) Teena Chopra, MD, MPH, Spero Therapeutics (Consultant, Advisor or Review Panel member) Brian Nathanson, PhD, Spero Therapeutics (Independent Contractor) Katherine Sulham, MPH, Spero Therapeutics (Independent Contractor)