Women of Color Breast Cancer Survivors' Support Project

Authors of a study published in the Annals of Surgery wanted to determine the effect of community-level socioeconomic distress on survival outcomes in patients undergoing heart transplantation.Heart transplant recipients from January 2004 to June 2022 were identified from the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network.Socioeconomic distress was evaluated using the Distressed Communities Index, which is a composite score determined for each zip code using such indicators as education, housing, unemployment, poverty, household income, and business growth.The score ranges from 0 to 100, with communities in the highest quintile considered distressed and those in the other quintiles considered nondistressed.Of the 36,777 patients who underwent heart transplantation, 7,450 were from a distressed community.Patients from distressed communities had inferior three-and five-year mortality and graft survival compared with patients from nondistressed communities.The authors concluded that interventions are needed to address the causes of socioeconomic inequities in transplantation outcomes.

J Wound Ostomy Continence Nurs. 50(5):p 358-359, September/October 2023. | DOI: 10.1097/WON.0000000000001011

To create a blended format model to navigate interprofessional team assessments of patients with complex wounds during COVID-19 as a quality improvement process. During clinical assessments, patients were interviewed in their homes with representation from their circle of care and primary nurse on site linked to a live virtual interprofessional blended remote team model (wound care nurse specialist, advanced wound care doctor). Eligible patients had completed a wound care clinical pathway without wound closure. Palliative patients with complex wounds and patients without precise/accurate diagnoses were also included. This process addressed the components of Wound Bed Preparation 2021: manage the cause, address patient-centered concerns, determine the ability to heal, optimize local wound care, and evaluate outcomes on an ongoing basis. Since April 2020, 48 patients were referred to the Home and Community Care Support Services patient navigation interprofessional team. Patients' home-care services were initiated between 2012 and 2021. The team provided closure in 29% of patients and the wound surface area reduced in 66%. Pain was reduced in 73% of patients and appropriate infection management was implemented in 79%. In addition, nursing visits were reduced by 73% and there was a 77% decrease in supply usage. This project validated the Wound Bed Preparation Paradigm 2021 as a process for assessing patients with complex wounds using a blended virtual and home-based assessment. Patient navigation with this blended model benefited patients and improved healthcare system utilization with projected cost savings.

Kathleen Lawrence, MSN, RN, CWOCN, WOCN Society Public Policy and Advocacy Coordinator, VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, Rutland, Vermont. Correspondence: Kathleen Lawrence, MSN, RN, CWOCN, VNA & Hospice of the Southwest Region, 7 Albert Cree Drive, Rutland, VT 05701 ([email protected]; [email protected]).

The Australian National Neisseria Network (NNN) comprises reference laboratories in each state and territory that report data on antimicrobial susceptibility testing to an agreed group of antimicrobial agents for the Australian Meningococcal Surveillance Programme (AMSP). This report presents national meningococcal antimicrobial resistance surveillance data for the indicated quarter.

The paper introduces novel wire-grid polarizers created by Wostec, Inc. based on self-forming patterning induced by ion bombardment and new software developed for optimization of such structures in LCDs. The model utilizes differential theory of diffraction gratings coupled with 4×4 matrix method to provide fast convergence of parallel computations. Simulations and measurements reveal that such components provide excellent optical performance for transflective and projection displays.

Hawkins-Bradley, Beth RN, MN, CWOCN; Walden, Mary RN, BSN, CWOCNEditor(s): Hanlon, Maureen RN, MN, CWOCN Author Information

The National Neisseria Network has undertaken meningococcal isolate surveillance by means of a collaborative laboratory based initiative since 1994. The phenotype (serogroup, serotype and serosubtype) and antibiotic susceptibility of 388 isolates of Neisseria meningitidis from invasive cases of meningococcal disease were determined in 2000. More than 90 per cent of the invasive isolates were either serogroup B or C. There was however, considerable diversity in the phenotypes circulating in the different States and Territories. Serogroup B strains predominated in all jurisdictions except Victoria and were isolated from sporadic cases of invasive disease. Serogroup B phenotypes were generally disparate although phenotypes B:15:P1.7 and B:4:P1.4 were widely distributed. The latter remained especially prominent in New South Wales. The number and proportion of serogroup C isolates again increased in Victoria compared with previous years. Infections with a novel phenotype that was first noted in 1999, C:2a:P1.4(7), were common in Victoria, especially in adolescents and adults, but rarely seen elsewhere in Australia. Phenotype C:2a:P1.2, was also noted in the preceding year and continued to be seen in Victoria in 2000 but was infrequently encountered in other jurisdictions. Serogroup C infections remained common in New South Wales where phenotype C:2a:P1.5 was regularly isolated. About two thirds of all isolates showed decreased susceptibility to the penicillin group of antibiotics (MIC 0.06 to 0.5 mg/L). All isolates tested were susceptible to third generation cephalosporins and to the prophylactic agents rifampicin and ciprofloxacin. Data relating to 147 laboratory-confirmed but culture-negative cases, supplemented information on culture-confirmed cases in this report. Some differences in the patterns of disease were revealed when culture-based and non-culture-based data were compared.