Penjadualan jururawat merupakan perkara penting dalam memastikan perkhidmatan yang berterusan dapat diberikan kepada para pesakit. Corak bertugas yang berterusan iaitu 24 jam sehari 7 hari seminggu, memerlukan waktu kerja mengikut syif yang boleh mengakibatkan perubahan kepada kehidupan sosial dan masalah kesihatan kepada jururawat. Oleh itu, pembangunan sebuah model penjadualan jururawat yang boleh diterima pakai oleh semua pihak dan bersifat adil amatlah penting untuk memastikan perkhidmatan berterusan yang berkualiti. Proses penjadualan melibatkan beberapa peraturan dan kekangan yang perlu dipertimbangkan, iaitu berdasarkan polisi yang telah ditentukan oleh pihak hospital dan permintaan daripada jururawat sendiri. Polisi atau objektif hospital antara lain adalah memastikan bilangan minimum jururawat setiap syif, mengelakkan pengasingan hari bertugas dan mempertimbangkan permintaan cuti daripada jururawat. Permintaan jururawat yang diambil kira pula adalah seperti mendapat bilangan hari bertugas yang sama per jadual, bilangan syif pagi yang melebihi syif petang dan memperolehi sekurang-kurangnya sekali cuti hujung minggu dalam tempoh jadual 2 minggu. Model dibangunkan menggunakan data daripada sebuah hospital tempatan. Kaedah pengaturcaraan gol 0-1 diaplikasikan di dalam pembangunan model penjadualan jururawat ini kerana keupayaannya menghasilkan sebuah model dengan pelbagai matlamat. Jadual kerja berkala ini akan dibina setiap 2 minggu. Daripada hasil penyelesaian yang diperoleh menggunakan perisian Lingo, didapati model penjadualan jururawat yang dibangunkan memenuhi polisi pihak hospital dan permintaan jururawat. Model penjadualan jururawat ini mampu memberikan penyelesaian yang lebih baik berbanding penjadualan semasa secara manual yang mana pengagihan syif adalah lebih sama rata di kalangan jururawat dari segi bilangan syif pagi, petang dan juga malam.
Background: Plasma calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) plays a key role in the migraine pathophysiology. This study aimed to investigate its role in predicting diagnosis and outcome of pharmacotherapy in pediatric migraine. Methods: We prospectively recruited 120 subjects, who never took migraine-preventive agents in a pediatric clinic, including 68 patients with migraine, 30 with non-migraine headache (NM), and 22 non-headache (NH) age-matched controls. Short-term therapeutic response was measured for at least 2 weeks after the start of therapy. Responders were defined with >50% headache reduction. Plasma CGRP concentrations were measured by ELISA. Results: In the migraine group, more patients required acute therapy, as compared to the NM group (62/68, 91% vs. 5/30, 15%, p = 0.001). The mean plasma CGRP level in migraineurs either during (291 ± 60 pg/ml) or between (240 ± 48) attacks was higher than in NM patients (51 ± 5 pg/ml, p = 0.006 and 0.018, respectively) and NH controls (53 ± 6 pg/ml, p = 0.016 and 0.045, respectively). Forty-seven patients (69%) needed preventive treatments and had higher plasma CGRP levels (364 ± 62 pg/ml, n = 47) than those not (183 ± 54 pg/ml, n = 21) (p = 0.031). Topiramate responders had higher plasma CGRP levels than non-responders (437 ± 131 pg/ml, n = 14 vs. 67 ± 19 pg/ml, n = 6, p = 0.021). Survival curves of plasma CGRP levels also showed those with higher CGRP levels responded better to topiramate. Differences were not found in the other preventives. Conclusion: The plasma CGRP level can differentiate migraine from non-migraine headache. It may also serve as a reference for the therapeutic strategy since it is higher in patients requiring migraine prevention and responsive to short-term topiramate treatment. These results are clinically significant, especially for the young children who cannot clearly describe their headache symptoms and may provide new insights into the clinical practice for the diagnosis and treatment of pediatric migraine.
Study site: Paediatric outpatient clinic,National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), Taiwan
We evaluated the use of Desflurane anaesthesia in this prospective observational audit in the University of Malaya Medical Centre Day Surgery Unit. Fifty ASA I-II unpremedicated day surgery patients received fentanyl and propofol induction after preoxygenation. Desflurane was introduced initially at 2% and the concentration was increased gradually to 4%, then 6%, 8% and 10% in nitrous oxide and oxygen. Patients breathed spontaneously throughout the surgery. Desflurane was switched off at the end of surgery and patients breathed 100% oxygen. The haemodynamic effect, perioperative complications and recovery profiles were recorded. Systolic arterial pressure and heart rate decreased after induction of anaesthesia but returned to baseline value at discharge. Adverse airway event such as coughing and postoperative nausea and vomiting are two unwanted complications. KEYWORDS: Desflurane, day surgery, propofol induction
Six patients underwent transcatheter closure of patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) using either conventional Gianturco coils or the Amplatzer Ductal Occluder (ADO) device. All patients were females with a median age of 23.3 (range 4 to 26 years). The mean PDA size measured on the lateral aortogram was 3.81mm (range 2.3-5.83mm). Complete closure of the PDA was achieved in all patients.
BACKGROUND: Antiphospholipid syndrome (APS) is an autoimmune disorder characterised by thrombosis and/or pregnancy morbidity in the presence of antiphospholipid antibodies (aPLs) based on the Sydney criteria. We aimed to explore the clinico-laboratory features and treatment strategies of APS patients retrospectively.
METHODOLOGY: The medical records of APS patients registered under Hospital Universiti Sains Malaysia (Kelantan state) between 2000 and 2015 were reviewed.
RESULTS: A total of 17 APS subjects (age 40.7 ± 12.8 years) including 11 primary (64.7%) and six secondary APS (35.3%) patients were identified. The follow-up period was 9.5 ± 6.7 years with male:female ratio of 1.0:4.7. Pregnancy morbidity was the most common clinical manifestation (11/14; 78.6%) followed by recurrent venous thrombosis (10/17; 58.8%). For other clinical features, menorrhagia was the most frequently observed manifestation (4/14; 28.6%) followed by aPLs-associated thrombocytopenia (4/17; 23.5%) and ovarian cyst (3/14; 21.4%). LA and aCL were positive in 94.1% (16/17) and 81.8% (9/11) of the patients, respectively. APTT value (76.7 ± 17.0 sec) was significantly high (p < 0.05). Low intensity warfarin alone was successful to maintain target INR (2.0 - 3.0) and prevent recurrence of thrombosis.
CONCLUSION: The tendency of pregnancy morbidity in this cohort of Malaysian Kelantanese APS patients was high compared to other previously reported APS cohorts. Low intensity warfarin was successful in preventing recurrence of thrombosis, however, APS women receiving long-term anticoagulants should be monitored for possible occurrence of menorrhagia and ovarian cysts.