Context:Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and emergency cardiovascular care guidelines are periodically renewed and published by the American Heart Association. Formal training programs are conducted based on these guidelines. Despite widespread training CPR is often poorly performed. Hospital educators spend a significant amount of time and money in training health professionals and maintaining basic life support (BLS) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) skills among them. However, very little data are available in the literature highlighting the long-term impact of these training.Aims:To evaluate the impact of formal certified CPR training program on the knowledge and skill of CPR among nurses, to identify self-reported outcomes of attempted CPR and training needs of nurses.Setting and Design:Tertiary care hospital, Prospective, repeated-measures design.Subjects and Methods:A series of certified BLS and ACLS training programs were conducted during 2010 and 2011. Written and practical performance tests were done. Final testing was undertaken 3–4 years after training. The sample included all available, willing CPR certified nurses and experience matched CPR noncertified nurses.Statistical Analysis Used:SPSS for Windows version 21.0.Results:The majority of the 206 nurses (93 CPR certified and 113 noncertified) were females. There was a statistically significant increase in mean knowledge level and overall performance before and after the formal certified CPR training program (P = 0.000). However, the mean knowledge scores were equivalent among the CPR certified and noncertified nurses, although the certified nurses scored a higher mean score (P = 0.140).Conclusions:Formal certified CPR training program increases CPR knowledge and skill. However, significant long-term effects could not be found. There is a need for regular and periodic recertification.

Background:Hyponatremia is the most common electrolyte abnormality seen in patients with aneurysmal SAH. Clinically significant hyponatremia (Serum Sodium <131 mEq/L) which needs treatment, has been redefined recently and there is a paucity of outcome studies based on this. This study aims to identify the mean Serum Sodium (S.Na+) level and its duration among inpatients with SAH and to identify the relationship between hyponatremia and the outcome status of patients undergoing surgery for SAH.Materials and Methods:This outcome study is undertaken in the department of neurosurgery, The Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Trivandrum, Kerala. Medical records of all patients with SAH from 1st January to 31st July 2010 were reviewed. Preoperative status was assessed using World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS) grading system. Discharge status was calculated using the Glasgow outcome score scale.Results:Fifty nine patients were included in the study and 53 (89.8%) of them have undergone surgical treatment. Hyponatremia was observed in 22 of 59 patients (37%). The mean Sodium level of hyponatremic patients was 126.97 mEq/L for a median duration of two days. Glasgow outcome score was good in 89.8% of patients. We lost two patients, one of whom had hyponatremia and vasospasm.Conclusion:Hyponatremia is significantly associated with poor outcome in patients with SAH. Anticipate hyponatremia in patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage, timely detect and appropriately treat it to improve outcome. It is more common in patients who are more than 50 years old and whose aneurysm is in the anterior communicating artery. Our comprehensive monitoring ensured early detection and efficient surgical and nursing management reduced morbidity and mortality.

Eighty-eight women each from WWE and WWoE had completed the study, over a period of three years. WWE and WWoE were comparable for age (25.56±4.66 and 25.69±4.49 years), pregnancy outcome and type of delivery. WWE had excess fetal loss and postnatal seizures. The CRK was significantly lower for WWE (23.53±6.3) than for WWoE (26.08±5.3). The CRP was significantly lower for WWE (25.01±9.6) than for WWoE (28.14±7.1). WWE performed poorer in all domains of child rearing practices namely feeding, growth and development, cleaning and protection and infant stimulation. Poorer CRK was strongly associated with lower CRP while several demographic and economic characteristics were not relevant. WWE fared poorer in feeding and nursing their babies in spite of having the right knowledge in that domain. This may be due to several undisclosed concerns and social dynamics that need to be addressed while preparing any interventions.

The SIM improved the CRK of WWE. Nevertheless, the child rearing practices did not show corresponding improvement.

Background:Comprehensive instruments to evaluate the child rearing knowledge and practice are not readily available for clinical research.Materials and Methods:We have designed in two phases a new instrument to evaluate the child rearing knowledge and practice under the four major domains of child rearing. Twenty-five subject experts from the field of Paediatrics, Obstetrics, Neurology and Nursing elicited the content validity of the instrument. The test retest reliability was evaluated by 25 young mothers who completed the CRKS at an interval of two weeks.Results:The Content Validity Ratio (CVR) of individual items ranged between 0.6 to 1. The reliability was tested for the 20 individual items of the CRKS using Kappa coefficient. The measurement of agreement Kappa ranged from 0.51 to 1. The total knowledge scores and sub scores data were analysed for correlation using Pearson’s correlation coefficient. A significant Pearson’s correlation indicated that the total scores were consistent over time (r = 0.89). The sub scores on feeding (6 items), Growth and development (4 items), protection (7 items), and infant stimulation (3 items) were found to have reliability of 0.91, 0.76, 0.84, and 0.89 respectively using Pearson’s correlation.Conclusion:The instrument is found to be valid and reliable and can be used to measure child rearing knowledge and practice in early infancy.

Use of alcohol-based hand rub before and after each patient contact in the neurosurgical intensive care unit did not show a significant reduction in SSI in the present study. This lack of difference between the two groups may be related to the inadequate sample size. The other possibility is that both the strategies are of equal efficacy for prevention of SSIs.

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Background:Interventional studies on the effect of alcohol-based hand rub on ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) among neurosurgical patients are scarce.Aim:To observe the effect of alcohol-based hand rub on tracheobronchial colonization and VAP after elective neurosurgical procedures.Materials and Methods:An interventional study using a “before–after” design in a tertiary care center in Kerala. Two 9-month study periods were compared; between these periods, an infection control protocol incorporating an alcohol-based hand rub was implemented for a period of 3 months and continued thereafter. Consecutive patients who required mechanical ventilation after neurosurgery between January and September 2006 and 2007, respectively, were included. Outcome measures included VAP rate, tracheobronchial colonization rate, profile of microorganisms and patient survival.Results:A total of 352 patients were on mechanical ventilator for a varying period of 1–125 days. The patients in the control and intervention groups were similar with regard to sex, age and type of neurosurgery. Tracheobronchial colonization was seen in 86 (48.6%) of 177 in the control group and 73 (41.7%) of 175 among the intervention group (P = 0.195). The VAP rates in the control and intervention groups were 14.03 and 6.48 per 1000 ventilator days (P = 0.08). The predominant organisms causing VAP and tracheobronchial colonization were Klebsiella and Pseudomonas aeruginosa, respectively, in both groups. Patient survival rates were 87.6% (control) and 92% (intervention).Conclusion:Clinical results indicated a better outcome, showing a reduction in tracheobronchial colonization rate and VAP rate, although this was not statistically significant.