No abstract

Focus group interviews were performed on 45 intensive care nurses who worked 12-h shifts in a large metropolitan hospital. The purpose of this study was to identify nurses' perceptions of difficulties associated with shiftwork and coping strategies used to combat them. Overall, the findings were not different than those currently discussed in the literature. For example, nurses frequently utilized white noise, telephone answering machines, and light-darkening shades to improve the quality and quantity of day sleep. They also used exercise and increased early shift caffeine consumption to improve night work performance. However, the major incentive for performing night work for these nurses was a high shift differential that equaled approximately 20% of their hourly salary. Most nurses also felt that group educational interventions regarding shiftwork difficulties and coping strategies would be preferred to individual counseling. The most significant finding of this study was the discovery of an extremely high incidence (95%) of automobile-related injuries and near-accidents that occurred while driving to and from the workplace, potentially posing a significant public health risk.

No abstract

Urokinase injected intracavitarily is an effective technique for shortening the treatment time and improves the clinical course for patients treated with percutaneous drainage techniques.

No abstract

Dual-energy subtraction digital radiography offers potentially important new information in the assessment of coronary artery disease.

Protection against exercise-induced asthma is maintained with long-term administration of salmeterol, but the length of time that the drug remains active after a single dose decreases.

Commuting long distances negatively impacts one's ability to capture adequate sleep. Data suggests that there may be significant numbers of respondents with unrecognized sleep disorders which further impact on general health.