The New Zealand medical journal
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Multicenter Study
The use of the Pain Assessment Checklist for Seniors with Limited Ability to Communicate (PACSLAC) by caregivers in dementia care.
Pain is often under-detected and under-treated in nonverbal patients with severe dementia. PACSLAC is a behavioural assessment tool designed to improve the detection of pain in severe dementia. Previous studies on PACSLAC were primarily with qualified nurses in Canada and The Netherlands. This pilot study is aimed to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of the PACSLAC when it is administrated by caregiver staff. ⋯ This pilot study demonstrated PACSLAC has good inter-rater reliability when it is used by caregivers. We believe a baseline PACSLAC could be performed for each patient at the time of admission to a dementia care facility and re-administered on regular intervals to detect pain-related behaviour and to prompt earlier pain management. Future studies with larger samples and collaboration between different centres will be useful in providing normative PACSLAC values in New Zealand.
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Multicenter Study
Failed validation of a clinical decision rule for the use of radiography in acute ankle injury.
To validate the Ottawa clinical decision rule for the use of radiography in acute ankle injuries. ⋯ The Ottawa clinical decision rule for the use of radiography in acute ankle injuries is unacceptable for application in emergency departments in New Zealand due to a high false negative rate.
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Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
Respiratory distress syndrome in New Zealand: evidence from the OSIRIS trial of exogenous surfactant (Exosurf).
To assess the impact, mortality, morbidity and economic costs, of respiratory distress syndrome severe enough to warrant ventilation in one year in New Zealand. ⋯ In a full year (total births 60,000) approximately 350 New Zealand infants may require ventilation for respiratory distress syndrome. Increasing the percentage of infants who receive antenatal steroids is likely to be extremely cost effective. In the era of antenatal steroids and exogenous surfactant, 85% of infants with respiratory distress syndrome requiring ventilation survive to discharge home and over 90% of survivors are likely to be healthy normal adults.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Clinical Trial
The quest for normoglycaemia is worth the effort.