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Aim: To examine the personal expenses for a patient admitted to hospital for a single ambulatory surgical procedure and to determine the factors related to the level of these expenses. Methods: Patients (n = 145) treated in one ambulatory unit during a six-month period during 2004 were included in the study. Results: Patients reported total personal costs from between euro 5 and euro 772. There was a difference between patients' expenses and the type of surgery and the patients' vocational education. Conclusion: Effective interventions that reduce personal expenses are needed to make ambulatory surgery an economic treatment for individual patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This empirical study aimed to describe the ambulatory surgical patients' information and control preferences with reference to received knowledge. The results indicate that patients' information preferences and behavioral preferences are not very high, and they seem to receive most knowledge in the biophysiological domain. The most important finding is that patients with higher preferences seem to receive less knowledge than those with lower preferences. The results suggest the need to further study nurses in the ambulatory surgery setting and the extent to which the information expectations of patients are met. Copyright © 2009 by Elsevier Inc. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim. This paper is a report of a study to compare orthopaedic ambulatory surgery patients' knowledge expectations before admission and their perceptions of received knowledge 2 weeks after discharge. Background. Advances in technology and population ageing are driving up the number of ambulatory orthopaedic surgical procedures. Shorter hospital stays present a major challenge for patient education. Methods. A descriptive comparative cross-sectional study (pre- and post-test) design was adopted. The data were collected from 120 consecutive patients in 2004, using the Hospital Patient's Knowledge Expectations Scale and Hospital Patient's Received Knowledge Scale. All patients participated in a preoperative education session given by a nurse. Results. Patients expected more knowledge than they actually perceived that they received on all dimensions except the bio-physiological. They perceived that they received least knowledge about experiential, ethical, social and financial dimensions of knowledge. Knowledge expectations correlated with age and professional education. Perceptions of received knowledge correlated with earlier ambulatory surgery, and both expected knowledge and perceptions of received knowledge were related to the level of basic education. Conclusion. Patients' knowledge expectations are greater than the knowledge they perceived that they receive, and they cannot become empowered if they lack important knowledge. Further research is needed to learn about meeting patients' knowledge expectations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AIMS: This paper presents a systematic review whose aim was to describe the scope and methods of the current literature on preoperative patient education and to identify the effects of this education. BACKGROUND: Preoperative patient education is a common and important intervention in surgical nursing, yet there is very limited systematic evidence on its precise role. METHODS: The Medline, CINAHL, Eric, Psycinfo and Social Sciences Index databases and the Cochrane Library were searched, covering the period from the beginning of each database to April 2003. Studies were included if they concerned adult orthopaedic patients, preoperative nursing patient education and were based on randomized controlled or clinical trials. Meta-analysis was carried out where appropriate. RESULTS: We identified 11 articles involving 1044 participants. Most studies included one experimental and one control group; only two had more than one experimental and control group. The educational interventions varied widely, but the majority were based on written materials alone, or written materials in combination with other teaching methods. The most common outcome measures related to pain, knowledge, anxiety, exercises and length of stay, and the least common to self-efficacy and empowerment. The methodological quality of the studies varied. Almost all reported one or more statistically significant effects. Based on the findings of the meta-analysis, preoperative education appears to have some impacts on patients' anxiety and knowledge levels. CONCLUSIONS: The review clearly highlights the need for well-designed, methodologically sound research into the outcomes of patient education. It also points to the need to study patient education from the point of view of empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study describes Registered Nurses' perceptions of geriatric rehabilitation nursing as well as their experiences of working in the rehabilitation of older patients in Denmark, Finland and Norway. The aim was to gain deeper insights into how Registered Nurses think about geriatric rehabilitation nursing and how their perceptions differ in these countries. The data were collected among 600 Registered Nurses using a structured questionnaire with five background items and 88 geriatric rehabilitation nursing items. The response rate was 65%. Data analysis was with SPSS statistical software. Geriatric rehabilitation nursing was experienced as something that required knowledge and experience, patience and creativity, as well as professional skills. The nurses talked with their patients about their rehabilitation goals, but not all nurses were aware of those goals. Progress in the rehabilitation process was evaluated on a daily basis and results were noted in the patients' records. The nurses motivated patients by giving them positive feedback, by preventing pain, by pausing to share with the patients their joy about progress, and by giving the patients the opportunity to cope with daily activities. The Registered Nurses in Denmark were more team oriented and they set out the goals in the patient's records more often than their colleagues did in Finland and Norway. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a common genetic variant of LH due to two amino acid changes in the LHβ subunit, Trp8Arg and Ile15Thr. In order to compare the relative activities of wild type (wt-LH) and variant LHβ (v-LHβ) genes in LH production and secretion, we performed gonadotrophin-releasing hormone (GnRH) stimulation tests for healthy females (n = 7) and males (n = 10) heterozygous for the v-LHβ allele. Blood samples were drawn up to 180 min after injection of GnRH. The serum samples were subjected to two immunofluorometric assays, one detecting wt hormone, the other detecting equally both LH types. The wt/total ratio increased significantly (P ≤ 0.016) after GnRH injection in males. This indicates that the proportion of wt-LH increases in the circulation in men but not in women, and that women consequently secrete relatively more v-LH. An in-vitro bioassay was performed on 0 and 60 min samples, and the bio/immunoreactivity (B/I) ratio decreased in both sexes (P = 0.010–0.012). This supports the previously reported lower B/I ratio of wt than v-LH, since wt-LH is expected to accumulate in circulation because of its longer half-life. In conclusion, these findings demonstrate that wt- and v-LH respond differently to GnRH stimulation in men and women heterozygous for v-LHβ. These results are in agreement with previously documented differences of the two forms in circulation, as well as with different promoter activities of the two LHβ alleles. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]