Compartment syndrome of the hand as a complication of prolonged mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation

A 45‐year‐old man suffered compartment syndrome of the hands as a complication of prolonged cardiopulmonary resuscitation. He was admitted following a hypothermic out‐of‐hospital cardiac arrest due to cold‐water submersion. The patient was in cardiac arrest for 4 h with mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation delivered using the Lund University Cardiac Arrest System (Jolife AB, Lund, Sweden). Cardiopulmonary resuscitation along with aggressive rewarming achieved return of spontaneous circulation. He developed compartment syndrome in his left hand which was likely exacerbated by having his arm strapped to the Lund University Cardiac Arrest System device throughout the resuscitation. The compartment syndrome was managed conservatively. Despite preservation of neurological function the patient died of complications from the cardiac arrest after an extended intensive care unit stay. We recommend healthcare providers unstrap patient's hands during prolonged mechanical cardiopulmonary resuscitation.

The nurse academic in the clinical learning setting: An evolving partnership role

Student readiness for practice as a registered nurse can only be achieved through a committed and cooperative partnership between the tertiary and clinical sectors. One important role in the development and maintenance of clinical learning partnerships is that of the nurse academic. As nursing faculties continue to evolve this role it is important that positive initiatives be shared and challenges discussed. With this in mind, the role of the nurse academic in clinical practice introduced at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) will be presented. A nurse academic who fulfils this role at UTS is known as an Academic Liaison Person (ALP). This paper begins with a general exploration of the role of the academic in the clinical learning setting and then discusses the associated challenges. The role of the ALP at UTS and its integration with the UTS clinical model for final year students will be presented as a response to these challenges. Through this model the educational expertise of the ALP and the clinical expertise of the practitioner is brought together for the benefit of the nursing student.

Learning from success: improving undergraduate education through understanding the capabilities of successful nurse graduates

This paper reports on a study of nursing graduates identified as high performers by their nursing unit managers. The study involved 17 graduates from two teaching hospitals, one in the inner city of Sydney and the other in regional New South Wales. The aim of this study was to identify the capabilities that were seen to be most important for successful nursing practice during the first 2-6 years following employment as registered nurses and to evaluate through backward mapping, the degree to which university programmes were developing these capabilities. This study is part of a larger scale study of a number of professional disciplines that will be used to shape the ongoing evolution of the undergraduate programmes in these disciplines at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS). The results from this study provide evidence that while capability in technical skill is necessary for successful practice as a nurse, it is certainly not sufficient. A range of 'emotional intelligence' capabilities have been identified by both graduate nurses and their nursing unit managers as being significant factors for successful practice. It would be important that a curriculum provided a range of learning experiences that included content related to emotional intelligence, and it may be that by directing attention to the total undergraduate learning experience rather than just what is taught, that curriculum developers can do much to provide educational opportunities that encourage the capabilities identified.

Binding of a dihydropyridine felodipine-analogue to calmodulin and related calcium-binding proteins

A dihydropyridine-affinity column was prepared by coupling a physiologically active and vasoselective amino-derivative of felodipine to divinylsulfone-activated Trisacryl GF2000. Calmodulin (CaM) as well as the homologous calcium-binding proteins skeletal and cardiac Troponin C (sTnC and cTnC) and S100b bound to this resin in a calcium-dependent manner. In contrast, other homologous proteins such as parvalbumin and the intestinal calcium-binding protein did not bind. Competition studies showed that CaM had a higher affinity for the felodipine-column than sTnC or cTnC. Through studies with a series of proteolytic fragments of CaM and sTnC, it was found that the felodipine binding site is located in the amino-terminal domain of the protein. These results illustrate the utility of affinity-chromatography for the study of dihydropyridine-binding proteins.