An evaluation of a video magnification-based system for respiratory rate monitoring in an acute mental health setting

CONTEXT

One of the most important goals of inpatient psychiatric care is to provide a safe and therapeutic environment for both patients and staff. A small number of aggressive or agitated patients are difficult to sedate, even after multiple doses of sedating antipsychotics. Adverse effects can result in harm to the patient and staff and that observations are conducted without touching the patient.

AIM

This study aims to determine if motion magnification can improve the feasibility of non-contact respirations monitoring over a video feed.

METHODS

Registered nurses were invited to view seven pairs of pre-recorded footage of healthy volunteers and count the number of breaths that they observe over a period of one minute for each. One of the paired videos was unprocessed and the other magnified the motion of chest rise and fall.

RESULTS

Nursing observation of respirations showed an improvement in reduction of count error from 15.7 % to 1.5 % after video magnification of respiratory movement. Nurses also stated that viewing the processed video was much easier to make their observations from.

CONCLUSION

It is possible to use magnified video to monitor respirations of patients during circumstances where it is potentially difficult to obtain. Further observational studies should be conducted on a larger scale with this type of technique and is urgently needed to inform practice.

Attempted eradication of salmonellosis from a colony of short-tail grey opossums (Monodelphis domestica)

Prior to re-housing a colony of laboratory short-tail grey opossums, the animals were found to harbour salmonella. This paper describes an unsuccessful attempt to eradicate the infection from the colony by means of antibiotic treatment and hygienic measures. A pilot treatment of five animals which received enrofloxacin 10 mg/kg for 5 days appeared to be successful in that no salmonellae were recovered from faeces or organs sampled after treatment. The process was repeated on the whole colony prior to a change of accommodation but 2 animals were found to be still infected, 5 weeks after cessation of treatment.

A method for scoring denture plaque

Many studies have reported on the comparative efficiency of denture cleaning materials in their ability to remove deposits from dentures, but because of the variety of scoring methods used it is often difficult to make direct comparisons between materials. It is important that any measurements obtained should not only be accurate, reliable and reproducible but that inter-examiner error should be kept to a minimum. In this work three operators were asked to score 'blind' the total amount of disclosed plaque on a whole denture using a 0-10 scale. The overall conclusions of this test was that of poor inter-examiner agreement. A second test was therefore undertaken at a later date using the same three operators and protocol but on this occasion each surface of the denture was evaluated by reference to a series of standard reference dentures painted to simulate plaque scores in the 0-10 range. This test showed there to be no significant difference in the plaque scores recorded by the three operators and that the plaque scores recorded on the polished surfaces were significantly lower than those on the teeth and fitting surfaces (F = 10.55, P < 0.001).

A comparison of remote afterloading and manually inserted caesium in the treatment of carcinoma of cervix

Between 1982 and 1985, 240 patients with carcinoma of cervix were treated by radical radiotherapy, 140 using the selectron at the Royal Beatson Memorial Hospital (RBMH) and 100 with conventional caesium at the Western Infirmary. To allow for the increased dose rate to point A (1.2-1.4 Gy/h) during selectron treatment the overall intracavity dose was reduced by a mean value of 25%. Local recurrence rates were similar: 15% (selectron) against 14% (conventional). Three-year survival with local control was somewhat worse in the selectron group (77% against 81%) mainly because of an increased frequency of metastatic disease with local control (19.3% against 12.0%. The use of remote afterloading has not increased late morbidity (15.7% selectron, 15.0% conventional). The introduction of the selectron has brought about a marked reduction in staff radiation exposure. At the RBMH the mean recorded dose to nurses fell from 19 mSv in 1981 to 2.4 mSv in 1985.

Non-ionic surfactant vesicles, niosomes, as a delivery system for the anti-leishmanial drug, sodium stibogluconate

Liver and serum concentrations of antimony in the mouse have been determined after administration of sodium stibogluconate in the free, liposomal and niosomal form. High liver and low serum values were attained by the use of both vesicular formulations. Niosomal sodium stibogluconate was shown to be more active than free drug against experimental murine visceral leishmaniasis, an effect apparently dependent on maintaining high drug levels in the infected reticuloendothelial system.

Randomized phase II studies in advanced colorectal carcinoma: a North Central Cancer Treatment Group study

5-FU, semustine (MeCCNU), triazinate (TZT), and razoxane (ICRF-159) have each shown activity against advanced colorectal cancer in studies by at least two investigative groups. Objective response rates, however, have been low, without evidence of increased patient survival. The hope of this study was that enhanced activity might result from giving these agents in two-drug combinations. There were 167 eligible and evaluable patients randomized among the programs: 5-FU at a dose of 500 mg/m2/day by iv push X 5 (F); 5-FU at a dose of 400 mg/m2/day iv X 5 plus TZT at a dose of 175 mg/m2/day iv X 3 (FT); 5-FU at a dose of 400 mg/m2/day plus ICRF-159 at a dose of 600 mg/m2/day orally X 3 (FI); MeCCNU at a dose of 150 mg/m2/day orally plus TZT at a dose of 200 mg/m2/day iv X 3 (MT); MeCCNU at a dose of 150 mg/m2 orally plus ICRF-159 at a dose of 500 mg/m2/day orally X 3 (MI); and ICRF-159 at a dose of 425 mg/m2/day orally X 3 plus TZT at a dose of 125 mg/m2/day iv X 3 (IT). Patients with limiting conditions (serum creatinine greater than 1.5 mg/dl or elevated bilirubin) were randomized among programs F, FI, and MI. Objective response rates by treatment arm were: F--13% (four of 31 patients); FT--13% (four of 31); FI--15% (four of 27); MT--11% (three of 28); MI--13% (four of 32); and IT--6% (one of 17). Response rates of combination arms were not significantly larger than those of 5-FU alone. With regard to survival, patients initially treated with 5-FU alone had the most favorable experience (median, 10.8 mos). Multivariate analysis showed the following factors to have a significant and independent influence on survival: Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance score, grade, site of indicator lesion, and the presence of 5-FU in the treatment regimen. Toxic effects most frequently seen were nausea, vomiting, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, diarrhea, stomatitis, alopecia, and dermatitis. The incidence and severity of toxicity were roughly comparable among the six treatment arms.

Fine structure of a radiation-induced osteogenic sarcoma

An osteogenic sarcoma arose in the right orbit of a 7-year-old boy some 5 years after the right orbit had been treated by four courses of radiotherapy (total dose approximately 13,000 rads) for a multicentric retinoblastoma. Death occurred 6 months after the orbital tumor was first detected. Study of the orbital tumor by electron microscopy revealed a cell population of varied morphology in which two main types were identified. In one group, the cells were large with radiolucent cytoplasm, which contained long branching segments of rough endoplasmic reticulum. In the second group, the cells were smaller with irregular nuclei and an electron-dense cytoplasm, which contained short segments of dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum and numerous mitochondria. The first group of cells closely resembled osteoblasts, while the second group had some features of osteoclasts or their percursors. The branching processes of the tumor cells were separated by an amorphous ground substance, which contained collagen-like fibrils and hydroxyapatite crystals. Crystal deposition was in some instances in close relation to extracellular membrane-bound vesicles.