Diagnosis Commons^™

Assessment Of Falls On A Medical-Telemetry Unit, Andie Reed

Master's Projects and Capstones

The purpose of this quality improvement project aimed at reducing falls on a medical-telemetry unit in a large metropolitan Magnet hospital. It was important for the MSN/CNL students to focus on falls because it is not just a concern for this institution, it is a national dilemma that needs to be addressed. Due to the complexities and intricate details of the IRB process, the MSN/CNL students were unable to collect data or further advance their project into the microsystem. Instead, information was attained from the University of San Francisco database to allow the MSN/CNL students to continue with the steps …

Hepcidin-Mediated Iron Regulation In P19 Cells Is Detectable By Mri, Kobra Alizadeh Pourbouyeh

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can be used to track cellular activities in the body using iron-based contrast agents. However, intrinsic cellular iron handling mechanisms may also influence the detection of magnetic resonance (MR) contrast. For instance, inflammation involves downregulation of iron export in macrophages by the hormone hepcidin, due to degradation of the iron export protein, ferroportin (Fpn). We examined the effect of hepcidin on iron regulation and MR transverse relaxation rates in multi-potent P19 cells, which display high iron export activity, similar to macrophages. In response to varying conditions of iron supplementation, our results showed similar Fpn expression in …

Analysis Of Diagnostic, Preventive, And Disease-Modifying Therapeutic Measures Of Alzheimer’S Disease, Ghazal Habib Havoutis

HCNSO Student Capstones

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common late-onset neurodegenerative disorder and cause of dementia, characterized by the formation of neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaque deposits. The heterogeneous nature of the disease (both genetically and environmentally) makes it difficult to prevent or cure. Without prevention, the prevalence of AD is expected to triple by 2050. However, because the diagnosis of AD is usually preceded by years of cognitive impairment, early detection may aid in reducing prevalence. Thus, there is a need for validated diagnostic measures for early and improved diagnosis and prevention. In this review, current and ongoing classifiers of early …

E-Visits For Early Post-Operative Visits Following Orthopaedic Surgery Can They Add Efficiency Without Sacrificing Effectiveness, William G. Jeffery

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

We asked 217 sport surgery and 135 total knee arthroplasty (TKA) patients to complete a questionnaire (e-Visit) before attending their two and six-week post-operative appointment. Our primary objective was to use the questions asked of patients prior to their appointment to develop a model that could be used as web-based e-Visit to predict early post-operative adverse events. Gold standard comparison was the surgeon’s opinion as to the presence or absence of an event at follow-up. Secondary objective was evaluation of a simplified model. We found good area under the curve (AUC) statistics (0.76 (95% CI 0.69 - 0.84) and 0.80 …

Development Of 90th Percentile Norms For Ipsilateral Acoustic Reflex Thresholds: A Feasibility Study, Iris Wertheimer

Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects

The acoustic reflex threshold has been well established in the literature as an involuntary bilateral contraction of the stapedius muscle in response to loud transient sounds. Additionally, the clinical utility of the acoustic reflex threshold has been established as it allows for the differential diagnosis of many different conductive, cochlear and retrocochlear pathologies. Gelfand, Schwander and Silman (1990) have established and validated 90^th percentile normative data for use with the contralateral acoustic reflex threshold. Much of the literature on the acoustic reflex threshold has focused on the contralateral acoustic reflex threshold; however, surveys have found that many clinicians are …

The Acquisition And Analysis Of Electroencephalogram Data For The Classification Of Benign Partial Epilepsy Of Childhood With Centrotemporal Spikes, Jessica A. Scarborough

Master's Theses

In this thesis, I will expand upon each step in the process of acquiring and analyzing electroencephalogram (EEG) for the classification of benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes. Despite huge advancements in the field of health informatics—natural language processing, machine learning, predictive modeling—there are significant barriers to the access of clinical data. These barriers include information blocking, privacy policy concerns, and a lack of stakeholder support. We will see that these roadblocks are all responsible for stunting biomedical research in some way, including my own experiences in acquiring the data for the second chapter of this thesis.

This second chapter …

Quantifying Joint Coordination Variability In Anterior Cruciate Ligament-Reconstructed Individuals During Walking, Kylie Davis

Theses and Dissertations (ETD)

The knee is the second most common joint to sustain injury. An estimated 200,000 anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) ruptures occur each year in the United States alone, and about 100,000 ACL reconstruction (ACLR) surgeries are performed annually. There is a significant risk of developing osteoarthritis of the knee after incurring an ACL injury, and the incidence of ipsilateral or contralateral injury is six times greater in individuals who have a surgically repaired ACL. Past studies have analyzed kinetic and kinematic characteristics of individual lower extremity joints to reveal differences between subjects with and without ACLR. Despite reports of altered kinematic …

Portosystemic Shunts In Cats: Management And Care, Rachael E. Konke

Master of Arts in Professional Writing Capstones

Portosystemic Shunts in Cats: Management and Care is an informative technical manual developed for veterinary professionals and caretakers of cats with portosystemic shunts. A portosystemic shunt is a complex and rare circulatory deformity in which unfiltered blood bypasses the liver and circulates throughout the body causing serious complications. Portosystemic Shunts in Cats: Management and Care details portosystemic specifics, symptoms, treatment, and proper everyday care for cats with portosystemic shunts.

Proper Prescribing Of Controlled Drugs: A Pilot Study Of A Web-Based Learning Modules’ Impact On Knowledge, Attitude, And Practice In New Graduate Nurse Practitioners, Shelly Duckett

DNP Scholarly Projects

Controlled substance abuse is a global epidemic. Several factors that influence health care providers prescribing habits have been presented in recent literature. However, the existing evidence primarily reflects the prescribing habits of physicians, while relatively little is known about the prescribing habits of nurse practitioners. The purpose of this project is to evaluate the impact of a brief web-based continuing education module targeting appropriate prescribing of controlled substances for recent graduate nurse practitioners. The project served to assess the provider’s knowledge, attitude, and practice compared to current integrated curriculum on prescribing and assess change in knowledge. Two online educational modules …

Evaluating Evolving Leukocyte Populations In Peripheral Blood Circulation Post-Concussion In A Human Longitudinal Analysis Of Female Athletes, Kevin A. Blackney

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

Concussions are generating increasing concern due to potential long-term neurological consequences. Currently there is no universally recognized diagnostic approach for concussion. I hypothesize that a signature temporal response of biomarkers of inflammation in systemic circulation will provide an objective diagnosis of concussion and could also be used to track patient recovery. The Western University women’s rugby team underwent blood draws at pre-season and post-season as a baseline evaluation, and players determined to have sustained a concussion underwent repeat blood analysis post-concussion. Blood samples were analyzed by flow cytometry to profile immune cell populations alongside accepted concussion assessments, and complete blood …

Dosing Of Education For Patients Newly Diagnosed With Multiple Sclerosis, Laura K. Miller

Student Dissertations

The value of patient education has been widely documented in various patient populations. The main focus of this study is to evaluate the timing of patient education in correlation with the time since diagnosis. The goal of this study is to make recommendations for the optimal time in which patient education should be delivered following a diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). This study evaluates self-advocacy using the Patient Self-Advocacy Scale (PSAS) which was completed pre and post educational programs. This data, combined with demographic data was analyzed for any relationships. Although no statistically significant findings were established, many important trends …

Discovery Of Novel Diagnostic Biomarkers On Prostate Tumor Microparticles For Discriminating Between Low And High Risk Prostate Cancer And Improving Prostate Cancer Screening, Sabine Brett

Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository

There are few protein-based biomarkers to accurately distinguish between patients with low risk prostate cancer from those with high risk disease in a non-invasive manner. Prostate specific antigen (PSA) is used for clinical follow-up of prostate cancer; however, it is not effective as a screening tool. As a result, many men with non-life threatening disease having to undergo unnecessary and painful biopsies. Therefore, there is a dire need for minimally invasive platforms for monitoring patients with clinically significant prostate cancer. Prostate cell microparticles (PCMPs) released by prostate epithelial cells into plasma are a potential source of biomarkers specific for prostate …

Enhanced Breast Cancer Classification With Automatic Thresholding Using Support Vector Machine And Harris Corner Detection, Mohammad Taheri

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Image classification and extracting the characteristics of a tumor are the powerful tools in medical science. In case of breast cancer medical treatment, the breast cancer classification methods can be used to classify input images as benign and malignant classes for better diagnoses and earlier detection with breast tumors. However, classification process can be challenging because of the existence of noise in the images, and complicated structures of the image. Manual classification of the images is timeconsuming, and need to be done only by medical experts. Hence using an automated medical image classification tool is useful and necessary. In addition, …

Halo- And Solvato-Fluorochromic Polymer Nanoassemblies For Cancer Theranostics, Derek Alexander Reichel

Theses and Dissertations--Pharmacy

Theranostics is an emerging treatment approach that combines diagnostics with therapy in order to personalize treatment regimens for individual patients and decrease cancer mortality. Previously, nanoparticles entrapping conventional fluorescent dyes were developed for cancer theranostics, but fluorescent nanoparticles did not allow clinicians to significantly improve cancer treatments.

The use of fluorescent dyes that are sensitive to solvent acidity (halo-fluorochromism) and polarity (solvato-fluorochromism) may overcome the limitations of fluorescent nanoparticles and improve cancer therapy by enabling researchers to detect chemical properties within the nanoparticle core environment. The model halo- and solvato-fluorochromic dye Nile blue was attached to the core of nanoscale …

Biomarkers Of Sepsis: A Retrospective Approach, Jose M. Roberts

Williams Honors College, Honors Research Projects

Background: Biomarkers are taking the spotlight in becoming the norm for early diagnoses. Sepsis is an inflammatory disease that increases metabolic rate in children. The first biomarker is hyponatremia. Hyponatremia is a frequent electrolyte imbalance in clinical practice, often observed in children with inflammatory disease and infection. Presence of hyponatremia is associated with electrical signaling imbalances, inflammation and renal dysfunction. The clinical value of hyponatremia in pediatric patients is unknown. The C-reactive protein is a second biomarker. Its presence signifies that necrotic cells and inflammation are present.

Objectives: To evaluate the use of biomarkers in children seen in the Emergency …