Cath Lab Digest - May 2008 - (Page 47)

CLINICAL AND INDUSTRY NEWS 47 Houston, TX Website: www.cathlabdigest.com/basics2008/ ♥ Start Date: January 5, 2009 Winter Quarter: On-Line RCIS Review Course Spokane Community College Location: On-line (pre-registration required by December 29, 2008) Website: www.scc.spokane.edu/?ceonline (or) http://www.rcisreview.com/SCConlineRCISreview.html ♥ Start Date: April 6, 2009 Spring Quarter: On-Line RCIS Review Course Spokane Community College Location: On-line (pre-registration required by March 30, 2009) Website: www.scc.spokane.edu/?ceonline (or) http://www.rcisreview.com/SCConlineRCISreview.html What Do You Think? Multiple new and ongoing questions from readers. Your responses are welcome! Answer or pose a question at cathlabdigest@aol.com. New Questions Inventory Coordinator Duties At the Medical University of South Carolina, we are trying to gather more information about a specific job title that was represented in the Cath Lab Digest March 2008 Salary Survey results. The job title was Inventory Coordinator. I’m looking for qualifications and job descriptions from any hospital that has this position. Thank you! Kelly N. Howard, RT(R) Billing/Supply Coordinator Adult Heart Catheterization MUSC- Ashley River Tower Charleston, SC Email: howardk@musc.edu Cc: cathlabdigest@aol.com the tension of wearing the lead apron for a lengthy duration? Narelle Kent Occupational Health & Safety (Training) Officer Australian Nursing Federation (Victorian Branch) Melbourne VIC Email: nkent@anfvic.asn.au Cc: cathlabdigest@aol.com Sheaths Left in Place When an arterial sheath is left in place for whatever reason, what is the accepted connection? Is a pressurized saline flush necessary to prevent clot formation? This sheath is to be removed in 4 hours. Mary Floyd, RN, BSN, CCRN, RCIS, Director, Cardiac Catheterization Lab Lewis Gale Medical Center Email: Mary.Floyd@ hcahealthcare.com Cc: cathlabdigest@aol.com Low Thyroid Output Tied to Heart Attacks in Women Career Ladder Hi, at our institution (Genesis Medical Center in Davenport, IA), we are attempting to institute a career ladder for RT(R)s. Can any lab give input as to how they established their ladder and how it works? We would really appreciate it! Sincerely, Jena Moore, RTR, CVIT, BA Email: mooreje@genesishealth.com Cc: cathlabdigest@aol.com W Female Patients and Foleys We are a tertiary care hospital seeing 5,000 patients per year for cath. Our lab routinely starts 2 peripheral IVs and places a Foley catheter for all female patients. What is the practice in your lab? We are considering a change (to one IV, no Foley). Thank you! Kathleen Kearney, NP,C Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Interventional Cardiology Beth Israel Medical Center Boston, MA Email: KKearney@chpnet.org Cc: cathlabdigest@aol.com Lead Aprons Does anyone have a policy in relation to lead aprons? Including: • An allowance for wearing a lead apron? • Regular breaks allocated? • Employers providing private massage treatment to relieve omen with a slightly underactive thyroid gland appear to be at increased risk for death from heart attacks and other types of heart disease, according to findings from a Norwegian study reported in the April 28th Archives of Internal Medicine. Emerging evidence suggests that as thyroid function drops, blood pressure and cholesterol levels rise as does the risk of heart problems, note Dr. Bjorn O. Asvold at Trondheim University Hospital and colleagues. Asvold’s group investigated the association in a study of 17,311 female and 8002 male participants in the Nord-Trondelag Health Study who were free of heart disease, thyroid disease, and diabetes when the study began. Subjects were over 40 years old between 1995 and 1997, when levels of thyrotropin, a hormone that gauges thyroid function, were measured. During follow up through 2004, 192 women and 164 men died of heart disease who appeared to have normal thyroid function. That is, none of the patients had any signs or symptoms of an underactive or overactive thyroid gland. Among subjects with seemingly normal thyroid function, women with the least active glands were 69 percent more likely to die from heart disease than women with more active glands. No similar association was seen in men. “To our knowledge, no clinical trial has tested whether (treatment with thyroid hormone) could protect against heart disease,” the authors note. However, there is evidence that such treatment can reduce high blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and body weight, they add. ■ http://www.cathlabdigest.com/basics2008/ http://www.scc.spokane.edu/?ceonline http://www.rcisreview.com/SCConlineRCISreview.html http://www.scc.spokane.edu/?ceonline http://www.rcisreview.com/SCConlineRCISreview.html http://www.cardiacservicesinc.com http://www.cardiacservicesinc.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Cath Lab Digest - May 2008

Cath Lab Digest - May 2008 The King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre Cell Therapy in the Cath Lab for Heart Failure: A Look at MyoCell® Therapy and the SEISMIC Trial Performance Improvement Strategies Speed Up Treatment Times in the Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Patients Contents Clinical Editor’s Corner Commentary: Performance Improvement Strategies Speed Up Treatment Times in the Management of ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction (STEMI) Patients Ask the STEMI Expert Comparing Drug-Eluting Stents and Bare-Metal Stents SICP: The Ten-Minute Interview with… Christopher Kambak, RT(R) Cardiac Cath Lab Economics in a Public Hospital of a Developing Country Keeping Your Heart & Vascular Employees: Proven Ideas for an Effective Retention Plan Unspoken Words Ask the Clinical Instructor Society of Invasive Cardiovascular Professionals Meetings Calendar Education Center What Do You Think? Clinical & Industry News Classifieds Advertisers Index

Cath Lab Digest - May 2008

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