CONTEXT Intercessory prayer (praying for others) has been a common response to sickness for millennia, but it has received little scientific attention. The positive findings of a previous controlled trial of intercessory prayer have yet to be replicated. OBJECTIVE To determine whether remote, intercessory prayer for hospitalized, cardiac patients will reduce overall adverse events and length ...

BACKGROUND There is no simple and practical way to monitor sleep patterns in patients in acute care units. We designed this study to assess sleep patterns, energy expenditure and circadian rhythms of patients' skin temperature in the coronary care unit (CCU) utilizing a new portable device. MATERIAL/METHODS The SenseWear Armband (SWA) was used to record sleep duration, distribution over 24 hr...

OBJECTIVES To establish the feasibility of training paramedics of diagnose acute myocardial infarction by ECG before hospital admission and whether direct paramedic coronary care admission, arranged by very high frequency (VHF) radio communication with the coronary care unit (CCU), would reduce delay of thrombolysis treatment. DESIGN Prospective controlled study. SETTING District general ho...

AIMS   The optimal method for diagnostic collection of urine in children is unclear. National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence recommend specimens taken by clean catch urine (CCU) for identification of urinary tract infection (UTI). We investigated contamination rates for CCU, suprapubic aspiration (SPA), catheter specimen urine (CSU) and bag specimen urine (BSU) collections. METHO...

The possibility that Ureaplasma urealyticum might play an important role in human infertility was first raised more than 20 years ago, but this association remains speculative. Considering the hypothesis that the pathogenicity of Ureaplasma urealyticum may depend on its serotypes, the clastogenic effects of different strains of Ureaplasma urealyticum, at concentrations of 10(3) CCU (color chang...

BACKGROUND Covert contraceptive use (CCU) in sub-Saharan Africa is an indication of women's inability to exercise autonomy in their reproductive choices. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and determinants of CCU among a sample of FP clients in a municipality of Ghana. METHODS We conducted a mixed method study among women attending a public reproductive health clinic in Sunyan...

BACKGROUND Sustained hyperglycemia is a known risk factor for adverse outcomes in critically ill patients. The specific aim was to determine if a nurse initiated insulin infusion protocol (IIP) was effective in maintaining blood glucose values (BG) within a target goal of 100-150 mg/dL across different intensive care units (ICUs) and to describe glycemic control during the 48 hours after protoc...

The major factor influencing the outcome of thrombolytic therapy for acute myocardial infarction is the " door to needle " time. For every hour that thrombolytic treatment is delayed after the onset of symptoms, 1.6 lives are lost per 1000 patients treated. 1 In many institutions the door to needle time exceeds one hour. Various attempts have been made to reduce unacceptable treatment delays. T...

BACKGROUND Men who have sex with men (MSM) are a marginalized population at high risk for HIV infection. Promoting consistent condom use (CCU) during anal sex is a key risk reduction strategy for HIV prevention among MSM. To inform effective HIV prevention interventions, we examined the factors associated with CCU among MSM with their regular, paying, and casual partners, as well as with all th...

Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) is a field of key emerging technologies. CCU can support the economy to decrease the dependency on fossil carbon raw materials, to stabilize electricity grids and markets with respect to a growing share of fluctuating renewable energy. Furthermore, it can contribute to mitigate anthropogenic CO2 emissions. The German Federal Ministry of Education and Researc...