High frequency of potential entrapment gaps in hospital beds

Report published in Age and Ageing calls for more care to be taken when using bedrails in hospitals

2014-07-30

(Press-News.org) A survey of beds within a large teaching hospital in Ireland has shown than many of them did not comply with dimensional standards put in place to minimise the risk of entrapment. The report, published online in the journal Age and Ageing, therefore emphasises the need for careful selection of patients for whom bedrails are to be used, as well as the need for monitoring and maintenance of hospital bed systems.

Bedrails are commonly used as safety devices to prevent people falling from bed. However, although the risk for any individual is extremely low, people can and have become trapped or even strangled in almost all of the spaces that can exist between bedrails or between mattresses, rails, and head- or foot-boards.

The four zones within the bed system which account for 80% of reported entrapment incidents and for which the FDA provide dimensional guidance were assessed. Zone 1 is any open space between the perimeters of the rail; zone 2 is the space under the rail or between the rail supports; zone 3 is the space between the inside surface of the bedrail and the mattress and zone 4 is a gap between the mattress and rail at the end of the rail. Zones 1𔃁 pose a risk of head entrapment, and gaps should be END

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

Chinese mosquitos on the Baltic Sea

2014-07-30

The analysis of the roughly 3,000 pieces is still in its infant stage. But it is already evident that the results will be of major significance. "Amazingly often, we are finding–in addition to Asian forms–the same insect species in Fushun amber that we found in Baltic amber," explained Bonn paleontologist Professor Dr. Jes Rust. The Baltic amber comes from the Baltic Sea region, which is almost 10,000 kilometers from Fushun. Sites rich in finds are, e.g., the coastal regions of Mecklenburg, Poland and Belarus. The pieces from the Baltic region are slightly younger than ...

All-in-one energy system offers greener power for off-grid homes, farms

2014-07-30

An innovative 'trigeneration' system fuelled entirely by raw plant oils could have great potential for isolated homes and businesses operating outside grid systems both in the UK and abroad. Developed by a consortium led by Newcastle University and funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) through the RCUK Energy Programme, the small-scale combined cooling, heat and power system has been designed to provide dependable electricity without the need for a mains connection. Ideally suited for small-holdings and businesses, and particularly ...

Toward a home test for detecting potentially dangerous levels of caffeine

2014-07-30

The shocking news of an Ohio teen who died of a caffeine overdose in May highlighted the potential dangers of the normally well-tolerated and mass-consumed substance. To help prevent serious health problems that can arise from consuming too much caffeine, scientists are reporting progress toward a rapid, at-home test to detect even low levels of the stimulant in most beverages and even breast milk. Their report appears in ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. Mani Subramanian and colleagues note that caffeine's popularity as a "pick-me-up" has led to it being ...

Hope for more accurate diagnosis of memory problems

2014-07-30

More accurate tests could be created to diagnose diseases such as Alzheimer's or memory problems stemming from head injuries, leading to earlier intervention, according to new findings from the University of East Anglia. The research involved investigating the components of memory using a combination of tests and neuroimaging – a method that could be used to create a diagnostic tool for distinguishing between different types of dementia, memory damage from stroke or forms of amnesia caused by head trauma. Dr Louis Renoult, a lecturer in UEA's School of Psychology, said: ...

Exploring 3-D printing to make organs for transplants

2014-07-30

Printing whole new organs for transplants sounds like something out of a sci-fi movie, but the real-life budding technology could one day make actual kidneys, livers, hearts and other organs for patients who desperately need them. In the ACS journal Langmuir, scientists are reporting new understanding about the dynamics of 3-D bioprinting that takes them a step closer to realizing their goal of making working tissues and organs on-demand. Yong Huang and colleagues note that this idea of producing tissues and organs, or biofabricating, has the potential to address the ...

Nature inspires a greener way to make colorful plastics

2014-07-30

Long before humans figured out how to create colors, nature had already perfected the process — think stunning, bright butterfly wings of many different hues, for example. Now scientists are tapping into those secrets to develop a more environmentally friendly way to make colored plastics. Their paper on using structure — or the shapes and architectures of materials — rather than dyes, to produce color appears in the ACS journal Nano Letters. N. Asger Mortensen, Anders Kristensen and colleagues point out that currently, plastic manufacturers add pigments to their products. ...

Fighting over proposed changes to food labels

2014-07-30

To help Americans make better decisions about what they eat, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this year proposed significant changes to the Nutrition Facts label found on nearly every food product in the U.S. An article in Chemical & Engineering News (C&EN), the weekly news magazine of the American Chemical Society, explains the suggested updates — and the fight that has ensued. Britt Erickson, a senior editor at C&EN, points out that while the Nutrition Facts label has remained largely the same for two decades, nutrition science has not — and neither have ...

Brainwaves can predict audience reaction

2014-07-30

Media and marketing experts have long sought a reliable method of forecasting responses from the general population to future products and messages. According to a study conducted at The City College of New York, it appears that the brain responses of just a few individuals are a remarkably strong predictor. By analyzing the brainwaves of 16 individuals as they watched mainstream television content, researchers were able to accurately predict the preferences of large TV audiences, up to 90 % in the case of Super Bowl commercials. The findings appear in a paper entitled, ...

Brazilian researchers identify RNA that regulates cell death

2014-07-30

Researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP) have identified an RNA known as INXS that, although containing no instructions for the production of a protein, modulates the action of an important gene in the process of apoptosis, or programmed cell death. According to Sergio Verjovski-Almeida, professor at the USP Chemistry Institute and coordinator of a research funded by São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP), INXS expression is generally diminished in cancer cells, and methods that are capable of stimulating the production of this non-coding RNA can be used to ...

Scientists caution against exploitation of deep ocean

2014-07-30

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The world's oceans are vast and deep, yet rapidly advancing technology and the quest for extracting resources from previously unreachable depths is beginning to put the deep seas on the cusp of peril, an international team of scientists warned this week. In an analysis in Biogeosciences, which is published by the European Geosciences Union, the researchers outline "services" or benefits provided by the deep ocean to society. Yet using these services, now and in the future, is likely to make a significant impact on that habitat and what it ultimately ...

Scientists uncover the first clear evidence of air sacs in the fossilized bones of alvarezsaurian dinosaurs: the "hollow bones" which help modern day birds to fly

Alcohol makes male flies sexy

TB patients globally often incur "catastrophic costs" of up to $11,329 USD, despite many countries offering free treatment, with predominant drivers of cost being hospitalization and loss of income

High frequency of potential entrapment gaps in hospital beds

ELSE PRESS RELEASES FROM THIS DATE:

LAST 30 PRESS RELEASES: