Genetics of problems that require a lot of nurse care
No one likes to be in the hospital. But, sometimes, we cannot avoid it. If you are in the hospital for more than a few days, you are at risk for certain things. For example, if you are stuck in a bed or chair the whole time, you could get a bedsore. Bedsores are skin injuries caused by the weight of our bodies. They happen where we have a bone close to the skin. Like part of our backbone, or tailbone. They can also happen on our shoulder blades. Or elbows, ankles, heels, and hips. Nurses try to help. They “turn” us every few hours so we are not in one position for too long. But sometimes, bedsores still happen. Other things can happen, too. Pain drugs may make you breathe slower. You could also get an infection from a wound that is not healing. Nurses try to watch out for these signs before it gets too bad. But, like bedsores, sometimes things still get worse. Even if nurses do everything right, bad things can still happen. Scientists think that genetics may play a role. Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center will use BioVU to study these problems. They will look for people who did and did not get bedsores. Then they will look for gene changes in those patients. They will check for a link between gene changes and bedsores. Then they will look for patients who got drugs to help with their pain. They will see who did ok, and whose breathing slowed down. Again, they will look for gene changes and check for a link to slowed breathing. They will do the same process for people who got really sick from a wound that did not heal. The goal is to check if gene changes put you at risk for any of these things. Say you are at risk for slowed breathing from certain pain drugs. We could give you a different kind of pain drug. If you are at risk for an infection from a wound, we could give you a stronger drug to fight off the infection. We do not want to add problems when you are with us. We want to make sure no one has to be in the hospital longer than they have to.