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Biomedical subjects

A Anis

Publications and source records attributed to A Anis.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

The skin we are in--knowledge and practices regarding skin cancer in pre-clinical medical students.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the level of knowledge about skin cancer in youth and to explore the influence of gender and system of education on their knowledge and practices. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A questionnaire-based study was conducted at The Aga Khan University Medical College (AKUMC), on Year 2 pre-clinical medical students. Descriptive analyses to examine the frequency distribution, chi-square test and factor analysis were applied using SPSS. RESULTS: Seventyone students participated in the study; 90% scored > 55% in the questions regarding knowledge of Malignant melanoma (MM), whereas in the questions assessing practice only 11% of the respondents scored > 52%. They were largely unaware that appearance of a new mole is a risk factor for MM (56% respondents incorrect) and that skin cancer is one of the most common cancers (54% respondents incorrect). 73% reported being sunburned at least once during childhood and 40% suffered sunburns at least once this summer, which points to the inadequacy of sun protection. The risk of MM may double if severe sunburns are experienced during childhood. Education system and gender did not affect the knowledge and practices. The popular sources of learning about skin cancer were magazines (52%) followed by television (42%). CONCLUSION: There is a need for epidemiological studies in Pakistani population regarding skin cancer. For preventing excessive solar exposure which leads to sunburns, we recommend interventions like a Pilot Program for photoprotection education and Sun Awareness Week to improve knowledge and sun protection behavior.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Implementation of a clinical practice guideline for stress ulcer prophylaxis increases appropriateness and decreases cost of care.

OBJECTIVE: To develop, implement and evaluate a practice guideline for stress ulcer prophylaxis. DESIGN: Before-after study. SETTING: Ten-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and 4-bed Step-down Unit in a teaching hospital. PATIENTS AND PARTICIPANTS: Fifty patients admitted during 1 year before and 50 patients admitted 3-6 months after introduction of the guideline. INTERVENTION: Introduction of the practice guideline by dissemination of pocket cards, seminars and "academic detailing". MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Appropriateness (defined as proportion of days in which the prophylaxis met the criteria in the guideline), incidence of gastrointestinal bleeding and of ventilator-associated pneumonia, length of stay in ICU and in hospital, ventilator days. ICU mortality and medication costs for stress ulcer prophylaxis. After the introduction of the guideline, appropriateness increased from 75.8% to 91.1%, and medication costs decreased from C $2.50/day to C $1.30/day. There were no differences in any clinical outcomes. Predictors of appropriate use or the withholding of prophylaxis were the introduction of the guideline, lack of an indication for prophylaxis and number of days studied. CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of this guideline was associated with an increase in appropriateness of prophylaxis and a decrease in medication costs.

Algorithms↗
PubMed1996

Cost-effectiveness analysis of potential improvements to emergency medical services for victims of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To measure the incremental cost-effectiveness of various improvements to emergency medical services (EMS) systems aimed at increasing survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. METHODS: We performed cost-effectiveness analysis based on (1) metaanalysis of effectiveness of the various EMS systems, (2) costing of each component of EMS systems, (3) modeling of the relationship between the proportion of cardiac arrest victims who receive CPR and the proportion of individuals trained, (4) modeling of the relationship between response time interval and the characteristics of the EMS system, (5) measurement of quality of life, and (6) decision analysis to combine the results of the first five components. RESULTS: The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio for a 48-second improvement in mean response time in a one-tier EMS system yielded by the addition of more EMS providers was $368,000 per quality-adjusted life year (QALY). For improved response time in a two-tier EMS system by the addition of more basic life support (BLS)/BLS-defibrillator (BLS-D) providers to the first tier, the ratio was $53,000 per QALY with pump vehicles or $159,000 per QALY with ambulances. Change from a one-tier EMS to a two-tier EMS system by the addition of initial BLS/BLS-D providers in pump vehicles as the first tier was associated with a cost per QALY of $40,000. Change from one-tier EMS to two-tier EMS by the addition of initial BLS/BLS-D providers in ambulances as the first tier was associated with a cost per QALY of $94,000. CONCLUSION: The most attractive options in terms of incremental cost-effectiveness were improved response time in a two-tier EMS system or change from a one-tier to a two-tier EMS system. Future research should be directed toward identification of the costs of instituting the first tier of a two-tier EMS system and identification of cost-effective methods of improving response time.

Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation↗
PubMed1996

PhacoTmesis.

I was extremely delighted to be invited to write a review of PhacoTmesis. However, there is not enough existing literature to review other than a few short articles authored by myself and a few short statements made by some investigators commenting on their short one-time trial of PhacoTmesis. The reason for this is that it has taken Chiron (Clairmont, CA) and myself more than 5 years to develop and evolve the concept and the machine to the level at which it can be used clinically with safety and efficiency prior to making it available to other ophthalmologists to explore its capabilities.

Equipment Design↗
PubMed1980

Biochemical properties of Egyptian Cerastes venoms in relation to geographic distribution.

Total proteins, electrophoretic analysis, biological lethality, and phospholipase activity of five members of the Cerastes-viper species living along the Nile Valley were investigated. Elevation of environmental temperature was accompanied with high values for these indices. It is concluded that zoological distribution and environmental conditions could influence the overall biological behaviour of snake venoms of the same species.

Animals↗