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Biomedical subjects

B Sibbald

Publications and source records attributed to B Sibbald.

210 records · Page 12Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

Questionnaire assessment of patients' attitudes and beliefs about asthma.

The feasibility, face validity and repeatability of a self-complete questionnaire to assess patients' attitudes and beliefs about asthma was evaluated in 45 adult patients attending a hospital asthma clinic. The questionnaire consisted of 40 statements with which the patient agreed or disagreed by placing an 'X' along a visual analogue line. Patients completed questionnaires at their clinic consultation and then were interviewed to ascertain whether questionnaire responses agreed with a verbal description of their attitudes and beliefs. Repeatability was assessed by having patients complete an identical questionnaire four weeks after their interview. The questionnaire responses showed excellent agreement with interview findings, suggesting that face validity was good. Repeatability also appeared satisfactory in that agreement between responses on the first and second questionnaires was significant for 31 of the 40 items. Many patients (22%) incorrectly used the analogue line response scale making feasibility unacceptably low. However, subsequent studies showed this problem could be overcome by the use of a four-point Likert response scale. These findings suggest that this questionnaire is a satisfactory instrument for assessing patients' attitudes and beliefs about asthma. Its face validity appeared good and, with certain modifications, it was both feasible and repeatable.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

An open cross-over trial comparing two doses of astemizole and beclomethasone dipropionate in the treatment of perennial rhinitis.

An open cross-over trial comparing astemizole with intra-nasal aqueous beclomethasone dipropionate was carried out in forty-five perennial rhinitis patients attending a S.W. London general practice. Each drug was given for 12 weeks, separated by 4-8 weeks without medication. The principal outcome measure was a 7-day symptom diary completed by patients during weeks 4, 8 and 12. Patients were skin tested to seven common inhalant allergens. Half the patients beginning either regime failed to respond adequately within 2 weeks. Doubling the dose in these patients achieved satisfactory symptom control in an additional 67% on beclomethasone dipropionate and 45% on astemizole. Symptom diary scores showed beclomethasone dipropionate to be significantly more effective than astemizole in the treatment of skin test negative patients; but the two drugs were of equal benefit in the treatment of skin test positive patients. Sneezing and rhinorrhoea were the same on both drugs, but nasal blockage tended to be less severe on beclomethasone dipropionate. There was no significant difference between drugs in the frequency or duration of side effects. Beclomethasone dipropionate and astemizole are equally effective in the symptomatic treatment of atopic perennial rhinitis, but beclomethasone dipropionate may offer superior symptom relief in non-atopic perennial rhinitis.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1986

A comparative study of ketanserin and metoprolol in essential hypertension.

The efficacy and tolerability of ketanserin was compared with metoprolol in a double-blind parallel group study. After a 4-week placebo run-in on no treatment patients with a diastolic blood pressure (BP) of 95 mmHg or more received ketanserin 40 mg (n = 16) or metoprolol 100 mg (n = 17) twice daily. Blood pressure was measured in duplicate using a Hawksley random zero sphygmomanometer. Both blood pressure and heart rate were recorded after 5 min supine and 1 min standing. Patients visited after 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment. Systolic, diastolic and mean arterial BPs, both supine and standing, were significantly reduced from week 2 by both treatments (P less than 0.05, Student's t-test). The mean (+/- s.e.m.) changes in supine BP at 3 months compared with baseline were -15.7 (3.6) mmHg systolic and -13.9 (2.7) mmHg diastolic in the ketanserin group and -26.6 (7.9) mmHg systolic and -15.2 (2.7) mmHg diastolic in the metoprolol group. There was a tendency for the fall in systolic BP to be greater in the metoprolol group, but this did not reach statistical significance except for the standing systolic BP at 1 month. Metoprolol caused a significant fall in heart rate compared with baseline values throughout the study, and the metoprolol group was significantly different from the ketanserin group at 2 months for the supine heart rate and at all time points for standing heart rate.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Evaluating health education in asthma -- developing the methodology: preliminary communication.

The results are reported of a preliminary study to a controlled trial evaluating health education in asthma. A questionnaire designed to assess asthma morbidity in the previous twelve months and knowledge of the condition was administered to 50 asthma patients. An independent assessment of morbidity was made by the patient's general practitioners, utilizing case notes and their knowledge of the patients. For each aspect of morbidity, `severe' asthma as assessed by doctors tended to be associated with increasing disability on questionnaire assessment. Overall, questionnaire `morbidity scores' were significantly higher in the doctors' `severe' group. Patients' level of knowledge was low, but no significant correlation was found between patients' level of knowledge and level of morbidity.The findings suggest that there is a need for health education in asthma, and that the questionnaire used is a valid tool for measuring the impact of such education on patients' morbidity. An outline of the controlled trial for evaluation of health education is given.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1980

Extrinsic and intrinsic asthma: influence of classification on family history of asthma and allergic disease.

The distributions of asthma, hay fever and eczema were examined in the first degree relatives of 516 asthmatics grouped according to atopic status, history of hay fever/eczema and history of asthma provoked by pollens, dust or animals. The prevalences of both asthma and eczema in relatives were strongly correlated with the presence of hay fever/eczema in probands and to a lesser extent with their atopic status. The prevalence of hay fever in relatives was strongly correlated with both the presence of hay fever/eczema and the degree of atopy in probands. In contrast, allergic provocation of asthma in probands did not influence the prevalences of asthma, hay fever or eczema. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that there is an increased risk of asthma in relatives of atopic asthmatics which may arise from the enhanced susceptibility to asthma of individuals who inherit both a predisposition to asthma and a predisposition to atopy.

Asthma↗
PubMed1980

A family study of the genetic basis of asthma and wheezy bronchitis.

The family histories relating to asthma and wheezy bronchitis were examined in 77 asthmatic, 78 wheezy bronchitic, and 87 control children, aged between 1 and 12 years. The percentage of children with at least one asthmatic relative was significantly greater in the asthmatic and wheezy bronchitic probands than in the controls; and asthma was more prevalent in the relatives of both groups of wheezy probands than in the relatives of controls. Similarly, the percentage of children with at least one wheezy bronchitic relative tended to be greater in asthmatic and wheezy bronchitic probands than in the controls; and wheezy bronchitis tended to be more prevalent in the relatives of both groups of wheezy probands than in the relatives of controls. However these differences did not reach significance. The strong similarities between asthmatic and wheezy bronchitic children in their family histories of asthma and wheezy bronchitis suggest that these two forms of wheezy illness share a common genetic defect.

Asthma↗
PubMed1980

Genetic factors in childhood asthma.

The prevalences of asthma and atopy were examined in the families of 77 asthmatic and 87 control children attending a London general practice. The prevalence of asthma in first degree relatives of asthmatic children was found to be significantly higher than in relatives of control children, and this difference was more pronounced for relatives of atopic probands than for relatives of non-atopic probands. Among the relatives of asthmatics, atopic asthma was more common than non-atopic asthma, irrespective of the atopic status of the proband. However, among the relatives of control children, neither the prevalence of asthma nor the atopic status of the asthmatic relatives was influenced by the atopic status of the proband. These findings support the hypothesis that asthma and atopy are inherited independently. Although atopy itself does not predispose to asthma, it may enhance a genetic susceptibility to the condition, thus increasing the likelihood that the latter will be expressed.

Asthma↗
PubMed1980

Genetic basis of sex differences in the prevalence of asthma.

The possibility that sex differences in the prevalence of asthma are caused by a genetic sex influence was investigated in 298 asthmatic patients with three or more positive skin tests (sex ratio=1.35) and in 94 asthmatic patients with no positive skin tests (sex ratio=0.58). The distribution of asthma among the male and female relatives of the male and female patients was uniform in both groups, indicating there was no genetic sex influence.

Allergens↗
PubMed1979

Factors influencing the prevalence of asthma among first degree relatives of extrinsic and intrinsic asthmatics.

The prevalence of asthma, hay fever, and eczema was examined in first degree relatives of extrinsic (atopic) and intrinsic (non-atopic) asthmatics attending the asthma clinics of the Brompton Hospital and the Doncaster Royal Infirmary. In both the Doncaster and Brompton populations the prevalence of asthma, hay fever, and eczema was significantly higher among relatives of extrinsic than among relatives of intrinsic asthmatics. Furthermore, the prevalence of these traits tended to be higher among siblings of extrinsic probands with one or both parents affected than among siblings of probands with neither parent affected. Most importantly, the prevalence of asthma among first degree relatives was positively correlated with the prevalence of hay fever or eczema or both among relatives and with the degree of atopy in the probands. These findings are consistent with the results of previous investigations in which the expression of asthma was shown to depend on a genetic predisposition to the trait as well as exposure to environmental provoking agents. We further suggest that the presence of atopy in genetically predisposed individuals increases the risk of developing asthma.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Congenital anomalies ascertained by two record systems run in parallel in the Canadian Province of Alberta.

To assess the quality and appropriateness of Canadian Congenital Anomalies Surveillance System (CCASS), a system based on routine hospital admission/separation records, we compared the congenital anomalies ascertained by CCASS for the period of January 1, 1990 to December 31, 1993 in the province of Alberta with corresponding figures obtained from Alberta Congenital Anomalies Surveillance System (ACASS), a specific-purpose surveillance program collecting information on congenital anomalies from multiple sources with mechanisms to evaluate diagnosis. Rates of congenital anomalies estimated by CCASS tended to be higher. Agreement between CCASS and ACASS depended on diagnosis: for the International Clearinghouse for Birth Defects Monitoring System standard categories of congenital anomalies (except for anomalies of abdominal wall), agreement usually exceeded 50%; for less clear-cut diagnoses, it was well below 50%. We conclude that routine medical records can be used for surveillance purposes for major congenital anomalies with clear-cut diagnosis.

Alberta↗