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B West

Publications and source records attributed to B West.

118 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
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Evaluation in Papua New Guinea of a urine coagglutination test and a Widal slide agglutination test for rapid diagnosis of typhoid fever.

Two simple rapid tests for the laboratory diagnosis of typhoid fever were evaluated, a coagglutination test for detecting Salmonella typhi antigens in urine and a Widal slide agglutination for detecting serum antibodies. Ninety-two culture-confirmed typhoid cases were compared with 64 non-typhoid fever patients, 50 close contacts of typhoid patients, 30 vaccinated staff and 72 healthy community members. A strong urine Vi coagglutination was found to be 86.5% sensitive and 91.8% specific for typhoid, but was not always easy to read. The slide Widal H was found to be 99% sensitive and 95% specific whereas the slide Widal O was 98% sensitive and 98% specific. These data suggest that a single slide Widal O, at a reciprocal titre of 40, is the most suitable rapid test for the diagnosis of typhoid in a population with low typhoid antibody levels in the community, few other cross-reacting Salmonella infections, and a tendency for patients to present late in the infection.

Adolescent↗
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Auditing quality.

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Humans↗
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Telemedicine in rural care. Part 1: Developing and evaluating a nurse-led initiative.

AIM: To develop and evaluate a nurse-led telemedicine service over a six-month period, linking the senior citizens of a rural village with the town-based general practice. METHOD: Patients, doctors and nurses were asked to complete a questionnaire following video-link sessions. Interviews were also carried out at home with patients, while interviews with nurses and doctors took place in the workplace. RESULTS: Of the 173 consultations with villagers aged over 65, 29 (17 per cent) were conducted by video-link. All those who used this service were sent questionnaires and 18 were returned (62 per cent). Seven of the patients who had received one video-link consultation were interviewed in their homes. All of the patients initially found the video consultation experience strange. Generally, patients found the nurses to have a pivotal role in explaining the service and interpreting their needs. All those interviewed said they would use the service again. The GPs spoke favourably of the service and said that it had saved them time. The nurses involved were positive about the service. Negative comments generally related to technology, for example picture and sound quality. CONCLUSION: All involved in the nurse-led telemedicine service viewed it favourably and patients said that they would use it again. Part two, to be published in next week's Nursing Standard, will discuss the findings of the evaluation in relation to the wider picture of nursing involvement in teleconsultation.

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Telemedicine in rural care. Part 2: Assessing the wider issues.

BACKGROUND: The first article about this development (Macduff et al 2001) described the evolution of a nurse-led telemedicine service in the village of Hamlet (population 1,600), north-east Scotland, and presented the findings of an evaluation study. In this second article, those findings are discussed in relation to the wider picture of nursing involvement in teleconsultation. The village has no medical practice or pharmacy and the majority of Hamlet's residents aged over 65 are registered with the Bradieslea Road surgery, one of three general practices six miles away in the town of Bradieslea. The community nursing service is based in small rooms at a sheltered housing complex in the village. This service covers all patients in the Hamlet area. It is staffed by one full-time district nurse/health visitor (who acts as team leader) and one part-time district nurse. Both are qualified nurse prescribers. CONCLUSION: Opportunities now exist for nurses to use teleconsultation for the benefit of their patients. A systematic development of this type of nursing role through integration with broader service development would be valuable.

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