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Biomedical subjects

D Brogan

Publications and source records attributed to D Brogan.

49 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1986

End-stage renal disease treatment modality and patients' quality of life. Longitudinal assessment.

Quality of life assessments were obtained at two 18-month follow-up intervals from 97 end-stage renal disease patients. Data were compared for three stable treatment groups (transplant, home hemodialysis, in-center hemodialysis) and for two transfer treatment groups (hemodialysis to transplant, hemodialysis to continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis). Home hemodialysis patients demonstrated the highest quality of life and lowest hospitalization rates over time. Transplant patients had higher employment and perceived health status but not necessarily higher subjective quality of life as compared to in-center hemodialysis patients, and transplant patients experienced more hospitalization. At follow-up, hemodialysis patients who obtained transplants assessed their quality of life as higher than did hemodialysis patients who went on continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Financial cost as an obstacle to hypertension therapy.

A home health interview, including blood pressure measurements, was conducted on 4,688 adults representing the noninstitutionalized population of Georgia. Subjects with diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg or on antihypertensive medication were considered hypertensive. The prevalence of uncontrolled moderate or severe hypertension (diastolic greater than or equal to 105 mm Hg) was 1.9 per cent. With the exception of White women, all race-sex groups with uncontrolled moderate or severe hypertension reported substantially lower per capita income than their mild or controlled hypertensive counterparts. A larger percentage of the uncontrolled moderate to severe hypertensives on medication, as compared to their mild or controlled counterparts, reported economic barriers to pharmacologic and medical care on cost of medicines (36 per cent vs 22 per cent); refills (36 per cent vs 16 per cent); and office visits (26 per cent vs 16 per cent). Black women reported these barriers more than Whites. These findings suggest that costs of antihypertensive care may be an obstacle in blood pressure control for certain population subgroups.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The nucleus basalis of Meynert in neurological disease: a quantitative morphological study.

The recent finding of neuronal degeneration in the nucleus basalis of Meynert (nbM) in Alzheimer's disease suggests a possible role of this nucleus and the cholinergic system in dementing illness. We assessed neuronal population and density in two anatomical levels of the nbM in 38 coded brains from patients with a broad variety of neurological disorders. We found the most striking nbM degeneration in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases. An intermediate loss of neurons was noted in the transmissible dementia Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease and in progressive supranuclear palsy. The usually nondementing diseases amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and multiple sclerosis showed cell counts comparable to those in a control group of nondemented patients with cerebrovascular disease. Characteristic neuropathological changes of Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, and Creutzfeldt-Jakob diseases, progressive supranuclear palsy, and subacute sclerosing panencephalitis were also found in the nbM. Most previous studies of the nbM have been based on small numbers of cases compared with controls. In our large series we used consistent methodology and a multiple-comparison statistical procedure to avoid overreporting of statistical significance. Our comparison of the nbM not only confirms the marked degeneration of the nbM in Alzheimer's disease, but also places such degeneration into perspective in a spectrum of dementing and nondementing neurological diseases. Larger case studies, using appropriate statistical techniques for multiple group comparisons, are needed to establish the significance of nbM degeneration in neurological disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Status of life-areas: congruence/noncongruence in ESRD patient and spouse perceptions.

Perceptions of ESRD patients' satisfaction with, and abilities in, 13 life-areas were assessed in 50 patients and their spouses by means of a series of linear rating scales. Patient and spouse views were congruent on 10 dimensions. Noncongruence existed only on perception of the patient's satisfaction with his/her medical situation, perception of the patient's ability to care for self, and perception of the patient's satisfaction with feelings about self. This noncongruence was especially pronounced in certain patient subgroups, and explanations related to the nature of ESRD and its treatment are suggested. We recommend that future studies examine not only perceptions of patients' satisfaction but also perceptions of the spouse's own satisfaction with various life-areas.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1985

Spatial frequency range in the detection process--1. Narrow bars.

The effect upon the detectability of narrow bars of ideal low-pass and high-pass filters was investigated. The results indicate that for optimum detection of the stimulus, spatial frequency components up to about 10 c/deg need to be transmitted. Two models (a multi-channel model, incorporating probability summation across spatial frequency, and a Grating Sensitivity Curve model) were used in attempting to fit the results. The multi-channel model provided a more realistic fit, but both models ultimately failed because of non-linearity in the summation of responses to frequency components.

Filtration↗
PubMed1985

Spatial frequency range in the detection process--2. Wide bars and sharp edge.

The effect upon the detectability of broad bars and a sharp edge of ideal low- and high-pass filters was investigated. The results indicate that, for optimum detection of the stimulus, spatial frequency components up to about 5 c deg-1 need to be transmitted. Two models (a multi-channel model, incorporating probability summation across spatial frequency, and a Grating Sensitivity Curve model) were used in attempting to fit the results. The multi-channel model provided a more realistic fit, but both models ultimately failed because of non-linearity in the summation of responses to frequency components.

Form Perception↗
PubMed1981

Effect of thromboplastin and instrumentation on the prothrombin time test.

Prothrombin time was measured in three different plasma samples by 2580 laboratories in the 1977 CAP Proficiency Testing Program. Analysis of variance was used to show that instrument, as well as thromboplastin, has a significant effect upon observed prothrombin time. In addition, the instrument and thromboplastin effects were estimated, and all were shown to be linearly related to the prothrombin time of the plasma sample. This linear relationship was used to develop a formula for adjusting/correcting an observed prothrombin time for both the thromboplastin and instrument effect. This adjustment/correction method seems promising on the basis of its use in four different sets of data.

Hematologic Tests↗
PubMed1977

Depression in medical outpatients: use of the Zung scale.

Sixty-nine randomly selected medical outpatients were clinically evaluated for depressive illness. A Zung Self-Rating Depressive Scale (SDS) was also administered to each patient. The prevalence of depression in the sample was 42%. The SDS picked up 30% of those depressed while missing those whose depression was presented under the guise of somatic illness. The SDS is thus a suitable instrument only in screening of the non-depressed medical patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Future directions for research in laboratory medicine: the findings of a Delphi survey of stakeholders.

In July 1995, we asked 101 experts to anticipate future areas for research in clinical laboratory medicine using a modified Delphi survey approach. The panel included academicians, clinical laboratory professionals, laboratory managers, practicing physicians public health officials, hospital administrators, and representatives of manufacturing industries, managed care organizations, commercial laboratories, and government health agencies. The participants predicted fewer laboratories, more automation, and fewer skilled staff needed in the future. The consensus was that laboratory quality assurance will focus on patient outcomes and be benchmarked against peer groups. They agreed that quality assurance routinely will be integrated into testing kits. Measures derived from medical informatics, such as outcomes analysis and utilization statistics, will become a standard feature of health care. A major area of concern was the effect that reorganizing health care and striving for cost containment will have on laboratory services. These views were consistent with those expressed by participants at a CDC conference on the frontiers of laboratory medicine research held shortly after the study was completed. These topics by now are familiar to most laboratory professionals, and we urge them to explore the many research issues raised with their colleagues in their clinical laboratories, health-care organizations, and industry.

Attitude to Health↗