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Biomedical subjects

D Campos-Outcalt

Publications and source records attributed to D Campos-Outcalt.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

An evaluation of a microcomputer information system for leprosy control two years post-implementation.

As part of a national programme to improve the management of health services in Papua New Guinea, a microcomputerized information system was designed and implemented in seven provinces. Four other provinces later adopted this system. One component of this information system was a program to assist disease control officers to monitor the treatment received by leprosy and tuberculosis patients. In contrast to other components of the information system, the leprosy and TB computer program was not maintained nor used after two years. This article describes the computer program developed and discusses possible reasons for its nonuse.

Humans↗
PubMed1991

Coronary artery disease risk factors in Yaqui Indians and Mexican Americans.

The prevalence of coronary artery disease risk factors in adults was studied in Yaqui Indians and Mexican Americans. The risk factors studied included hypertension, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, smoking, and sedentary life-style. Subjects included 94 Mexican Americans, 44 Yaqui Indians, and 12 of mixed or other ancestry. Mexican Americans had higher rates of smoking (21.3% versus 11.4%) and hypercholesterolemia (9.4% versus 4.8%) than did Yaqui Indians although neither comparison was statistically significant. Yaqui Indians had twice the risk of diabetes (40.5% versus 19.8%, P less than .05). When looking at both races combined, men smoked at six times the rate of women (36.4% versus 6.3%, P less than .05). Of all those tested, only 6% had no risk factors, and 88% were classified as having a sedentary life-style. Achieving increased levels of exercise in the population studied would appear to hold the most promise for reducing coronary artery disease risks.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Parasitic diseases. International travel. Preparing your patient.

Patients who travel to developing nations are those most likely to encounter parasitic diseases. Using a risk assessment approach and the resources introduced in this article, the primary care physician can prepare them for travel and continue their care on return. Immunizations and patient education are the major modes of prevention, coupled with chemoprophylaxis for malaria and traveler's diarrhea. Traveling pregnant women and young children need special precautions. A large body of preventive and therapeutic knowledge, including parasitology, is at the core of emporiatrics, the science of travel medicine.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Measles update.

The incidence of measles in the United States dramatically increased in the 1980s, from a low of 1,497 cases in 1983 to over 17,000 cases in 1989. Family physicians can help reverse this trend by following the revised immunization schedule, which includes a measles-mumps-rubella (MMR) booster for preschool-age children. New guidelines also recommend that either the two-dose MMR schedule or serologic evidence of immunity be required for all persons entering college or employed in the medical field. Immunization policies for physician's offices should ensure that all office staff have acquired measles immunity and that a triage policy separating patients with rash from those with other illnesses is utilized. Mild upper respiratory illness, a history of seizures, nonanaphylactic egg allergy and asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus infection are not contraindications to measles vaccine. All cases of measles should be reported to the local health department.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Health services in Papua New Guinea.

The government of Papua New Guinea has been committed since independence to providing primary health care to its entire population through a government-operated national health system. In spite of geographic, cultural, and linguistic barriers, most people have access to primary health services and major indicators of the health of the population have improved. However, deficiencies in the provision of preventive services exist and common infectious diseases, particularly malaria, are still the main causes of morbidity and mortality. Economic realities dictate that improvements in health status in the immediate future will have to come through improved productivity and quality of services rather than expansion of the health care system.

Health Policy↗
PubMed1989

Characteristics of medical schools related to the choice of family medicine as a specialty.

Previous research has identified five characteristics of medical schools that are related to the choice of family medicine as a specialty: (1) the amount of time devoted to required training in family medicine, (2) the timing of the required family medicine training, (3) the type of ownership of the school (public or private), (4) the geographic location of the school, and (5) the administrative structure of family medicine within the school. These five characteristics of U.S. medical schools during the mid-1980s, together with the school tuition levels, were examined with both univariate and multivariate analysis to observe their relationships to the percentage of U.S. medical graduates entering family medicine between July 1986 and December 1987. With univariate analysis, each characteristic was significantly related to the percentage of graduates entering family medicine. Using multivariate analysis, only the number of weeks required and the type of ownership of the school were significantly related to the percentage of graduates entering family medicine, with the higher percentages related to greater numbers of required weeks of family medicine training and to public ownership of the school.

Career Choice↗
PubMed1985

Leprosy in the United States. Risks, recognition, regimens, resources.

Although leprosy is increasing in incidence in the United States, it is confined almost entirely to immigrants from developing countries and their close contacts. While the clinical disease has not changed, leprosy has diffused more widely throughout the United States as a result of migration. Primary care physicians should maintain a high index of suspicion in foreign-born individuals with skin or peripheral nerve problems. Punch biopsy of skin lesions is the most practical diagnostic method for both the multibacillary and paucibacillary types of leprosy. Because of resistance to dapsone, multi-drug treatment is now the rule; most patients are referred to or managed in consultation with a regional Hansen's disease clinic for long-term treatment. Consultation is available to any physician through the National Hansen's Disease Center in Carville, Louisiana.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMed1984

Brain death: medical and legal issues.

Irreversible cessation of brain function has become a widely accepted criterion of death. Case law, state statutes, and medical opinion, backed by clinical studies, all support the use of brain death criteria as a means of determining death. Current state statutes are in need of some uniformity, as 12 different statutory approaches to brain death are currently in use. Brain death should not be confused with the still unresolved issue of termination of life support to terminally ill, mentally incompetent patients, or those who are comatose yet do not meet brain death criteria.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

New perspectives on glaucoma screening.

Glaucoma is defined as elevated intraocular pressure resulting in visual field defects. Elevated intraocular pressure without visual field defects is referred to as ocular hypertension. The prevalence of open-angle glaucoma in the population above the age of 40 years is less than one percent. Approximately one out of ten people with elevated ocular pressure has glaucoma. The concept of variable sensitivity explains why high ocular pressures do not always result in glaucoma. Glaucoma screening by tonometry can be justified only if used in conjunction with visual field testing.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Health care in modern Cuba.

An extensively organized, centrally controlled system, aimed at equalizing and improving the distribution and quality of medical services according to population and geography, characterizes the modern Cuban health care complex. Facilities of increasing sophistication are located in urban areas while an expanding series of ambulatory, multipotential polyclinics attempts to provide most health services in both urban and rural settings. Maternal and child care, immunization programs and other forms of preventive medicine represent major priorities for expenditures. Occupational health is increasingly understood as a valuable resource, and medical professionals on all levels are being trained in significant numbers for Cuba and its allies.

Cuba↗