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Biomedical subjects

D J Ross

Publications and source records attributed to D J Ross.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1991

Variability of breathlessness measurement in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the reproducibility of a Borg rating of dyspnea in patients with COPD. We examined nine patients with COPD who performed a SST on four separate days within a ten-day period. The patients walked on a treadmill for 6 min. At the end of each minute, patients matched a Borg rating to the intensity of their breathlessness. We measured the HR, VE, VO2, VT and f at the end of each minute. While the mean VO2, VE, HR, VT and f stabilized after one or two attempts, the Borg ratings decreased with successive tests. We conclude that the Borg scale for measuring breathlessness shows progressive decreases with repetition whereas VO2, VE, HR, VT and f stabilize after one or two practice attempts. This suggests that desensitization to dyspnea may play a role in the improvement of patients after exercise.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Survival characteristics after neodymium: YAG laser photoresection in advanced stage lung cancer.

In order to assess the long-term clinical benefits of palliative Nd:YAG laser photoresection, we studied 69 patients with obstructing exophytic tracheobronchial lesions treated with this modality between Oct 25, 1984 and May 8, 1989. In 55 patients, there was greater than 75 percent restoration of the luminal caliber ("successful"), and this group was compared to 14 patients in whom the lumen was not restored ("unsuccessful"). Stratifying for squamous cell carcinoma (squamous) alone vs other lung histologic cell types (non-squamous) demonstrated a significant survival benefit for "successful" squamous vs "unsuccessful" squamous and for "successful" squamous vs "successful" nonsquamous (p less than 0.05). The prolongation in survival was unrelated to patients' age, baseline Karnofsky performance indices, technical aspects of photoresection, and other modes of therapy (ie, radiation or chemotherapy or both). Although only six of 24 of the "successfully" photoresected patients with squamous cell carcinoma survived for one year, only one patient with inoperable mucoepidermoid carcinoma in the nonsquamous group survived beyond ten months. Karnofsky indices improved in both "successful" (p less than 0.001) and "unsuccessful" (p less than 0.05) photoresection groups. Improvement in the latter group may be attributed to either a salutary effect of the bronchoscopic procedure or variability in patients' level of functioning. We conclude that a subset of patients with advanced stages of squamous cell carcinoma and airway obstruction due to exophytic tumor may derive substantial benefit in both functional status and survival after Nd:YAG laser photoresection. In addition, unsuccessful restoration of the airway is a grave prognostic sign leading to limited survival.

Carcinoma, Bronchogenic↗
PubMed1986

Diphenylhydantoin-induced lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia.

A patient developed diffuse lymphocytic interstitial pneumonia after receiving diphenylhydantoin therapy for 14 months. Withdrawal of medication resulted in reversal of the disease process. This case illustrates the value of combined transbronchial biopsy and bronchoalveolar lavage sampling in establishing a diagnosis, and the utility of serial bronchoalveolar lavage in monitoring disease evolution.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

A micro computer hand injury recording system.

A system is described which allows an accident department doctor, who has no specific knowledge of computer operation, to record standardised demographic and clinical details of patients with hand injuries. An educational element is present which suggests possible diagnoses following specific injuries and most of the recording is carried out using a light pen, thus obviating the need for any keyboard skills. The information obtained is stored on 'floppy' discs (each disc can hold details of up to five hundred patients) allowing straightforward storage, retrieval and analysis of information by either micro or main frame computer.

Computers↗
PubMed1985

Hand injury in the accident and emergency service.

The management of hand injuries forms an important part of the hospital accident and emergency service, and early recognition and informed management are essential for a favourable outcome (Frazier et al., 1978). In Edinburgh a routine system of hand management is well established and includes the training of casualty officers. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of the hand service in the Accident and Emergency Department, Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh, a prospective study was undertaken to compare the outcome of treatment of hand injury by a routine system with treatment over a similar period by more experienced registrars in hand surgery training posts (Hand Fellows).

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

The prevention of leg injuries in motorcycle accidents.

Leg injuries due to motorcycle accidents are becoming increasingly common, and a relatively high proportion of these injuries are severe, requiring intensive and prolonged treatment with an often disappointing final result. A total of 309 injured motorcyclists consented to take part in a study investigating the possibility that crash bars fitted to motorcycles might protect the motorcyclist's legs from injury. In the group as a whole, it seemed possible that crash bars would afford some protection, but the figures were not statistically significant. In the group of 150 motorcyclists injured by side impact, 8 of the 25 with crash bars escaped injuries of the legs compared with only 17 out of 125 who did not have crash bars. These results suggest that crash bars provide a measure of protection to motorcyclist's legs, especially when the impact is from the side.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1983

Compliance and the health belief model: a challenge for the liaison psychiatrist.

Noncompliance or nonadherence to prescribed medical regiments is a widespread problem. The behavior of noncompliance is complex, requiring an analysis based upon theoretical constructs. We review the Health Belief Model (HBM) as one such construct that may aid in understanding the problem. The four essential ingredients of the model include (1) a perception of susceptibility to disease, (2) a belief that the impact of this disease will affect him/her biologically and/or psychosocially, (3) a belief that the potential benefits of the regime outweigh the risks of the disease and its treatment, and (4) an ability to surmount barriers to treatment. The HBM has been shown to have construct validity and has provided a means of exploring practical and cost effective methods for reducing noncompliance and perhaps morbidity and mortality associated with failures to follow up on recommended medical procedures. Moreover, the general problem of noncompliance provides a unique opportunity for students of human behavior to interact constructively with their medical and surgical colleagues.

Attitude to Health↗
PubMed1983

Tibial stress fracture in pyrophosphate arthropathy.

Five elderly patients with chronic pyrophosphate arthropathy developed stress fractures of the tibia. All patients had deformed, painful knees with the result that their increasing symptoms were not readily attributed to a stress fracture. Such a possibility should be considered in patients with chronic pyrophosphate arthropathy since early recognition makes management of the stress fracture easier.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Impairment, psychiatric symptoms, and handicap in dwarfs.

Impairment, handicap and psychiatric symptoms were systematically studied in 84 dwarfs. Although all subjects were physically impaired by virtue of their skeletal dysplasias, only those with severe physical abnormalities were handicapped in obtained education and employment. Handicap in finding marital partners was present and unrelated to physical impairment rating. Fewer than half the subjects had ever married. Men in this sample, who were often extraverted as measured by the Eysenck Personality Inventory, complained less often of psychiatric symptoms and felt less stigmatized than the women subjects.

Adolescent↗