Biomedical subjects

D T Davis

Publications and source records attributed to D T Davis.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1999

Does the Complications Screening Program flag cases with process of care problems? Using explicit criteria to judge processes.

BACKGROUND: The Complications Screening Program (CSP) aims to identify 28 potentially preventable complications of hospital care using computerized discharge abstracts, including demographic information, diagnosis and procedure codes. OBJECTIVE: To validate the CSP as a quality indicator by using explicit process of care criteria to determine whether hospital discharges flagged by the CSP experienced more process problems than unflagged discharges. METHODS: The (CSP was applied to computerized hospital discharge abstracts from Mledicare beneficiaries > 65 years old admitted in 1994 to hospitals in California and Connecticut for major surgery or medical treatment. ()f 28 CSP complications, 17 occurred sufficient frequently to study. Discharges flagged (cases) and unflagged (controls) by the (CSP were sampled and photocopied medical records were obtained. Physicians specified detailed, objective, explicit criteria, itemizing 'key steps' in processes of care that could potentially have prevented or caused complications. Trained nurses abstracted medical records using these explicit criteria. Process problem rates between cases and controls were compared. RESULTS: The final sample included 740 surgical and 416 medical discharges. Rates of process problems were high, ranging from 24.4 to 82.5% across CSP screens for surgical cases. Problems were lower for medical cases, ranging from 2.0 to 69.1% across CSP screens. Problem rates were 45.7% for surgical and 5.0% for medical controls. Rates of problems did not differ significantly across flagged and unflagged discharges. CONCLUSIONS: The CSP did not flag discharges with significantly higher rates of explicit process problems than unflagged discharges. Various initiatives throughout the USA use techniques similar to the CSP to identify complications of care. Based on these CSP findings, such approaches should be evaluated cautiously.

Aged↗

PubMed1990

Anti-actin immunoreactivity is retained in rhabdoms of Drosophila ninaC photoreceptors.

The Drosophila ninaC mutation produces small rhabdomeres with the axial filament of the microvillar cytoskeleton reduced or missing. Using post-embedding immunogold labelling of LR White-embedded eyes, we show that several alleles of this mutation retain positive anti-actin immunoreactivity in the rhabdomeres, comparable to that of wild-type flies.

Actins↗

PubMed1978

Multiple fibrous xanthomas of tendon sheath.

Fibrous xanthomas of the digital tendon sheath system are a common benign tumour. The varying recurrence rates cited in the literature have usually been attributed to inadequate surgical excision. However, Boyes (1964) has suggested "seeding" as a possible mechanism to explain persistence of the tumour. Our case of multiple fibrous xanthomas at different levels in a single digital sheath system is presented as an example of "seeding" along the tendon sheath.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1976

A new optical multichannel microspectrofluorometer.

A new microspectrofluorometer has been developed that combines a photometric fluorescence microscope with an optical multichannel analyzer. This instrument provides fluorescence emission spectra of biological materials by detecting the entire spectrum simultaneously in real time. These spectra are subsequently recorded and corrected so as to identify the fluorescent reaction products or to test whether fluorescent cytochemical probes bind to the expected substrate within cells. The procedures and advantages of optical multichannel analysis are described, and an application of microspectrofluorometry to acriflavine-Feulgen cytochemistry is given.

Autoanalysis↗

PubMedDate not supplied

The urban church and cancer control: a source of social influence in minority communities.

A study was conducted to examine the efficacy of a church-based model of social influence in improving access to and participation of underserved minority women in a cervical cancer control program. The model expanded on strategies used in previous hypertension control and health promotion research. A total of 24 churches, stratified by faith tradition, were randomly selected to participate in the cancer control program from a pool of 63 churches in a defined geographic area of Los Angeles County, CA. Female parishioners ages 21 years and older were eligible to participate in cervical cancer education sessions, and screening was offered to adult women who had not had Papanicolaou tests within the last 2 years. Church participation rate was 96 percent. Thirty lay health leaders were selected by the clergy to serve as messengers, recruiters, and organizers for their respective congregations. Ninety-seven percent of these lay health leaders participated in two training sessions designed to prepare them for their leadership role. Social support structures such as child care, meals, or transportation for targeted women were organized by lay health leaders in 78 percent of the churches. A total of 1,012 women between the ages of 21 and 89 years attended educational sessions. Forty-four percent of the eligible women were targeted for screening because they had not had a Papanicolaou test within the last 2 years or had never been screened. Black women were 6.6 times more likely than Hispanics to have been screened in the past 2 years. Hispanic women were 4.2 times more likely than African Americans never to have had a Papanicolaou test or been tested in 3 or more years.Overall, 90 percent of the women targeted for screening recruitment presented for tests.Fifty-two percent of the churches initiated cancer control activities by the end of the 2-year period following the culmination of the intervention program.The findings suggest that a church-based model of social influence can leverage the participation of minority women in cervical cancer control, provide access to underserved Hispanic women in particular,and sustain cancer control activities beyond the life of an intervention program.The findings further suggest that a more discrete assessment of screening history may improve the participation levels of African American women, and that the gratis offering of screening services may adversely affect their participation rates.

Adult↗