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Biomedical subjects

F J Romm

Publications and source records attributed to F J Romm.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1975

Food-borne hepatitis A in a general hospital. Epidemiologic study of an outbreak attributed to sandwiches.

In November and December 1973, an outbreak of food-borne hepatitis A occurred in a busy general hospital. Epidemiologic investigation implicated cafeteria-made sandwiches. Eventually, 44 clinical and 22 subclinical cases of hepatitis were diagnosed among hospital employees. In addition, at least seven persons in the community became ill with hepatitis after eating in the hospital cafeteria; hospital patients were not, in general, affected. Two cafeteria workers were potentially implicated in the spread of hepatitis; both would have had subclinical hepatitis during the probable transmission period. It was recommended that food-handlers with icteric hepatitis remain out of work for at least two to three weeks after the onset of jaundice, while food-handlers with subclinical hepatitis remain out of work for at least two to three weeks after the peak of enzyme level elevation.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1975

A comparison of program and contraceptive use continuation rates in a family planning clinic.

Programs and contraceptive use continuation rates were obtained for a rural Georgia family planning clinic. Program continuation is a measurement of maintenance of clinic attendance, while use continuation is related to actual use of effective contraceptives regardless of clinic activity status. Program continuation rates ranged from 0.77 at 12 months to 0.48 at 36 months. Contraceptive use continuation rates were 0.78 at 12 months and 0.58 at 36 months. Women who moved or were otherwise lost to follow-up formed the largest category of discontinuation. The highest rate of discontinuation from clinic attendance occurred after the first visit with secondary peaks around the time of scheduled annual checkups. Women who were younger and had fewer living children had a greater likelihood of discontinuing clinic attendance and contraceptive use. The reasons for and timing of discontinuation from clinic attendance suggest that clinic personnel should place special emphasis on the first visits, arrange referral for women who might have plans to leave the service area before the scheduled return visit, send reminders before first revisits, and follow up patients soon after missed visits. Priority might be assigned to the younger women of low parity who have been shown to be at higher risk of discontinuation. Other factors which might influence continuation include method of contraception, marital status, and race. Program continuation can be determined by analysis of clinic records alone while contraceptive use continuation often requires follow-up of patients. Although the two continuation rates were not equivalent, program and use continuation were roughly parallel through much of the study period. This suggests that a simple review of records in the clinic or on computer tape, when available, to determine program continuation may give an estimate of actual contraceptive use in the population.

Community Health Services↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Teaching clinical epidemiology: a controlled trial of two methods.

The teaching of clinical epidemiology to second-year students at the Bowman Gray School of Medicine is carried out using journal articles to illustrate concepts. Because of the need for discussion, the instructors believed that the concepts of epidemiology might best be learned by, and that greater satisfaction with the learning process might be derived from, small group discussions rather than large lecture sessions. To test these hypotheses, students were randomized into either one of two discussion groups or a larger lecture group. The course handouts and text were identical, and the three instructors presented the same material successively to each group. In the final examination, all three groups answered approximately 26 of 36 questions correctly. Seventy percent of students responded to a questionnaire at the end of the course. There were no significant differences between the discussion and lecture groups in their ability to read and understand medical articles. However, the discussion group students were more favorable in their assessment of the success of the teaching method and in their perception of the importance and overall quality of the course. While there may be little difference in the short-term retention of epidemiological principles between the two teaching methods, the greater satisfaction reported by the students in the small groups will stimulate us to try to provide that type of learning environment in the future.

Curriculum↗
PubMedDate not supplied

"Routine" chemistry testing.

This study examines the use and results of a multichannel chemistry test (SMAC) in asymptomatic patients attending a family practice center. Of 288 patients, 71 (25%) presenting for complete physical examinations had apparently "routine" or baseline SMACs. Forty-three (61%) had at least one abnormal value in their chemistry profiles. Most abnormal results appeared to be of little clinical significance, but few were repeated or otherwise evaluated. Screening or baseline chemistry testing is a common feature of general health evaluations, but the efficacy of such studies is not clear.

Ambulatory Care Facilities↗