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Biomedical subjects

F M Baker

Publications and source records attributed to F M Baker.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1990

Black youth suicide: literature review with a focus on prevention.

The national rates of completed suicide in the black population between 1950 and 1981 are presented, including age-adjusted rates. Specific studies of black suicide attempters and completed suicides by blacks in several cities are discussed. Methodological problems with existing studies and national suicide statistics are presented. Proposed theories of black suicide are reviewed. Based on a summary of the characteristics of black suicide attempters reported by the literature, preventive strategies--primary, secondary, and tertiary--are presented.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Cocaine psychosis.

A 28-year-old divorced black male intranasal cocaine abuser presented three times in seven days to the psychiatric emergency service of a general hospital with complaints of psychotic symptoms in the context of a cocaine binge. His repeated visits provided the opportunity to correlate his clinical picture with serum cocaine levels. This article describes that correlation and reviews the current literature on cocaine abuse and the cocaine abstinence syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Suicide attempters in New Haven: a ten-year perspective.

A retrospective, descriptive study of 294 suicide attempters evaluated by a general hospital's psychiatric service was completed by chart review. The 1980 sample differed from prior studies of this setting. Seventy-one percent of attempters had a prior psychiatric history, 31 percent were psychotic, and 25 percent had a diagnosis of substance abuse (combining alcohol and drug abuse). Overdose remained the predominant method of attempt, with a significant increase (P < .001) in the use of psychoactive medication. The ratio of the rates of male to female suicide attempters had increased to .8191. The crude suicide attempt rate for the New Haven Standard Metropolitan Statistical Area (SMSA) had declined to 191.32/100,000.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

The evaluation of elderly patients by a psychiatric emergency service.

A retrospective descriptive study of older patients evaluated by the psychiatric emergency service (PES) of a general hospital was implemented. The medical records of all patients aged 65 years and older evaluated by the PES during the 1980 calendar year were reviewed. Seventy-four patients were identified, 38 male and 36 female. Forty-three percent of the sample had no medical problems, 59 percent had a prior psychiatric history, and 38 percent had a diagnosis of organic brain syndrome. After their evaluation, 43 percent of these older patients were discharged home with a referral for outpatient treatment. In contrast to prior studies, only 35 percent of the sample were taking two or more psychoactive medications. Only two patients were referred for evaluation from skilled nursing homes.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

The Afro-American life cycle: success, failure, and mental health.

The author examines the Afro-American life cycle from the period of the 1900s to the 1980s and discusses the psychosocial context for a three-generation Afro-American family living in America in the 1980s. The specific stresses and successful or maladaptive coping strategies of the members are presented as well as the potential mental health problems arising from ineffective mastery of developmental transitions.

Achievement↗
PubMed1987

Consultation-liaison activities with geriatric patients.

With the aging of our population, the number of persons aged 65 years and over referred to psychiatric consultation-liaison services is increasing. The author discusses a specific approach to such consultations and the specific concerns that they raise.

Aged↗
PubMed1987

Competent for what?

As the United States population ages, psychiatrists will have increasing requests for consultations to address legal issues involving older persons. Following an overview of competency as a distinct legal issue, specific legal issues are addressed that include hospitalization, consent or refusal of treatment, living will legislation, and guardianship and conservatorship. Relevant cases are cited.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Geriatric psychiatry: a model for evaluation.

An overview of psychiatric disorders seen in older patients is reviewed. Dementing illnesses are discussed. A specific method of assessing the patient with cognitive decline in a clear sensorium is presented.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

ER "capture" of the skid-row alcoholic.

In response to the spiraling anger and frustration voiced by the emergency room (ER) medical staff and the observed negative interactions between the alcohol-dependent patient and the ER staff, the author completed a 6-month retrospective review of all patients evaluated by the ER service with a complaint of alcohol abuse, chronic alcoholism, or requesting detoxification. As a result of that study, an ER-based comprehensive approach to the management of this population was proposed. Utilizing an existing Connecticut state statute, a specific approach to manage the skid-row alcoholic arriving repeatedly in the ER was developed. I report on this ER-based model and an approach to "capturing" the skid-row alcoholic.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The reliability of psychiatric diagnosis in the emergency room.

The authors compared the diagnoses made for 50 patients in an emergency room with those made during a subsequent inpatient hospitalization. They found an acceptable level of reliability for broad diagnostic categories, such as psychosis, depression, and alcoholism. The authors believe such diagnostic reliability is sufficient for emergency assessment and triage. However, the diagnosis of more specific subtypes of mental illness, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, were not made reliably in the emergency room. The authors point out the risk of diagnostic labeling, and suggest that the tendency to overlook nonalcoholic substance abuse deserves special attention.

Adjustment Disorders↗
PubMed1984

Black suicide attempters in 1980: a preventive focus.

A retrospective chart review of black suicide attempters was completed to describe the sample in comparison to prior studies and to develop preventive strategies. This sample of 56 black suicide attempters was composed of 17 males and 39 females, a ratio of 1:2.3. Female attempters were younger, 54% had made a prior attempt and had a diagnosis of either affective illness (33%) or an adjustment reaction with depressive features (31%). Male attempters were older, 76% had a prior psychiatric history, and 59% had a psychotic diagnosis. The potential for life-threatening behavior in psychotic black male patients was noted. The necessity of monitoring the access to medication by stressed impulsive youth was emphasized. As significant others involved in the stressers that precipitated the attempt accompanied the patient to the emergency room (ER), crisis intervention in the ER with the significant other and/or family members was identified as an important strategy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Utilization of mental health services by the aging.

A descriptive study of persons 55 years of age and older who were newly admitted (60 cases) or in ongoing treatment (30 cases) in a mental health center was done as an outgrowth of a utilization review study. The total population of 461 was studied from July 1, 1977, to June 30, 1978. A chart review of 90 cases was performed. The newly admitted subsample was married, was diagnosed as depressed, and had a broad range of dispositions into various treatment modalities. The chronic subsample was single, diagnosed as schizophrenic, and in treatment in a single community-support unit. These differences were statistically significant at the P<.01, P<.001, and P<.001 levels, respectively. Although the newly admitted subsample had no previous contact with psychiatric services, 44 of the 60 patients (73 percent) were on psychoactive medication prescribed by nonpsychiatric physicians. Implications for the training of general medical practitioners and mental health center staff, and the need for ongoing assessment of patients in community support units are discussed, as well as the significant risk to patients from potentially harmful drug interactions.

Aged↗
PubMed1983

Emergency service nursing staff: a survey of knowledge, attitudes, and concerns.

A survey of the nursing staff in an emergency service was completed by anonymous questionnaire. The results of the survey indicate satisfaction and confidence in the triaging group, a wish for more staff and specific inservice course content, good perception of emergency situations, misperception about restraint policy and the life-threatening nature of opiate withdrawal, and the need to focus on a clearer definition of those patients who do not require acute care.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1981

Compazine complications: a review.

Two patients with toxic reactions to prochlor-perazine (Compazine) prescribed as an antiemetic are presented. The authors caution against wrongfully labeling such patients as having psychiatric disturbances when the cause is iatrogenic.

Adolescent↗