Eysenck personality inventory scores of patients with depressive illness.
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Depression↗
Biomedical subjects
G K Shaw
Publications and source records attributed to G K Shaw.
The effect of Naftidrofuryl on ethanol-induced liver damage in chronic alcoholic patients.
A prospective double-blind placebo-controlled trial of intramuscular Naftidrofuryl was carried out on 32 randomly selected hospitalized male alcoholic patients with clinical, biochemical and histological evidence of hepatic damage. Seventeen patients received the drug (40 mg in 5 ml i.m. three times daily for 6 days) and 15 patients received a placebo (5 ml in normal saline i.m. three times daily for 6 days). The drug was well tolerated and there were no adverse side-effects. Naftidrofuryl significantly improved the physiological function of the liver cells as reflected by indocyanine green (ICG) clearance by the liver (t = 2.61; p less than or equal to 0.02) and also caused a larger fall in raised serum levels of gamma glutamyl transpeptidase (GGT) than did the placebo injections. Overall clinical improvement (e.g. appetite, body weight, reduced liver size, general sense of well-being) was more clearly evident in patients of the treated group than in those of the placebo group. Naftidrofuryl, therefore, appears to be of benefit in ethanol-induced liver damage and more extensive long-term trials are suggested in patients with alcoholic liver disease (ALD).
Adult↗
Alcoholism: a long-term follow-up study of participants in an alcohol treatment programme.
This paper reports the results of a long-term follow-up study of 112 alcoholic patients admitted to an intensive 1-month residential programme. Outcomes at the 6-month and 1-year stages were reported in an earlier paper [G. K. Shaw et al. (1990) British Journal of Psychiatry 157, 190-196]. The length of the follow-up period in this study was an average of 9 years. Eighteen patients had died before the long-term follow-up stage, and of the remaining 94 a total of 60 patients were followed up. This study shows that major improvements on social, psychological and drinking behaviour measures, made at 6 months and 1 year follow-up, were, on the whole, maintained and there was a progressive improvement on most variables at each follow-up stage. Major improvements were achieved by those patients whose drinking was categorized as 'abstinent', 'controlled' and 'improved'. The proportion of patients categorized as 'unchanged' dropped from 43% at 6 months to 33% at 1 year and to 15% at 9 years. By the 1-year follow-up stage, the unchanged group showed deterioration on psychological variables such as neuroticism, self-esteem and satisfaction with life situations, continued to make use of health service resources, and the high level of alcohol-related physical and social complications remained unchanged. This group had similar results at long-term follow-up with the exception of neuroticism, which was significantly lower in all drinking categories.
Adult↗
The detoxification experience of alcoholic in-patients and predictors of outcome.
This paper reports the detoxification experience and outcome at 6 months and 1 year following detoxification from alcohol in 160 patients admitted to a south-east London in-patient detoxification unit. Patients' socio-demographic characteristics are also described. The sample was predominantly middle-aged, mainly male, and highly dependent on alcohol. Subjects had been drinking heavily for many years and suffered physical and social complications in consequence. The rate of convulsions was 3.1% and of delirium tremens 1.25%. The details of the level of drug usage during detoxification and the assessment of severity of the withdrawal syndrome are also reported. The severity of the withdrawal syndrome and the incidence of significant complications of withdrawal were higher in those with a previous history of four or more episodes of detoxification, a previous history of withdrawal fits or evidence of high levels of tolerance and dependence assessed either by the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ) or by drinking on a typical heavy drinking day in excess of 24 U of alcohol. It is suggested that subjects with one or more of these attributes should be treated on an in-patient, rather than an out-patient, basis unless adequate support and monitoring systems are in place. Overall, patients made improvements on a wide range of social and psychological variables, but the 'abstinent' and 'controlled drinking' groups made significantly higher improvements on all variables in both follow-up periods. When patients improved their drinking status and reduced the levels of drink-related physical and social complications, in both time periods, their use of social and health resources decreased significantly. Living circumstances at intake were predictive of drinking status at both follow-up stages. The amount drunk on a heavy drinking day, at both follow-up stages, was predicted by severity of withdrawal, SADQ and living circumstances at intake in that order of importance.
Adult↗