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Biomedical subjects

H M Gelfand

Publications and source records attributed to H M Gelfand.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1985

Development of a bacteriophage typing system for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli.

A bacteriophage typing system for Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli was developed with phages isolated from poultry feces. Data for phage selection were generated from a set of isolates of C. jejuni and C. coli from humans in Illinois. Selection of 14 phages from the 47 phages available was assisted by determination of the Sneath-Jaccard similarity coefficients and subsequent unweighted pair-group arithmetic averaging cluster analysis. The typing set was reproducible and stable in the 255 isolates from Illinois. Of these isolates, 94.5% were typable, with 46% represented by the four most common phage patterns. In a set of 51 isolates from humans outside of Illinois, 88.1% of the C. jejuni isolates were typable. Phage typing for C. jejuni and C. coli has excellent epidemiologic potential and should serve as a useful adjunct or alternative to serotyping systems in current use.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Factors affecting trauma center utilization in Illinois.

The Illinois Trauma System has served as a prototype for many of the advanced emergency medical services systems developed during the past decade. The Illinois Trauma Study uses a cross-sectional research design to assess the trauma patient utilization patterns at hospitals in Illinois. Data were collected from 33 Trauma Centers and 43 nonsystem hospitals for the time interval July 1973-June 1974. Results indicated that 45.5 per cent of patients admitted with specified trauma conditions were hospitalized at Trauma Centers. When adjustment is made for differences in the size of hospitals, a 50 per cent excess in patient capture is found at Trauma Centers. This excess utilization found in Trauma Centers for this sample of trauma victims was not found among all patients admitted to these hospitals. Factors found to be associated with high Trauma Center use are race (high use among nonwhites), injury severity, evening admission to hospital and vehicular injury. Also, approximately two thirds of trauma patients that were admitted to intensive care units or transferred from other hospitals were hospitalized at Trauma Centers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

An evaluation of the Illinois trauma registry: the completeness of case reporting.

The Illinois Trauma Registry (ITR) was developed as the principal evaluative tool for the comprehensive set of medical programs known as the Illinois Trauma System. In order to determine the completeness of case reporting to the ITR, a 10% sample of traumatic injuries was drawn at 33 hospitals designated as Trauma Centers. An attempt was then made to link the cases found at the Trauma Centers with those in the ITR; theoretically, all cases found in the Trauma Center should appear in the ITR. Analysis reveals that the ITR is drastically underreported; for all 33 Trauma Centers combined, only 36.9% of the cases appeared in the ITR. On an individual hospital basis, completeness ranged from 0.0% (eight hospitals) to 83.3%. Inclusion in the ITR is significantly associated with the categorization of hospital emergency capability, the method of patient transport to the hospital, the mechanism of injury and subsequent admittance to the intensive care unit. Of particular interest for evaluative studies is the marginally significant difference between the case fatality rate as reported in the ITR (5.0%) and that found in the hospital (2.8%). Guidelines are suggested to improve the development, management and data quality of future registries.

Humans↗
PubMed1978

A model for epidemiologic research.

Health sciences students should understand the fundamentals of epidemiologic methods that can lead to major advances in the treatment of disease. To this end, the research process is defined and a three-dimensional model that considers some basic elements of epidemiologic research--time, place, and strategy--is described. The strategies available to the investigator (descriptive, analytic, and experimental) and the possible time frames (retrospective, concurrent, and prospective) are illustrated in terms of field investigations that involve problems of infection, nutrition, dysplasia, metabolism, and cancer. It is believed that epidemiologic studies, no matter where they are performed, have certain features in common, especially those related to the elements of strategy and time.

Epidemiologic Methods↗
PubMed1965

Control of a type 1 poliomyelitis epidemic in British Guiana, 1962-63, with trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine. 2. Virological aspects.

Epidemics of paralytic poliomyelitis have been reported with increasing frequency in the Caribbean area over the last decade. During the first weeks of a type 1 poliomyelitis epidemic in British Guiana in the winter of 1962-63, it was possible to study "wild" poliovirus infections in pre-school children, and to obtain information concerning the effectiveness of a country-wide control programme using trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine.Serological studies indicated that many Guianese children had had previous asymptomatic poliovirus infections by school age. However, there were more children with antibodies to types 2 and 3 than with antibodies to type 1. Following the first of two feedings of trivalent vaccine, there were significant increases in the percentage of children with poliovirus antibodies.Though begun only three weeks after the hospitalization of several paralysed children, a rectal-swab survey indicated that in some areas over one-third of the pre-school children were excreting "wild" poliovirus. In one area of the country, where only 2% of the children were excreting poliovirus type 1, vaccine feeding seemed most effective in containing the epidemic. These results support the suggestion that to be successful an epidemic control programme in a developing tropical country should be rapidly organized and completed.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1965

Control of a type 1 poliomyelitis epidemic in British Guiana, 1962-63, with trivalent oral poliovirus vaccine. 1. Epidemiological aspects.

An epidemic of poliomyelitis took place in British Guiana during the winter of 1962-63. A total of 485 paralytic cases occurred over a 10-week period, 90% in children under 5 years of age.The attack rate for the total population of more than half-a-million persons was 86.5 per 100 000. Type 1 poliovirus was isolated from stool specimens from 90% of the paralytic cases studied. Early in the epidemic, before virus was isolated, plans were developed for an extensive field study to characterize the epidemic and evaluate the effectiveness of trivalent vaccine as a practical control measure.Vaccine was administered to 85% of the children aged 5 or less over a 4-week period. A definite beneficial effect was noted; however, the epidemic might have been more impressively terminated had the programme been more rapidly administered. The importance of early recognition of an outbreak of poliomyelitis and of the rapid planning and execution of a vaccination programme is stressed.

Child↗