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Biomedical subjects

J Parkes

Publications and source records attributed to J Parkes.

33 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1998

Does the Child Health Computing System adequately identify children with cerebral palsy?

BACKGROUND: This paper assesses the usefulness of the Child Health Computing System as a source of information about children with cerebral palsy. METHODS: A comparative survey of information held on the Child Health Computing System (CHCS) and the Northern Ireland Cerebral Palsy Register (NICPR) in one Health and Social Services Board in Northern Ireland was carried out. The sample comprised children with cerebral palsy aged 5-9 years. RESULTS: Of the 135 cases recorded on the NICPR, 47 per cent were not found on the CHCS; the majority of these children had no computer record of any medical diagnosis. Of the 82 cases recorded on the CHCS, 10 (12 per cent) were not found on the NICPR; five of these cases (6 per cent) were found on follow-up not to have CP. CONCLUSIONS: Unless improvements are made in case ascertainment, case validation and recording activities, the evidence suggests that the CHCS will not be able to provide the same quality of information for needs assessment and surveillance of very low birthweight infants in relation to cerebral palsy as is provided by a specialist case register.

Cerebral Palsy↗
PubMed1986

Making a rehabilitation hospital for the elderly work.

We report our efforts to make a rehabilitation hospital work. The simple intervention of introducing a patient record system, in which problems, management, achievements and discharge plans were clearly documented, doubled the number of patients who returned home over an eight-month period. This resulted in greater availability of acute geriatric beds at the District General Hospital (DGH), where two thirds of the elderly medical inpatients occupy beds on other units, and in an improvement in morale of patients and staff. Greater co-operation between geriatric and medical teams in selecting those patients who would benefit from continuing rehabilitation is required. The advantages of accommodating such patients separately from patients with a poor prognosis and those requiring long-term care are discussed.

Aged↗
PubMed1985

Out-patient letters: requirement and contents.

Twenty-five general practitioners were interviewed about the contents of out-patient letters. There was universal agreement on the need for the following information: diagnosis, abnormal physical findings, abnormal routine and non-routine test results, changes in treatment, comments on the patient's physical condition and disposal. The contents of 215 out-patient letters were analysed and the results compared with the GPs' views. There was little difference in the letters from medical and surgical clinics. Both were deficient to a limited extent in the reporting of abnormal test results, the reasons for, and significance of investigations, and in detailing the information given to patients.

Computers↗
PubMed1984

'Hospice' versus 'hospital' care--re-evaluation after 10 years as seen by surviving spouses.

This study compares terminal cancer care in 1967-69 with care in 1977-79 as evaluated by surviving spouses of patients who died in St Christopher's Hospice and other local hospitals. Patients and their surviving spouses reported less personal distress in both settings in 1977-79 than in 1967-69 and the patients were also thought to have suffered less pain. These differences were found before, during and, in surviving spouses, after the period of terminal care. They were confirmed in subsamples of 30-34 patients matched for age, sex, socio-economic status and duration of terminal period. Improvements may be attributable to the training in terminal care provided by staff of the Hospice since 1967 and augmented in its Study Centre which was opened in 1973. Although pain and distress in the patient is no longer a major problem in either setting, spouses in 1977-79 remain less anxious at St Christopher's Hospice than at other hospitals; they play a larger part in the care of the patient and are in closer contact with staff before and after bereavement.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Increased carbonic anhydrase activity in Friend erythroleukemia cells during DMSO-stimulated erythroid differentiation and its inhibition by BrdU.

Carbonic anhydrase activity is increased in Friend erythroleukemia (FL) cells during the enhancement of erythroid differentiation in the presence of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or butyric acid. Untreated FL cells show an increase in enzyme activity associated with logarithmic growth. The increase in the specific activity of carbonic anhydrase in the differentiating treated cells, however, appears to be due to at least two additional general mechanisms: (1) an induction of carbonic anhydrase paralleling the stimulation of hemoglobin synthesis and (2) the stability and/or retention of active carbonic anhydrase as compared to most of the other cell proteins. The stimulation of carbonic anhydrase activity in the treated cells is inhibited by 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (BrdU). This is the first demonstration of BrdU inhibition of a DMSO induced product not directly related to hemoglobin.

Acetazolamide↗