Biomedical subjects

Joanna White

Publications and source records attributed to Joanna White.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

Severe alcohol-induced liver disease and the alcohol dependence syndrome.

AIMS: To examine the hypothesis that patients who present in the UK to detoxification services differ from patients who present with severe alcohol-induced liver disease (ALD) with respect to severity of dependence on alcohol and other features of their drinking history. METHODS: Levels of alcohol dependence were assessed in 34 patients with severe ALD, all of whom were cirrhotic, and 34 subjects from a residential alcohol detox centre in Southampton using the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ). During interview, various aspects of participants' alcohol consumption were recorded, including total monthly consumption, whom they usually drank with and where, and, if applicable, what caused them to start drinking heavily. Social circumstances were also noted, including participants' employment and marital status. RESULTS: Among ALD patients, 58% scored none/mild on the SADQ, 32% moderate and 9% severe. In contrast, 76% of the detox group were graded severe and 34% moderate (P < 0.001). ALD patients were also significantly older, had lower scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, tended to drink less alcohol, were more likely to be in a stable relationship, were less likely to be unemployed and gave different reasons for starting to drink heavily. The ALD group were most likely to have started drinking heavily for social reasons, whereas subjects in the detox group were most likely to have started drinking heavily as a result of relationship or money problems. CONCLUSION: Patients attending a liver unit and patients admitted to a detoxification unit were separate but overlapping populations of alcohol misusers. Perhaps these two populations of alcohol misusers are likely to require different approaches for effective detection, intervention and treatment.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

'Wound cat'.

'Wound man' refers to a stylised diagram used in early medical textbooks to illustrate the various injuries that the human body can sustain in battle. We have adapted this concept to create 'Wound cat', as a way to emphasise the type and location of injuries cats may inflict on one another during combat. We have further extended this concept to include wounds that may result from interactions with rodents and snakes. It is hoped that our 'Wound cat' concept will assist less experienced clinicians locate sites of cat bites and scratches, and to recognise why certain infections arise in particular stereotyped locations. In addition, this approach should assist veterinarians in determining which pathogens are most likely to be involved in wounds located in a given anatomical region.

Animals↗

PubMed2005

A pilot validation study of a new measure of activity in psychosis.

BACKGROUND: Wing and Brown [Wing JK and Brown GW (1970) Institutionalism and schizophrenia: a comparative study of three mental health hospitals 1960-1968. Cambridge University Press, London] demonstrated a clear relationship between activity and clinical improvement, using time budget methodology with people with psychosis. However, existing time budget measures are demanding to complete, and simpler, check-box measures of activity rely on subjective frequency judgements and do not include the full range of activities in which an individual might be involved. We report on a pilot validation of a simplified time budget measure of activity levels for routine use as a measure of change with people with psychosis. METHODS: Forty-two participants living in the local community with a schizophrenia spectrum diagnosis were grouped according to length of illness and, within the longer duration group, into high/low activity. All completed the time budget. On a second occasion, 15 participants also completed the subscales of the Social Functioning Scale (SFS) (Br J Psychiatry 157:853-859, 1990) to assess construct validity, and 15 completed the time budget to assess test-retest reliability. RESULTS: The time budget discriminated between duration and activity level groups and showed good inter-rater reliability and test-retest reliability. On the SFS, correlations with subscales measuring withdrawal, activities of daily living and employment were found. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate that our measure is tapping the activity component of social functioning. A larger scale validation study and investigation of sensitivity to change is underway.

Adolescent↗

PubMed2004

Infections and some other conditions affecting the skin and subcutis of the naso-ocular region of cats--clinical experience 1987-2003.

Infections of the skin or subcutis of the naso-ocular region develop through two mechanisms. Cases with lesions but without concomitant signs of nasal disease probably result from cat scratch injuries. Under certain circumstances, such lacerations result in the introduction of saprophytic microorganisms in such large numbers that host defence mechanisms are overwhelmed. This results in localised, variably invasive, disease in an otherwise immunocompetent host. An unpredictable range of organisms can give rise to such infections including a variety of fungal and bacterial genera. Causal organisms will likely vary from one geography to another as a result of differences in soil type and related environmental factors. Accordingly, procurement of appropriate tissue specimens for culture and susceptibility testing is essential to guide therapy, as these cases require medical and sometimes surgical intervention in order to effect a favourable outcome. In contrast, patients with naso-ocular lesions and concurrent signs of nasal disease have a different pathogenesis. Primary infection of the sinonasal region likely results from the inhalation of infectious propagules, with the infection subsequently penetrating overlying bones to invade the subcutaneous space. These lesions are typically the result of cryptococcosis or aspergillosis and must be distinguished from invasive nasal malignancies. An approach to the investigation and treatment of these patients is presented together with photographs of representative cases.

Animals↗