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Biomedical subjects

L Teare

Publications and source records attributed to L Teare.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Hand hygiene.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Anti-Infective Agents, Local↗

Carriage of Neisseria meningitidis in residents and staff at a residential home for elderly people following a case of invasive disease.

A study of the carriage of Neisseria meningitidis among staff and residents of a 'closed community' (a residential home for elderly people) was conducted after a resident developed invasive meningococcal disease. All 39 other residents and 49 staff who worked at the home during the previous seven days were offered a throat swab and 38 residents and 49 staff consented. Two residents (none in the index case's social group) and one staff member were found to be carrying N. meningitidis, all phenotypically distinct from the infecting isolate. Thus, all four individuals carried different organisms and the index case was sporadic. Our findings suggest that residents or staff in long stay residential settings where a sporadic case occurs need not be offered meningococcal prophylaxis unless they fulfil the existing definition of 'close personal contacts' of the case.

Aged↗

Neutralising antibody responses to two doses of measles vaccine at 5 and 13 months of age in the United Kingdom.

Fifty-three children born in the United Kingdom between April 1993 and July 1994 were given two doses of measles vaccine, at 5 and 13 months of age, and their neutralising antibody reports were studied to assess the feasibility of protecting infants (aged 1 to 11 months) in the event of an outbreak or who were due to travel abroad. Sixteen infants responded at 5 months, an additional 35 responded at 13 months and two did not respond. The responses were inversely related to the levels of maternal antibodies (p < 0.0001). Infants who responded at 5 months also produced higher responses at 13 months than those who did not respond initially (p = 0.0001). No serious side effects were encountered. These data suggest that measles vaccine protects 30% of infants at 5 months and that a second dose at 13 months results in almost universal seroconversion.

Analysis of Variance↗

Outcome of referrals to a district immunisation advisory clinic.

We have studied referrals to and outcomes of consultation at a district immunisation advisory clinic, aiming to examine and confirm the rarity of true contraindications, the safety of immunising children with possible contraindications, and the influence on parents of counselling by well informed professionals. We examined medical records and postal questionnaires to parents, representing 30 months' work. Three hundred and fifty-eight children were referred to the clinic, 248 of whom were seen and 110 (31%) did not attend. Fourteen children who attended (6%) had a true contraindication to the vaccine(s) in question and 202 of the remaining 234 (86%) proceeded to vaccination with no adverse effect. Forty of the 110 (36%) who were referred but did not attend were vaccinated, and no adverse effects were reported, but the immunisation rate of this group was significantly lower than that seen in the clinic (chi 2 test, p < 0.001). True contraindications to childhood immunisation were rare, and children with difficult problems were safely vaccinated. The immunisation advisory clinic is effective in counselling parents who are uncertain about childhood immunisation.

Adolescent↗

False contraindications to childhood immunization.

An immunization advisory clinic was set up in mid-Essex in 1988 to provide a referral facility for professionals and parents who were unsure about the eligibility of certain children to receive immunization. This paper describes four typical cases. The history and management of each case are described and the fact that all the children were successfully immunized is highlighted. It is hoped that by sharing the experiences of the immunization advisory clinic with other professional staff, more positive decisions regarding immunizations will be made.

Child, Preschool↗

The choice of a suture to close abdominal incisions.

Burst abdomen, incisional hernia and sinus formation continue to bedevil the surgeon. Significant associated factors include postoperative wound infection and the suture material used. A series of experiments was therefore designed to test suture materials for their use in infected abdominal would closure. The nearest to the ideal, is a monofilament nonabsorbable suture (monofilament nylon). It has a low infectivity, resulted in satisfactory would tissue strength when used in infected wounds, and retained its strength. Infected, braided sutures of silk, nylon and polyglycolic acid even after 70 days were seen to contain bacteria and polymorphonuclear cells when examined electron microscopically. Absorption of silk and polyglycolic acid and encapsulation of non-absorbable braided nylon was delayed by the presence of infection. Monofilament nylon, in contrast, was unaffected, a fibrous capsule having formed by 10 days even in the infected state.

Abdominal Muscles↗