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Biomedical subjects

M A Kidson

Publications and source records attributed to M A Kidson.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Post-traumatic stress disorder in Australian World War II veterans attending a psychiatric outpatient clinic.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain the frequency of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in World War II veterans attending a psychiatric outpatient clinic in an Australian veterans' hospital and to compare veterans with and without PTSD according to certain psychological variables. DESIGN: Over a three-month period veterans were assessed at their next appointment by their treating doctors (psychiatrists or psychiatric registrars) for PTSD according to the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of the American Psychiatric Association (DSM-III-R). At the same time they completed two questionnaires and provided information about their war experiences. SETTING: The psychiatric outpatient department at Heidelberg Repatriation Hospital, Melbourne. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred and twenty World War II veterans attended during the three-month period and 108 (90%) agreed to participate and are included in this study. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The treating doctors recorded the presence or absence and severity of veterans' symptoms of PTSD. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-60) and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) were then completed by participants under supervision. RESULTS: Forty-nine veterans (45%) were found to have active PTSD 45 years after the war. The presence of PTSD was significantly associated with the taking of casualties (an indicator of severity of war stress as reported by the veterans themselves) and with combat stress as rated by their treating doctors. The veterans with PTSD obtained significantly higher scores on both the GHQ-60 and the IES, and reported no significant reduction in symptoms of PTSD over the preceding 10 years. The presence of both an anxiety and a depressive disorder was substantially and significantly more common in the veterans who had PTSD. CONCLUSION: Overall, the study revealed a high frequency of PTSD and a strong persistence of this condition in psychiatric outpatients who were veterans of World War II.

Aged↗
PubMed1988

Empathic processes: perception by medical students of patients' anxiety and depression.

Perceptions by medical students of patients' affective states were investigated, and the effect of the students' own emotions on such perceptions. One hundred and one fourth-year medical students rated the levels of anxiety and depression of three women patients presented on videotape, rated their own levels of anxiety and depression and completed a questionnaire on aspects of the rating process. Students had widely different and often inappropriate perceptions of patients' levels of anxiety and depression. Students who consistently overrated anxiety or depression in patients, compared to those who consistently underrated, were themselves significantly more anxious or depressed. These data suggest a need in medical education for systematic teaching of empathic skills and for recognition of potential bias in clinical decision-making arising from the clinician's own emotional state.

Anxiety↗
PubMed1983

Acupuncture treatment of chronic back pain. A double-blind placebo-controlled trial.

Acupuncture treatment of chronic low back pain was studied in a placebo-controlled double-blind crossover trial completed by 77 patients. The patients had significantly increased depression, neuroticism, and hypochondriasis scores. Initial pain levels correlated with state-anxiety, depression, pain duration, and abnormal illness behavior measures, as well as with the intake of psychotropic but not analgesic medication. Overall reduction in pain score was 26 percent for acupuncture and 22 percent for placebo treatment; the difference was not significant (p greater than 0.6). Analgesic drug intake was reduced to a similar extent in both groups. During the first phase of treatment, patients receiving acupuncture had a greater but not significantly different reduction in pain rating scores compared with those receiving placebo (t = 0.52; p greater than 0.6). This group showed significantly lower pain scores (p less than 0.05) in the second phase of the trial while receiving placebo treatment. Overall reduction in individual patient's pain score was best predicted by initial pain severity (r = 0.43; p less than 0.001) and psychotropic drug intake (r = 0.37; p less than 0.001). None of the variables tested predicted which patients would specifically respond to acupuncture or placebo.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1978

Acupuncture analgesia for chronic low back pain.

Preliminary findings are presented of a double-blind, crossover trial comparing the effects of traditional with placebo acupuncture in relieving chronic low back pain. 77 patients completed the study. Following initial assessment and baseline readings, patients had a 4-week course of active or placebo treatment given twice weekly. After a 4 week rest period patients received the alternate treatment, using the same time schedule. A 4 week follow-up period completed the trial. Using visual analogue scale readings as a measure of pain there was no cumulative difference in pain reduction achieved by traditional as compared with placebo acupuncture treatment. Both groups achieved a 55% overall reduction in pain level at the end of the trial, compared with initial baseline readings.

Acupuncture Therapy↗
PubMed1977

Measuring medical students' empathy: a validation study.

The aim of this study was to validate the empathy scale (Hogan, 1969) for use in the context of medical education in Australia. Empathy Scale scores of students in their first clinical year at Monash University were correlated with patient ratings, self ratings, and peer ratings of empathy. Inter-rater and intra-rater reliability were assessed. Correlations were also obtained between Empathy Scale scores and course marks in psychiatry. Of the empathy ratings only those by peers correlated significantly with Empathy Scale scores (r = 0-45, P less than 0-05, n = 29). Empathy Scale scores were unrelated to academic performance. In a separate part of the study, not connected to the establishing of criterion-related validity, Empathy Scale scores of the medical student group were found to be significantly higher (t=4-44, df = 52, P less than 0-001) than the scores of psychiatric patients with a diagnosis of "personality disorder". This study provides some support for the Empathy Scale as a measure of interpersonal effectiveness, but has not established it as a valid measure of empathy in a clinical setting.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

A double blind trial of lithium carbonate and haloperidol in Huntington's chorea.

Six patients with a family history of Huntington's chorea (HC) participated in a double blind crossover trial involving four treatments--lithium carbonate, haloperidol, lithium carbonate and haloperidol, and placebo. Each treatment was administered for three weeks and, at the end of each treatment period, assessments were made of chorea and a number of psychological variables. None of the treatments significantly affected chorea measurements. With regard to the psychological variables, the levels of irritability, the frequency of angry outbursts and depression did appear to be affected in some patients by the treatment. Three patients improved on a combination of lithium carbonate and haloperidol while the remaining three did not. Haloperidol alone significantly raised depression ratings above levels for other treatments including placebo. It is suggested that lithium carbonate and haloperidol together should be seriously considered in the treatment of HC when patients are excessively irritable and impulsive.

Anger↗