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Biomedical subjects

P B Lake

Publications and source records attributed to P B Lake.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Mortality from aortic aneurysms in Australia, 1968 to 1997.

OBJECTIVES: Describe trends in mortality for aortic aneurysms in Australia for the period 1968 to 1997. DESIGN: Descriptive study of time trends in mortality. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Age-sex-standardised mortality rates with statistical analysis of trends using negative-binomial regression. RESULTS: While overall mortality rates for aortic aneurysms remained relatively constant for the period 1968 to 1992 in Australia, there has been a small but significant reduction in the rate from then until the end of the series in 1997. When different types of aneurysms are considered, there have been increases in the rates associated with abdominal aortic aneurysms and thoracic aortic aneurysms, while those for dissecting aortic aneurysms have declined. Most significantly, mortality rates for unspecified aortic aneurysms have declined. CONCLUSION: Aortic aneurysm mortality has declined in Australia in recent years. The reasons for this are unclear. While there have been increases associated with abdominal aortic aneurysm mortality, this is likely to be a result of more precise coding of death rather than any real increase in mortality.

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PubMed1993

Improving influenza vaccine coverage in at-risk groups. Good intentions are not enough.

OBJECTIVES: To raise awareness of the need for annual influenza vaccination in the elderly (those 65 years of age and older), and of the efficacy of organisational practice strategies (specifically at-risk registers and reminder systems) to improve influenza vaccine coverage. DATA SOURCES: Extensive search of the existing literature using MEDLINE and manual searching techniques. Recent key review articles on organisational strategies were also studied. STUDY SELECTION: Primary source articles were included if they evaluated the efficacy of vaccination and the various strategies used to improve coverage. More attention was paid to randomised controlled trials, although other study designs were considered. A formal algorithm for estimating the effect of organisational strategies was not used; rather, appropriate studies which highlighted advantages and disadvantages were selected. RESULTS: Current levels of vaccination for influenza are low. Negative patient attitudes and lack of an organised and systematic approach are the major barriers to improving vaccination rates. Vaccination coverage can be improved by 10%-30% by use of at-risk registers and reminder systems. CONCLUSIONS: Further research is required to determine the impact of both patient attitudes and reminder systems on influenza vaccination rates. A randomised controlled trial is currently underway to look at both these issues. Provider and patient reminder systems should be incorporated into general practice to improve the influenza vaccination rate.

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