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Biomedical subjects

P Lynch

Publications and source records attributed to P Lynch.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1988

Age related changes in the concentration of serum keratan sulphate in children.

Serum was obtained from 155 children at the time of admission to hospital for elective surgery. The concentration of serum keratan sulphate was determined by an ELISA which uses an antibody specific for keratan sulphate, a molecule found predominantly in cartilage. Concentrations of keratan sulphate rise progressively during the first four years of life (0-2: mean = 357 micrograms/l; 2-4: mean = 422 micrograms/l) and then remain high until 12 years of age (mean = approx. 500 micrograms/l). At this time, concentrations drop markedly (13-year olds: mean = 377 micrograms/l; 14-year olds: mean = 318 micrograms/l). After age 15, concentrations continue to fall toward the concentrations found in normal adults. Serum concentrations did not show significant differences with respect to disease category, sex or race but were found to vary, sometimes markedly, from child to child at any one age. The results suggest human cartilage undergoes significant changes in metabolic activities during maturation. Measurements of keratan sulphate concentration in serum may prove useful in studying the biochemical and physiological bases of these changes and in monitoring growth or endochondral ossification during maturation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Alcohol associated deaths in British soldiers.

In the decade 1968-77, 203 (12%) of the 1723 deaths in off duty British Army males were associated with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) in excess of 80 mgs/100 mls. These deaths occurred in road traffic accidents (49%), acute alcohol poisoning (23%), suicide (9%), drowning (8%), falling from a height (7%), burns (3%), and interpersonal violence (1%). The mean BAC was similar in all of these categories (180 mgs/100 mls) except in acute alcohol poisoning where it was double this figure. The mean age at death was similar, approximately 24 years, for all categories except suicide, where it was 28 years. The mean age at death of those with raised alcohol levels was not significantly different from that of the total number in the same group. Alcohol associated death is generally more common abroad than in the United Kingdom, with the notable exception that, in the British Army of the Rhine (BAOR), the incidence of alcohol associated road traffic deaths is no higher than that in the United Kingdom. BAC above 80 mgs % is much less common in soldiers whose deaths occur on duty (1.6%).

Accidents↗
PubMed1987

Rethinking the role of isolation practices in the prevention of nosocomial infections.

To prevent nosocomial infections, hospitals use two types of procedures: routine patient care practices (handwashing, for example), which are used in appropriate circumstances on all patients, and more intensive isolation precautions, which are implemented only when patients are suspected of having particular infections. Aspects of these current practices, however, may limit their effectiveness. We propose the use of body substance isolation, a simpler alternative system that is used for all patients, not just in response to a specific diagnosis, and that emphasizes the increased use of barrier precautions, especially gloving, when contact with potentially infectious bodily secretions is anticipated. Because of its rationale and simplicity, body substance isolation has been enthusiastically accepted at our hospitals, and we encourage others to consider and evaluate this approach.

Bedding and Linens↗
PubMed1986

Education of the adult learner: a practical approach for the infection control practitioner.

Infection control practitioners (ICPs) are expected to be educators in their role, yet few have had formal training in preparing, presenting, and evaluating education programs for personnel from different disciplines. This article presents guidance from several sources specific to "andragogy"--the art and science of helping adults learn--to assist the ICP in the role of educator.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Electrocardiograph voltage in fit young men.

Several criteria exist for the diagnosis for left ventricular hypertrophy as shown by high voltage on the electrocardiograph. This study of 200 healthy young recruits to the Royal Artillery with normal blood pressure and normal left ventricular wall thickness as measured by echocardiography [corrected] shows that no matter which criteria are used the false positive rate is approximately 25%. High voltage is a normal phenomenon in young men and its use as a predictor of left ventricular hypertrophy is likely to be misleading in this age group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

The design of a model for a three dimensional stress analysis of the cement layer beneath the medial plateau of a knee prosthesis.

Factors which have influenced the design of a large scale model for an analysis of the strain in three dimensions of the cement layer beneath the medial plateau of a knee prosthesis are discussed. Materials were selected to model the medial tibial plateau, underlying cement and bone for a typical prosthesis and a two dimensional finite element analysis was used to indicate where the strain gauges should be embedded in the model.

Bone Cements↗
PubMed1985

Isolation practices: a historical perspective.

Isolation practices assume a major role in the activities of many hospital infection prevention and control programs, yet few of the practices have been studied for efficacy. The origins for some of these practices can be traced to the nursing literature published in the American Journal of Nursing in the early part of the century. Others originated with public health measures for quarantine of communicable diseases in the community or attempts to simulate operating room practices for compromised patients. This historical review presents information about isolation practices from the perspective of the American Journal of Nursing with additional information from some Centers for Disease Control and American Hospital Association publications. The American Journal of Nursing was selected because it is a major source for content of nursing textbooks from which most nurses first learn isolation practices. Nurses are also the persons primarily responsible for the implementation of isolation practices in hospitals. Two themes emerged from this historical review: (1) a continuing debate about the importance of the inanimate environment and the importance of the airborne route versus the importance of contact with moist body substances as major modes of transmission of infectious agents and (2) a continuing debate between those who believe in special isolation techniques only for persons with diagnosed infections and those who believe all persons may harbor potentially infectious agents and who therefore focus attention on assessment of care requirements where contact with body substances is anticipated. This review is intended to encourage critical evaluation of isolation practices in use in hospitals today.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1985

Monitoring: surveillance for nosocomial infections and uses for assessing quality of care.

Infectious complications of hospitalization are monitored through surveillance programs in most facilities. Information about the patient, the site involved, the associated organism, and risk factors is routinely recorded, analyzed, and reported within the hospital. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals has supported this epidemiologic surveillance model for infections. The methods used to accomplish the task differ somewhat among hospitals. The epidemiology of noninfectious complications and the methods for monitoring them are more diverse and are not described in infection control literature. The epidemiologic principles, investigation methods, and management strategies for correcting problems are very similar to those used for infectious complications. This article reviews selected publications from the infection control and quality assurance literature for descriptions of monitoring programs, indications for monitoring, methods employed, and uses of the information obtained.

Cross Infection↗
PubMed1985

Coronary risk profile of young soldiers with coronary heart disease.

In a retrospective study of coronary risk factors in young soldiers with coronary heart disease (CHD), designed to explain why junior ranks in the British Army have a higher mortality rate from CHD than comparable British civilians, high prevalence of heavy cigarette smoking was found to be the major discriminant. In general, young men with CHD have higher prevalence of cigarette smoking, and a higher per capita consumption than older men with CHD. They also have higher cholesterol levels, perhaps resulting from more symptomatic cases of familial hypercholesterolaemia in the younger age group. Young affected soldiers are more obese than young affected civilians and smoke more cigarettes (24% smoke 40 or more per day). This may be related to the reduced cost of cigarettes to soldiers in some parts of the world. In the British Army, the expected protective effect of physical fitness is overwhelmed by the deleterious effect of high cigarette consumption.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Sudden death in sport before and after introduction of the Basic Fitness Test.

This study examines sudden unexpected deaths in relation to strenuous exercise in the five years following the introduction of the Basic Fitness Test viz: 1978-82 and, by comparison with an identical study of the years 1968-77, shows that the annual exercise associated mortality rate rose from 3.5 per 100,000 before the Basic Fitness Test to 4.75 per 100,000 after its introduction. Sudden unexpected death in relation to strenuous exercise is rare, and its incidence has not importantly changed since the introduction of the Basic Fitness Test.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

A national task analysis of infection control practitioners, 1982. Part One: methodology and demography.

A task analysis survey was conducted in 1982 by the Certification Board of Infection Control ( CBIC ) to determine the tasks performed by ICPs and the knowledge and abilities needed to perform these tasks. Data were obtained from 473 (78.8%) respondents to a nationwide mail survey of 600 ICPs . The respondents represent a randomized, stratified sample of ICPs in various types of U.S. acute care hospitals ranging in size from fewer than 50 beds to more than 500 beds. The results of the survey were used, in part, to develop the Infection Control Certification Examination, offered for the first time on November 19, 1983. According to the survey results, the modal or typical ICP is a white woman between the ages of 31 and 50 years using the title of infection control nurse. She has been employed full time for 2 to 10 years in infection control practice in a Joint Commission on Accreditation of Hospitals (JCAH)--accredited community acute care hospital having 301 to 500 beds. She is working at the supervisory level, is on the nursing department payroll, votes as a member of the hospital's infection control committee, and received her last degree or diploma more than 15 years ago.

Adult↗