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Biomedical subjects

R A Charter

Publications and source records attributed to R A Charter.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Determining random responding for the category, speech-sounds perception, and Seashore Rhythm tests.

A formula is presented for determining if scores from the Category, Speech-Sounds Perception, and Seashore Rhythm tests are significantly different from random responding. Confidence intervals for random responding are also presented. Results of published studies involving normative and non-normal subjects are reviewed, and the percentage of subjects responding in the random range are presented. Normative subjects' scores on the Category and Speech-Sounds Perception tests do not fall into the random range, but high percentages of their Seashore Rhythm Test scores do fall into the random range.

Brain Damage, Chronic↗
PubMed1990

Serum alkaline phosphatase and inorganic phosphorus values in spinal cord injury patients with heterotopic ossification.

The blood chemistry was studied in 140 spinal cord injury (SCI) patients (acute injury ward), including 18 patients who developed heterotopic ossification (HO). Comparisons between the HO and non-HO groups were made to determine if the alkaline phosphatase (AP), inorganic phosphorus (P), or calcium (Ca) levels were of diagnostic value. The results showed that AP, P, and Ca by themselves were of little help in the diagnosis of HO. However, the combination of elevated AP and P was significant, especially if both were consistently elevated. There were no significant differences between the HO and non-HO groups concerning completeness or level of spinal injury.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The nature of arthritis pain.

A modified version of the McGill Pain Questionnaire in visual analogue format was used to evaluate the sensory, affective and evaluative intensities of pain experienced by 40 patients with rheumatoid arthritis and 20 patients with degenerative arthritis. The affective component of the pain was found to be more intense than the sensory component in all patients indicating the importance of emotional factors in the pain experience. The sensory aspects of the pain were more complex than the affective ones reflecting the varied sources and combinations of somatic pathology. There were no significant differences found in the overall pain experience between rheumatoid and degenerative arthritis. No differences were noted in the evaluative category of pain. Overall pain intensity increased with disease duration in both rheumatoid and degenerative arthritis. The relationship of affective and sensory components of the pain experience did not alter with duration of disease.

Aged↗
PubMed1984

The cancer ward: patient perceptions--staff misperceptions.

The disparity the between patient and staff perceptions of life experiences associated with the diagnosis of cancer has relevance to our understanding of the dynamics of patient-staff interaction on an oncology unit. In order to better delineate the psychological issues within the staff-patient relationship, 26 advanced cancer patients, 5 oncologists and 10 nursing staff ranked in order of personal importance to the patients, 14 areas of life changes or loss commonly alluded to in the psychosocial oncology literature. Findings indicated considerable interpatient variability in what constitutes a major loss. Staff ratings of patient loss showed greater consistency and overemphasized certain losses. MD's significantly overrated the importance of pain in these patients. Such biased staff preconceptions about patient values may deleteriously affect the treatment milieu.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

The limits of verbal pain descriptors.

The evidence that verbal descriptors can reliably portray the sensory and affective qualities of pain states and various clinical groupings of pain patients is examined. Support for the proposition that different pain syndromes can be distinguished on the basis of such word patterns is lacking.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1983

The language of pain intensity and complexity: new methods of scoring the McGill Pain Questionnaire.

In Part I the McGill Pain Questionnaire was administered to 25 cancer patients, scored and analyzed in the traditional manner. Results indicated that patients with cancer pain appear to be similar in terms of intensity of the pain and the kind of pain which they experience with respect to sensory, affective, and evaluative qualities. Part II presents a new method of administering, scoring, and analyzing responses to the questionnaire, which allows for a more comprehensive interpretation of pain. In Part III the data from Part I are reanalyzed using the new scoring system. As hypothesized, the intensity of cancer pain is higher along the affective dimension than along the sensory. With regard to complexity of the experience of cancer pain, neither the sensory nor the affective dimension is more salient. The new system of scoring and analysis may enable future investigators to specify a unique pain intensity-complexity relationship for each clinical pain syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Reattribution of cancer pain.

The psychological aspects of cancer pain have been largely neglected except in the treatment related research literature. The present study examines the role of attribution theory in illuminating the experience of cancer pain. Twenty-five cancer patients were administered pain and discomfort vertical visual analogue scales and a measure of locus of control. Data pertaining to intensity and perceived source (cancer, cancer therapy or unrelated benign conditions) of pain and discomfort, per cent attribution to each and physician ratings as to source were also obtained. While results indicate that a variety of reattributional phenomena do occur in cancer patients, such cognitive reappraisal does not diminish pain intensity. The findings further suggest that locus of control expectancies are important mediating variables in the reattribution of cancer pain and discomfort. The study raises research and clinical issues pertinent to understanding the experience of pain associated with cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Prorating the Wechsler Memory Scale.

The Wechsler Memory Scale suffers from many weaknesses. Two of these are the lack of adequate norms and standard scores for the individual subtests. Both of these contribute to the difficulty in prorating the Total Raw Score when a subtest is missing. The present paper provides a set of weights, obtained from stepwise regression, to be used in estimating the Total Raw Score when a subtest is missing. The accuracy of these estimates was measured by a double cross-validation. The accuracy of the Memory Quotient estimates also is discussed. The Ss were 122 non-neurological patients (3 female) with a mean age of 46.7 years and a mean education of 11.3 years.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Relationship between effective coping and perceived quality of life in spinal cord injured patients.

This article describes a study that explored the relationship between coping effectiveness and perceived quality of life in spinal cord injured patients. The subjects were 40 functionally disabled inpatient wheelchair-bound individuals from two rehabilitation units at the Long Beach VA Medical Center in Long Beach, CA. Data were analyzed using Pearson's correlation coefficient (r) and descriptive statistics. Patients with the most effective coping mechanisms also had the highest quality of life. The results were the same for both paraplegics and quadriplegics.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stress during internship: a prospective study of mood states.

Mood changes of interns during the internship year were studied using the Profile of Mood States (POMS), a standardized adjective checklist. All 35 interns in the University of California, Irvine-Long Beach Medical Program completed the POMS at internship orientation and at five other times during the year. Of the six mood factors measured by the POMS, four changed significantly during the testing period. Anger-hostility scores were higher (p less than 0.01) in December than at orientation and remained so throughout the year. Tension-anxiety scores were higher (p less than 0.01) and fatigue-inertia scores were lower (p less than 0.01) at orientation than at any other time during the year. Vigor-activity scores were higher (p less than 0.01) at orientation than at the end of the year. Depression-dejection and confusion-bewilderment scores did not change significantly during the study period. Recognition of these mood changes is helpful for drawing the attention of house staff and faculty members to emotional stresses of training, and for identifying issues for discussion in intern support groups.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Horizontal versus vertical block resection for early floor of mouth carcinoma.

Although the literature affirms the superiority of block resection over local excision for the surgical treatment of early squamous cell carcinoma of the anterior floor of the mouth, the best method of block resection is not certain. Two methods are in widespread use; a horizontal procedure (HB) and a vertical procedure (VB). This retrospective study compares these two procedures according to outcome in separate series of patients treated between 1970 and 1984. Patients were followed for a minimum of 3 years with an average follow-up of 6 years. Twenty-five patients underwent HB while 27 underwent VB. Control at the primary site was 100% for HB and 74% for VB. Neck metastasis and distant metastasis occurred with equal frequency. Determinate survivals at 3 and 5 years were 96% and 91% for the HB group and 93% and 65% for the VB group. Local recurrence correlated with tumor growth posteriorally toward the ventrum of the tongue, suggesting an explanation for the difference in outcome between the two procedures. We conclude that the HB procedure is the preferable surgical procedure for stage I and II disease.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fear of death, death attitudes, and religious conviction in the terminally ill.

The way in which an individual's belief system about death affects fear of death (FOD) has been largely neglected in the thanatology literature. The present study addresses the dimension of certainty or uncertainty with which beliefs about death are held and examines the way in which such attitudes might affect the FOD in dying patients. Twenty terminally ill patients were administered three FOD measures and a death perspective scale which assessed eight death attitudes. FOD among the terminally ill at both the conscious and fantasy level was low. Increased age was associated with declining conscious FOD, independent of life expectancy. Of the eight death perspectives, the attitudes toward death as afterlife-of-reward most directly tap the dimension of certainty or uncertainty. A significant curvilinear relationship emerged between this death perspective and FOD, suggesting that beliefs are a less critical determinant of death fear than is the certainty with which these beliefs are held. The study raises research and clinical issues pertinent to understanding FOD in dying patients.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Is tinnitus a psychological disorder?

There have been consistent reports in the psychosomatic literature indicating that a patient's perception of tinnitus as well as differential response to various treatment modalities may be affected by personality variables. The present study examined several personality correlates of subjective tinnitus in forty-five male patients referred to the Audiology Clinic of a large VA Medical Center with constant tinnitus of at least six months duration. Information was also collected on etiology, onset and chronicity, medications, prior treatment and related medical problems. Four standard psychological tests (MMPI, Cattel's 16 PF, Rotter's Locus of Control and Holmes and Rahe Life Stress Scale) were administered to all patients in the study, in addition to a comprehensive audiologic and otologic evaluation. Correlational analyses were used to examine the relationship between personality profiles and the demographic, medical and audiologic data. The expected psychosomatic characteristics of this patient population did not emerge as had been predicted from previous reports in the literature. Findings suggest that tinnitus may have an unwarranted reputation as a psychopathological disorder. Therefore, conventional psychotherapy may be of limited efficacy whereas standard audiologic treatment approaches may be more promising.

Adult↗