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R Couch

Publications and source records attributed to R Couch.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

The evolution of air transport systems: a pictorial review.

The air transport of patients began over seventy years ago in primitive biplanes. The ability to fly over the obstacles of the battlefield created enthusiasm in both the military and the medical communities. With the advent of vertical flight, the need for conventional runways was obviated allowing for casualties to be transported directly from the site of injury. After their introduction as air ambulances in 1945, helicopters soon supplanted ground ambulances with their speed and versatility. By the mid-1960s, civilian casualties were being transported by helicopter as regional trauma care developed in the United States. Today aeromedical programs continue to expand rapidly, even as closer scrutiny of their efficacy, cost, and safety are explored. A pictorial review highlighting the evolution of air transport systems is presented.

Aircraft↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Comparing providers' performance: problems in making the "report card" analogy fit.

This article examines the applicability of a "report card" strategy as a means of differentiating among providers on the basis of performance. The specific focus is on the potential effect of differences in data collection processes on the meaningfulness of subsequent comparisons among similar types of providers. Variations in reported nosocomial infection rates are analyzed in light of differences in reported surveillance practices; data for similar nursing units are analyzed as well. Thirty-one rural, rural referral, and urban acute care hospitals in the midwest participated in the study. The reported nosocomial infection rates for different types of nursing units and different hospital groups varied substantially. Likewise, there were marked variations in the nosocomial infection surveillance practices at the hospitals, which were found to explain some of the variation in the reported nosocomial infection rates for specific types of nursing units and nosocomial infections. The study conclude that differences in data collection processes may result in incorrect conclusions about differences in the quality of care provided by various providers.

Cross Infection↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Interspecies comparison of the pharmacokinetics of aldose reductase inhibitors.

The pharmacokinetics of three aldose reductase inhibitors (ARIs) were evaluated in various species, including rat, dog, cynomolgus monkey, rhesus monkey, chimpanzee, and man. The three ARIs (AL01567, AL01576, and AL01750) were administered intravenously as a single dose to all species except rat, which was dosed orally with AL01750, and man, who was dosed orally with AL01567 and AL01576. Plasma drug concentrations were measured by HPLC or liquid scintillation spectrometry and various pharmacokinetic parameters (clearance, CL; Vd, volume of distribution; and t1/2) were calculated from the data. Overall the pharmacokinetics of the three compounds were quite similar, each being characterized by low CL, intermediate Vd, and long t1/2. For AL01576, mean CL ranged from 0.21 ml/min/kg in cynomolgus monkey to 0.91 ml/min/kg in dog, mean Vd from 0.66 liter/kg in cynomolgus monkey to 2.4 liters/kg in dog and man and mean t1/2 from 29 hr in dog to 72 hr in man. Mean CL of AL01567 ranged from 0.14 ml/min/kg in man to 1.4 ml/min/kg in dog, mean Vd from 0.45 liter/kg in rat to 3.5 liters/kg in dog and mean t1/2 from 22 hr in rhesus monkey to 63 hr in man. Mean CL of AL01750 ranged from 0.13 ml/min/kg in chimpanzee to 1.3 ml/min/kg in dog, mean Vd from 0.40 liter/kg in rat to 1.8 liters/kg in dog and mean t1/2 from 12 hr in rhesus monkey to 62 hr in chimpanzee. For all three drugs, CL and Vd corrected for body weight were quite similar in all species except dog, whose CL and Vd were two- to fourfold greater than the other animals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aldehyde Reductase↗