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Biomedical subjects

R D Adelman

Publications and source records attributed to R D Adelman.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Multi-dimensional interaction analysis: a collaborative approach to the study of medical discourse.

This paper reviews the conceptual frameworks of several research approaches to the study of medical interactions. Two methods are discussed: process analysis and microanalysis. Adapted from Robert Bales's study of the behavior of small groups, process analysis sorts and tallies such interviewing processes as questioning and informing, achieving analysis of large numbers of interviews at the expense of attention to the content or context of the interview. When used in medical interaction research, process analysis seeks correlation between processes documented in the interview and outcomes of the interview. The methods of conversation analysts and discourse analysts, microanalyses subject medical conversations to close linguistic study and contextualization. This review focuses on the underlying assumptions, generalizability of findings, and the types of subjective judgment applied by the methods. It then describes the Multi-Dimensional Interaction Analysis (MDIA) system, a linguistic analytic instrument that combines features of process analysis and microanalysis to capture content, process, and context of medical conversations. The MDIA's validity and reliability are reported and implications for future research are outlined.

Communication↗

The effects of the presence of a third person on the physician-older patient medical interview.

OBJECTIVE: To compare communication in triadic (three-person) and dyadic (two-person) older patient medical interviews and to determine the influence of the presence of a third person on the physician-older patient relationship. DESIGN: Matched sample of dyadic and triadic audiotaped outpatient medical visits. Audiotapes were coded with the Multi-dimensional Interaction Analysis (MDIA) system. SETTING: Hospital-based medical primary care group practice in a major urban teaching institution. PARTICIPANTS: Patients 60 years and older who were making their first visit to study physicians. In a sample of 96 audiotaped initial medical visits, 15 encounters involved three persons. These 15 cases were matched with 15 dyadic interviews for gender and race of the patient and for gender and race of the physician. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Content, interactional processes, and specific language and communication behaviors of older patients, physicians, and third persons in the medical encounter, as measured by the MDIA system. RESULTS: The specific content and the quality of interactional processes of physicians were not affected by the presence of a third person. However, older patients raised fewer topics in all content areas (medical, personal habits, psychosocial, and physician-patient relationship) in triads than in dyads. Overall, patients were less responsive (ie, the quality of their questioning, informing, and supportiveness was poorer) on patient-raised topics in triads than in dyads. Patients were rated as less assertive and expressive, and there was less joint decision-making and shared laughter in triads than in dyads. Patients were frequently excluded from conversations in visits in which a third person was present. CONCLUSIONS: The presence of a third person in the medical encounter changes the interactional dynamics of older patient medical interviews and may influence the development of a trusting and effective physician-older patient relationship.

Adult↗

Nephrocalcinosis in very low birth weight neonates: sonographic patterns, histologic characteristics, and clinical risk factors.

Fifty infants weighing less than 1200 grams at birth who survived at least 3 weeks were enrolled in this study, of whom 14 (28%) developed sonographic evidence of nephrocalcinosis by 9 weeks, despite median total furosemide dose of only 2 mg/kg. Risk factors for development of neonatal nephrocalcinosis were white race (P < 0.01) and positive family history of kidney stones (P < 0.001). Sonography demonstrated echogenic foci measuring 2 to 9 mm near the papillary tips in most infants with nephrocalcinosis even though the kidneys apparently had not progressed through the stages of diffuse medullary echogenicity that Patriquin and Robitaille postulated are the sonographic correlates of the Anderson-Carr-Randall progression, a leading theory of renal calculus formation. The presence of intratubular calcifications in the two patients studied post mortem also is contrary to the Anderson-Carr-Randall theories that center on interstitial calcium deposition. Although neonatal nephrocalcinosis shares some clinical risk factors (white race and positive family history of renal calculi) with renal calcium deposition in older children and adults, the prevalent theories of renal calcium deposition do not account for its sonographic or histologic manifestations.

Adult↗

Critical care for the geriatric patient.

Approximately one-half of all patients admitted to the intensive care unit are over the age of 65, even though elderly people comprise about 12% of the population. This article defines the special needs of the geriatric patient within the critical care setting. Developing an approach to the care of critically ill geriatric patients based on knowledge of their medical and psychosocial needs is discussed.

Aged↗

Diagnostic and treatment guidelines on elder abuse and neglect.

It is estimated that between 1.5 and 2 million older adults experience abuse or neglect each year in the United States. Elder mistreatment may be physical, psychological, or financial, and it may be perpetrated by family members or by other informal or formal caregivers. Physicians are encouraged to play an active role in assessment, intervention, and prevention.

Aged↗

Nephrocalcinosis in very low birth weight neonates: family history of kidney stones and ethnicity as independent risk factors.

Serial renal ultrasonography was performed in 50 consecutive neonates with birth weights less than 1200 gm who survived to at least 3 weeks of age. Nephrocalcinosis developed in 8 (67%) of 12 white and only 6 (16%) of 38 nonwhite infants (p < 0.01). Seven (78%) of nine infants with a family history of kidney stones had nephrocalcinosis compared with only 7 (17%) of 41 without a family history of kidney stones (p < 0.001). We conclude that nephrocalcinosis in our population of very low birth weight neonates is significantly and independently associated with a family history of kidney stones and white race.

Birth Weight↗

Geriatric education. Part I: Efficacy of a mandatory clinical rotation for fourth year medical students.

OBJECTIVES: To describe the curriculum of a mandatory, fourth-year geriatrics clerkship and assess its impact on medical students' knowledge of geriatric medicine and attitudes toward the elderly. DESIGN: One group, before/after trial. SETTING: Mount Sinai School of Medicine of the City University of New York. PARTICIPANTS: Entire fourth year class of medical students (n = 127). INTERVENTION: Four-week-long clinical geriatrics clerkship. MEASUREMENTS: Pre- and post-rotation: test of knowledge; Aging Semantic Differential (ASD) attitude scale; Modified Maxwell-Sullivan attitude scale; questionnaire. MAIN RESULTS: Seventy percent of students found the rotation to be educationally valuable; however, only one-third of students would have taken the clerkship had it not been required. Mean geriatric knowledge score increased by 18.7% (P less than 0.001). Mean ASD attitude score did not change significantly (130.5 +/- 19.2 pre-rotation versus 126.6 +/- 18.8 post-rotation, P = 0.15), but students started the rotation with a neutral attitude. Over 90% of students agreed they would welcome elderly into their future practice. CONCLUSION: If a national curricular goal is to improve medical students' knowledge of geriatric medicine, required rather than elective rotations may be in order.

Adult↗

Geriatric education. Part II: The effect of a well elderly program on medical student attitudes toward geriatric patients.

OBJECTIVE: To assess impact of exposure to healthy elderly on medical students' attitudes toward the elderly. DESIGN: Prospective, randomized, controlled intervention trial. SETTING: Community-based Well Elderly Program. PARTICIPANTS: Ninety-three fourth year medical students on a required Geriatric Medicine clerkship who were assigned to either a tertiary care university medical center or a teaching nursing home. INTERVENTION: Thirty-five students were randomly assigned to participate in a Well Elderly Program and were compared to a control group of 58 students at equivalent sites who did not participate. MEASUREMENTS: Pre- and post-rotation, students were given the Aging Semantic Differential (ASD), a validated geriatric attitudinal scale. MAIN RESULTS: By repeated measures analysis of variance, the difference between pre- and post-rotation ASD scores were most significant for students who participated in the Well Elderly Program; site did not exert a significant interaction effect. CONCLUSION: These results underscore the importance of exposure to healthy older people on effecting positive attitude changes among medical students on geriatrics rotations.

Adult↗

Urinary tract infections in children. An update.

Urinary tract infection is a common and frequently recurring condition in children. The susceptibility of the host, the presence of urinary tract abnormalities, and the virulence of the urinary pathogens are of primary importance in the development of the infection. Renal parenchymal scarring, hypertension, and renal insufficiency are well-established complications of the infection in children. To reduce the risk of renal damage, diagnosis and treatment must be prompt. The diagnosis demands radiologic evaluation of the urinary tract in all boys, all children younger than 5 years, all patients with voiding dysfunction, and school-aged girls with recurrent infection to identify those patients with vesicoureteral reflux, obstruction, or other urinary tract abnormalities. Both voiding cystourethrography and renal ultrasonography are the initial examinations to use to determine the next appropriate study. Children with vesicoureteral reflux or with recurrent urinary tract infections should receive prophylactic antibiotic therapy and should be observed closely to prevent renal scarring.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗

Acute renal failure in the neonate.

Acute renal failure is a common occurrence in the neonatal intensive care unit. This article summarizes pathophysiology, causes, differential diagnosis, methods of prevention, management, and outcome of acute renal failure in the neonate. Comparative roles of continuous arteriovenous hemofiltration and peritoneal dialysis are discussed.

Acute Kidney Injury↗

Concordance between physicians and their older and younger patients in the primary care medical encounter.

To test the hypothesis that less concordance exists between older patients and their physicians than between younger patients and their physicians, we examined agreements between physicians and patients on the major goals and topics discussed during an outpatient medical encounter. Using coded audiotapes of the medical visit, patient postvisit interviews, and physician questionnaires, concordance was found to be significantly greater for younger patients and their physicians than for older patients and their physician on the major goals and major medical topics discussed during the primary care interview. This paper explores possible explanations for these findings.

Age Factors↗

Arterial hypertension in the newborn infant.

Blood pressure is low at birth. It increases with age by about 1 mm Hg per day within the period of 3-8 days. It rises by about 1 mm Hg per week between 5 and 6 weeks of age. Neonatal hypertension carries a risk of cardiorespiratory failure and cerebral distress. Causes of neonatal hypertension are either secondary to congenital malformations or to acquired disease states. Congenital etiologies include: renal artery stenosis, renal artery hypoplasia, abdominal aortic atresia, coarctation of the aorta, kidney cystic disease, reflux nephropathies. Acquired causes include: thrombo-embolic renal artery complications secondary to umbilical artery catheterization or to thrombosis of the ductus arteriosus, closure of abdominal wall defects, adrenal hematoma with renal artery compression, seizures in preterm infants, central nervous system disorders, drug-induced hypertension, infants of drug-dependent mothers. The morbidity and the mortality of neonatal hypertension are elevated. Death may be caused by severe uncontrollable hypertension or by concomitant problems. Morbidity may be related to drug-resistant hypertension, or to the side-effects of hypotensive drugs.

Adrenal Gland Diseases↗

Renal calcification in preterm infants: pathophysiology and long-term sequelae.

We examined the clinical course of 17 preterm infants with chronic lung disease who received loop diuretics and developed nephrocalcinosis; nine of them were followed for up to 4.5 years. The mean gestational age was 26.8 weeks (SD 2.2 weeks), and mean birth weight was 830 gm (SD 276 gm). The diagnosis of renal calcification was made at a mean age of 12 weeks (SD 6.5 weeks) by abdominal x-ray examination, screening abdominal ultrasound studies or, both. Calcification was associated with both furosemide therapy and the presence of multiple potential risk factors. Renal calcification, length, and function were subsequently evaluated in nine patients at a mean age of 21.3 months (SD 15.3 months). Improvement in calcification occurred in five patients, with total resolution in four. Renal length, determined by ultrasound examination and corrected for body length, was normal in 17 of 18 kidneys. Serum creatinine values and calculated glomerular filtration rates were abnormal in four of nine patients. We conclude that renal calcification in preterm infants is associated with multiple risk factors, including furosemide usage, and tends to diminish during the first year of life. However, renal function may remain compromised in some patients.

Birth Weight↗

Effect of chronic propranolol on growth of newborn beagle puppies.

To evaluate the effect of chronic propranolol on body growth and organ size, newborn beagle puppies were assigned to each of three treatment groups: high propranolol (18 mg/kg/day); low propranolol (6 mg/kg/day), and control. Heart rate and systolic blood pressure were significantly lower in animals receiving propranolol (p less than 0.001). There were no significant differences between groups at any time during the 6 months of observation in length, weight and necropsy wet weights or histology of brain, heart, kidney, lung, liver, thyroid, pancreas, adrenal, pituitary, prostate or gonad, or in humerus and femur length. Chronic propranolol therapy had no apparent effect on body growth and individual organ size of normal newborn beagle puppies.

Administration, Oral↗