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S Sheps

Publications and source records attributed to S Sheps.

30 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Age-related changes in humoral and cell-mediated immunity in Down syndrome children living at home.

Abnormalities of humoral and cell-mediated immunity have been described in Down syndrome but reported findings have been inconsistent. Confounding factors have included age, institutional versus home life, hepatitis B antigenemia, and zinc deficiency. To clarify this problem, we studied 64 children with Down syndrome (DS) compared with an age-matched control group. All children had always lived at home. All the DS children were negative for hepatitis B surface antigen. Serum zinc concentration in the DS group was on average 12 micrograms/dl lower than age-matched control children. They also had significantly lower levels of immunoglobulin M, total lymphocyte count, T and B lymphocytes, and T helper and suppressor cells. In vitro lymphocyte response to phytohemagglutinin and concanavalin A was significantly reduced at all ages in the DS group. Lymphocyte response to pokeweed mitogen increased with age in control children but decreased in the DS children. By 18 yr, the mean response for DS was 60000 cpm lower than controls. The DS group had significantly higher concentrations of immunoglobulins A and G than controls and the difference increased with age. Complement fractions C3 and C4 were also higher in the DS group at all ages. The number of HNK-1 positive cells was higher in the DS group than controls at all ages. When hepatitis and institutionalization are excluded as confounding factors, DS children still differ in both humoral and cell-mediated immunity from an age-matched control group.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Relative risk.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Accidents↗
PubMed1984

Pertussis in a vaccinated 12-year-old girl.

Pertussis, though uncommon in people older than 9 years, does occur (in girls and women primarily) and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of persistent cough. Earlier this year in British Columbia a 12-year-old girl contracted the disease, even though she had been fully vaccinated against it at the appropriate ages. The source of her infection was unknown. The clinical picture was classic except that the girl experienced intense headaches, lasting up to an hour, after the episodes of paroxysmal coughing. Canadian physicians and public health practitioners should encourage vaccination against pertussis.

Child↗
PubMed1984

Evaluation of primary care in a community clinic by means of explicit process criteria.

This study reports an evaluation of care given at an urban multidisciplinary community family practice clinic. By means of an "indicator-condition" approach, the criteria and rating system developed for the Burlington Randomized Controlled Trial (BRCT) were applied to 103 randomly selected charts demonstrating 124 episodes of care given for seven specific "conditions": otitis media, hypertension, prenatal care, care of the newborn up to the age of 12 months, immunization up to the age of 24 months, depression and urinary tract infection. Overall, 83 (67%) of the episodes of care studied were rated adequate or superior. The proportion of such episodes varied from 33% for hypertension to 81% for care of the newborn. No statistically significant differences were found between these results and those of the BRCT. A total of 48 instances of inadequate care were noted, of which 21 (44%) were omissions in patient management. Inadequate preventive care and care of chronic diseases was more common than inadequate care of acute infectious diseases. The method of primary care assessment used was found to be both practical and inexpensive.

British Columbia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Self glucose monitoring: a comparison of the Glucometer, Glucoscan, and Hypocount B.

Three reflectance meters available in Canada for glucose self monitoring were assessed for accuracy and reliability in determining capillary blood glucose compared with venous serum glucose assayed by the laboratory hexokinase method and to capillary whole blood glucose determined by the glucose-oxidase method on a YSI (Yellow Springs Instrument, Yellow Springs, Ohio). The readings with all three meters correlated with serum glucose rather than with whole blood glucose. The Ames Glucometer (Ames Division, Miles Laboratories, Rexdale, Ontario, Canada) was found to have the best predictive value over the full range of serum glucoses from 30 to 399 mg/dl. The Lifescan Glucoscan (Lifescan Inc., Mountainview, California), although reading satisfactorily in the range 30-180 mg/dl, significantly underestimated the capillary glucose at values greater than 180 mg/dl. The Hypoguard Hypocount B (Hypoguard Ltd., Suffolk, England) on the other hand read consistently high in the range 30-99 mg/dl but read satisfactorily over the range 100-399 mg/dl. All three methods, however, had inherent limitations that must be taken into account in their clinical application.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Sample size and power.

This paper sets forth the basic concepts of the calculation of sample size and power in clinical research. It provides the reader with a basic understanding of the relationship between sample size and power and the components within the research, such as the variability of the measure being used as the primary outcome. The paper also discusses a number of general issues related to sample size and power, such as the importance of the difference between clinical and statistical significance, how one approaches trials attempting to establish the equivalence of clinical interventions, and the critical need for appropriate consultation.

Clinical Trials as Topic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A pilot study assessing the health status of the Hispanic American community living in Vancouver.

We undertook a pilot study in order to obtain baseline health information on the Hispanic American Community in Vancouver and to evaluate the feasibility of research in this community. We used the Interviewer Administered Questionnaire and the Lifestyle and Your Health Questionnaire from the Canada Health Survey [CHS]. Questionnaires were translated into Spanish and back into English. Descriptive analyses were similar to the CHS and focussed on health services utilization, lifestyle practices and psychological parameters. 43.3% of males and 12% of females did not have any medical consultation in the previous 12 months; 100% of respondents stated that high cost did not allow regular dental care; 23.3% of males and 28.6% of females experienced anxiety and depression; 26.2% of females did not known how to do breast self-examination. Significant potential health problems exist in this community particularly related to stress, lack of preventive behaviour and low utilization rates. Further research in this community is possible, but hampered primarily by a reluctance to participate because of concerns regarding privacy and immigration status.

Adolescent↗