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Biomedical subjects

T Lincoln

Publications and source records attributed to T Lincoln.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Completing tuberculosis prophylaxis in jail: targeting treatment and comparison of rifampin/pyrazinamide with isoniazid regimens.

SETTING: A county jail. OBJECTIVE: To characterize the treatment of latent tuberculosis infection and the impact on treatment completion of the 2-month rifampin and pyrazinamide regimen as compared to the traditional 6- to 12-month isoniazid regimen among persons incarcerated at a county correctional facility. DESIGN: Retrospective review of tuberculosis records from January 1998 to December 2000. RESULTS: Of 2127 inmates who were tuberculin skin test positive, 146 were started on treatment. This was generally limited to those expected to remain incarcerated long enough to complete the course of treatment. Completion rates were 88% (67/76) for the 2-month and 74% (51/69) for the 6- to 12-month courses (P = 0.03), and 82% overall. The two regimens were similarly tolerated, but inmates on isoniazid were more likely to be released (despite longer projected incarceration) and not complete treatment once in the community. Thirty-seven per cent of persons for whom treatment was not indicated by the previous guidelines should have had treatment by the new guidelines. CONCLUSION: The 2-month rifampin/pyrazinamide regimen had a higher completion rate than the longer isoniazid regimen, without additional toxicity, and allowed more patients to be treated. Latent tuberculosis treatment targeted to those able to complete the regimen in jail yields high completion rates.

Antitubercular Agents↗

Intrapartum chlorhexidine vaginal irrigation and chorioamnion and placental microbial colonization.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether intrapartum chlorhexidine vaginal irrigation reduces microbial colonization of the chorioamnion or placenta. METHODS: Secondary analysis was made of a randomized trial. Cultures for aerobic and anaerobic bacteria, Mycoplasma species and Ureaplasma urealyticum were performed using standard isolation techniques. RESULTS: The placentas of 83 trial participants allocated to chlorhexidine and 93 allocated to placebo underwent evaluation. These two groups were statistically balanced for risk factors for infection. Aerobic bacteria were isolated from 47% of the chlorhexidine placentas vs. 51% of the placebo placentas (relative risk 0.9, 95% confidence interval 0.7-1.3), anaerobic bacteria from 30% and 35%, respectively (0.8, 0.5-1.3), group B streptococcus from 12% and 15% (0.8, 0.4-1.7), U. urealyticum from 18% and 29% (0.6, 0.4-1.1), Mycoplasma species from 6% and 11% (0.6, 0.2-1.6), and any organism from 57% and 67%, respectively (0.8, 0.7-1.1). CONCLUSIONS: Intrapartum chlorhexidine vaginal irrigation was associated with non-significant reductions in the rates of placental microbial isolation.

Administration, Intravaginal↗

Martian motion.

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News↗

Self-reported health and prior health behaviors of newly admitted correctional inmates.

OBJECTIVES: This study obtained comprehensive health information from newly admitted correctional inmates. METHODS: Interviews were conducted with 1198 inmates on day 3 of their incarceration. RESULTS: Interviewers found a high prevalence of chronic medical and mental health issues, limited access to health care, high rates of infections and sexually transmitted diseases, substantial substance abuse, other unhealthy behaviors and violence, and a strong desire for help with health-related problems. CONCLUSIONS: The data document the need to apply the public health approach to correctional health care, including detection and early treatment of disease, education and prevention to facilitate health and behavior change, and continuity of care into the community.

Adult↗

HL7 document patient record architecture: an XML document architecture based on a shared information model.

The HL7 SGML/XML Special Interest Group is developing the HL7 Document Patient Record Architecture. This draft proposal strives to create a common data architecture for the interoperability of healthcare documents. Key components are that it is under the umbrella of HL7 standards, it is specified in Extensible Markup Language, the semantics are drawn from the HL7 Reference Information Model, and the document specifications form an architecture that, in aggregate, define the semantics and structural constraints necessary for the exchange of clinical documents. The proposal is a work in progress and has not yet been submitted to HL7's formal balloting process.

Humans↗

Nitric oxide-dependent induction of glutathione synthesis through increased expression of gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase.

The nitric oxide (NO) donors S-nitrosopenicillamine or DetaNONOate, which release NO at a rate of 0-15 nM sec-1, were exposed to rat aortic vascular smooth muscle cells for a period of 0-24 h. This treatment resulted in an increase in total glutathione levels of two- to threefold under conditions where no cytotoxicity was detected. The signaling pathways do not involve activation of protein kinase G Ialpha nor are they cGMP dependent. Oxidation of reduced glutathione (GSH) was found after exposure to NO for 3-4 h at rates of formation at or above 8 nM sec-1. Increased intracellular GSH was due to enhanced expression of the rate-limiting enzyme for GSH synthesis, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase. Since NO has been shown previously to protect cells against oxidative stress, we propose that the increase in GSH by NO is a potential mechanism for enhancing the antioxidant defenses of the cell. This result also has important implications for identifying redox-sensitive cell signaling pathways that can be activated by NO.

Animals↗

The need for a thoughtful deployment strategy: evaluating clinicians' perceptions of critical deployment issues.

This paper presents data collected from 899 clinicians across three Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical centers where existing terminal-based architecture was being replaced with client-server architecture. Surveys were conducted with physicians (n = 184), nurses (n = 355) and other clinicians (n = 360) gathering user characteristics and their perceptions of five deployment issues (e.g. adequacy of technical and institutional support and perceptions of the soon-to-be-implemented clinical workstation). Mean scores for the five deployment issues for all clinicians indicates perceptions are somewhat neutral. However, when data is analyzed according to job classification, significant (p = 0.05) differences in perceptions were noted among groups of clinicians (e.g., physicians and registered nurses). Results of analyzing data grouped by VA site (n = 3) indicates significant (p = 0.05) differences exist among sites in clinicians' perceptions of the deployment issues. A thoughtful deployment strategy including an in-depth assessment of clinician users by job classification and by location may produce important information, critical to the successful deployment of new technologies, in very large health management institutions.

Attitude to Computers↗

Evaluation of an expert system on lymph node pathology.

BACKGROUND: Pathfinder is an Expert System that assists pathologists in making accurate diagnoses in the domain of lymph-node pathology. Pathfinder provides a differential diagnosis based on the initial histological feature(s) observed by the pathologist, and suggests to the user additional histological features for observation that are likely to narrow the differential diagnosis. PURPOSE: To evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of pathologists with and without the Pathfinder. METHODS: Thirty H&E stained slides from 30 lymph node biopsy specimens on which a Consensus diagnosis was made by two experts were reviewed by 19 pathologists to evaluate Pathfinder. After a period of training, 10 pathologists using Pathfinder (Interactive Computer Method) and 9 pathologists using the Routine Method (diagnosis without computer) determined a differential diagnosis for 15 slides (Test 1). Pathologists were then crossed over, trained, and evaluated the remaining 15 slides (Test 2). For each test, the proportion of "correct" diagnoses was compared between methods. In addition, the information integration attributes (making logical diagnosis given a set of specific histologic features) of Pathfinder and pathologists were compared. Finally, feature identification and quantification skills of pathologists were determined and correlated with the percent correct diagnosis. RESULTS: The diagnostic accuracy using Pathfinder was greater than that using the Routine Method (40% v 32%, P = .02). Diagnostic accuracy for the group of pathologists who made diagnosis using the Routine Method in Test 1 increased when they made diagnosis using Pathfinder in Test 2 (27% to 44%, P < .0001). The proportion of correct diagnosis for the group of pathologists who used Pathfinder in Test 1 remained virtually unchanged when they gave up Pathfinder in Test 2 (35% to 37%). The percentage of incompatible feature identification ("atypical proliferation" diagnosis) was significantly lower after using Pathfinder (P < .0001). In addition, information integration attributes of Pathfinder were significantly superior than that of the pathologists (P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: Pathfinder is a valuable tool that assists pathologists in making accurate diagnosis because it has superior attributes than pathologists to integrate information and to screen for observations incompatible with any specific disease.

Biopsy↗

The interplay of nitric oxide and peroxynitrite with signal transduction pathways: implications for disease.

Since the discovery that at least one form of endothelium derived relaxing factor is nitric oxide (NO), numerous studies have uncovered diverse roles for this free radical in a variety of physiological and pathophysiological processes. NO production, a process mediated by a family of enzymes termed NO synthases, has been detected in most cell types. Many of the effects of NO are thought to be mediated through its direct interaction with specific and defined cell signaling pathways. The nature of such interactions are highly dependent on the concentration of NO and cell type. Furthermore, specific NO derived reaction products, such as peroxynitrite, also have the potential to effect cell signal transduction events. As with NO, this can occur through diverse mechanisms and depends on concentration and cell type. It is perhaps not surprising that the reported effects of NO in different disease states are often conflicting. In this brief overview, a framework for placing these apparently disparate properties of NO will be described and will focus on the effects of NO and peroxynitrite on signaling pathways.

Animals↗