[The disease pattern in an acute medical department with special attention to the significance of psycho-social problems].
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Petersen.
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Systemic availability of acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) in normal human subjects after oral ingestion of 1 g in three different formulations was determined by using high-pressure liquid chromatography for ASA assay. For an effervescent, a plain and a sustained release preparation systemic availabilities expressed in percent of the ingested dose were 16.9 +/- 3.2, 8.6 +/- 1.2 and 2.6 +/- 0.4%, respectively. All subjects had clearly measureable amounts of ASA in plasma after oral intake of a sustained release preparation with an average peak concentration of 15 mumol/l. Peak concentration after an effervescent and plain formulation was on the average 80 and 40 mumol/l, respectively. Half-life of ASA in plasma was 18.1 +/- 1.2 min. for the effervescent and 28.7 +/- 5.3 min. for the plain preparation, while the elimination phase was too ill defined for the sustained release formulation. Average plasma half-life of salicylic acid (SA) was similar after the three different administration forms with values between 3.0 and 3.7 hrs. Further, no difference in SA distribution volumes or amounts of SA absorbed was found. The present study demonstrates that oral ingestion of ASA in effervescent, plain and sustained release formulations gives rise to significant amounts of ASA in plasma. Concentrations found indicate that long-term antithrombotic therapy with ASA in a sustained release formulation may be possible.
Research on personality traits has suggested an association between depression and certain personality traits, such as neuroticism and extraversion. Costa and McCrae's five-factor personality inventory (NEO) has been shown to measure personality traits in a nonclinical population, but its use has not been fully explored in clinical populations. This study aims to compare NEO results in a sample of depressed outpatients with published test norms, and determine if different levels of neuroticism and extraversion are associated with differences in certain psychosocial and clinical characteristics. Seventy-six depressed outpatients participating in antidepressant clinical trials completed this self-report questionnaire before beginning pharmacological treatment. Diagnosis of major depressive disorder (MDD) was made using the Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-III-R or DSM-IV and the severity of depression was measured with the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAM-D). The three analyses conducted were as follows: (1) NEO factor scores were compared with published normative means; (2) three groups, based on level of neuroticism, were compared on certain psychosocial and clinical characteristics; and (3) three groups, based on level of extraversion, were compared on the same psychosocial and clinical characteristics. Both the males and females obtained T score values for the Neuroticism Scale 1.5 SD above the mean, for the Extraversion Scale 1.5 SD below the mean, and for the Conscientiousness Scale 1.5 SD below the mean. No significant differences were found between subjects with different levels of neuroticism and extraversion, although a trend did exist indicating a positive relationship between neuroticism and severity of depression. Depressed outpatients experience frequent negative affects, have irrational thought processes, cope with stress poorly, have difficulty controlling impulses, prefer to be alone, and have difficulty carrying out tasks. Future studies should examine how such personality factors affect response to treatment and course of illness.
Nurses working in the field of substance misuse are aware of the risks of HIV and hepatitis B among individuals who indulge in high-risk behaviour. This paper highlights another danger to injecting drug users, that of hepatitis C, and argues that health professionals need to be aware of this and tailor their practice accordingly.
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