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Biomedical subjects

Terry Moore

Publications and source records attributed to Terry Moore.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

A randomized, clinical trial comparing the efficacy of continuous nebulized albuterol (15 mg) versus continuous nebulized albuterol (15 mg) plus ipratropium bromide (2 mg) for the treatment of acute asthma.

Multiple studies have examined adding nebulized ipratropium bromide to intermittent albuterol for the treatment of acute asthma. Although continuous nebulized treatments in themselves offer benefits; few data exist regarding the efficacy of adding ipratropium bromide to a continuous nebulized system. To compare continuous nebulized albuterol alone (A) vs. albuterol and ipratropium bromide (AI) in adult Emergency Department (ED) patients with acute asthma, a prospective, randomized, double-blind, controlled clinical trial was conducted on a convenience sample of patients (IRB approved). The setting was an urban ED. Consenting patients > 18 years of age with peak expiratory flow rates (PEFR) < 70% predicted, between October 15 and December 28, 1999, were randomized to albuterol (7.5 mg/h) + ipratropium bromide (1.0 mg/h), or albuterol alone via continuous nebulization using the Hope Nebulizer (B&B Technologies Inc., Orangevale, CA) for 2 h. Main outcome measures were changed in mean improvement at 60 and 120 min PEFR compared to baseline (time 0). Secondary measures were admission rates. Data were analyzed using appropriate parametric and non-parametric tests (p < 0.05 statistically significant). Sixty-two patients (30 women) completed enrollment: 32 in (AI) and (30) in (A). Four (A) and 2 (AI) patients are without 120 min data: 3 (A) and 1 (AI) were discharged after 60 min, whereas one each (A) and (AI) worsened and were admitted before 120 min. There were no statistically significant differences between treatment groups in age, sex, predicted or initial PEFR. Thirteen (19.4%) patients were admitted. There was no statistically significant difference in improvement of mean PEFR at 60 min or 120 min compared to baseline, between groups, using repeated measures analysis of variance. Mean improvement in PEFR at 60 min compared to baseline (time 0): (A) = 93.2 L/min (95% confidence interval [CI] 64.5-121.8), (AI) = 86.6 L/min (95% CI 58.9-114.3); mean improvement in PEFR at 120 min compared to baseline (time 0) (A) = 116.5 L/min (95% CI 84.5-148.5), (AI) = 126.4 L/min (95% CI 95.4-157.4). There was no statistically significant difference in admission rates between groups: 5/30 (A) and 8/32 (AI) (p = 0.62). There were no significant differences in mean improvement of PEFR at either 60 or 120 min between ED patients with acute asthma receiving continuous albuterol alone vs. those receiving albuterol in combination with ipratropium bromide.

Adult↗

Stability, dose uniformity, and palatability of three counterterrorism drugs-human subject and electronic tongue studies.

PURPOSE: These studies evaluated the ability of common household food and drink products to mask the bitter taste of three selected anti-terrorism drugs. METHODS: Three anti-terrorism drugs (doxycycline, ciprofloxacin hydrochloride, and potassium iodide) were mixed with a variety of common household food and drinks, and healthy adult volunteers evaluated the resulting taste and aftertaste. In parallel, the ASTREE Electronic Tongue was used to evaluate taste combinations. Stability of the mixtures over time was monitored, as was the dosage uniformity across preparations. RESULTS: Foods and drinks were identified that satisfactorily masked the bitter flavor of each drug. Dose uniformity and stability were also acceptable over the range studied, although some combinations were significantly less stable than others. The electronic tongue was able to differentiate between tastes, but ranked masking agents in a different order than human volunteers. CONCLUSIONS: Doxycycline, potassium iodide, and ciprofloxacin, which are stockpiled in solid tablet form, can conveniently be prepared into more palatable formulations, using common household foods and drinks. The electronic tongue can be used to perform an initial screening for palatability.

Adult↗

Feasibility and construct validity of the parent willingness-to-pay technique for children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the feasibility and construct validity of the willingness-to-pay (WTP) technique for measuring health care preferences in families of children with juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA). METHODS: Parents were asked to estimate the monthly US dollar amount they would be willing to pay to obtain for their child the following hypothetical drugs: ARTHRO, which guarantees complete clinical response; and NO-STOM-ACHE, a drug that eliminates gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. A yes/no question was used with random assignment of the starting bids. Parents who agreed to pay the starting bid were then asked whether they would be willing to pay 200% and then 400% of this initial bid. Socioeconomic data and information on medications, disease activity, patient physical function, wellbeing, and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) were obtained. RESULTS: Sixty-two families of children with JIA were interviewed. GI symptoms were present in 54%, and 53% of the children had joints with active arthritis or limited range of motion. Four parents (7%) were unwilling to pay anything for any of the studied medications. The mean amount (median; mean percentage of available family income) families were willing to pay was $395 ($300; 15%) for ARTHRO and $109 ($80; 4%) for NO-STOM-ACHE. Correlation and regression analysis supported that, adjusted for the available family income, the WTP for ARTHRO was associated with disease activity, pain, and the HRQOL of the patients. After correction for the starting bids and the available family income, the WTP for NO-STOM-ACHE was associated with the patient's HRQOL, pain, and the amount of GI discomfort. CONCLUSION: The WTP technique is feasible and has construct validity for measuring health care preferences for children with JIA. Relatively large WTP estimates support a possible important negative impact of the disease on families of children with JIA.

Adolescent↗

Inter-rater reliability of nursing home quality indicators in the U.S.

BACKGROUND: In the US, Quality Indicators (QI's) profiling and comparing the performance of hospitals, health plans, nursing homes and physicians are routinely published for consumer review. We report the results of the largest study of inter-rater reliability done on nursing home assessments which generate the data used to derive publicly reported nursing home quality indicators. METHODS: We sampled nursing homes in 6 states, selecting up to 30 residents per facility who were observed and assessed by research nurses on 100 clinical assessment elements contained in the Minimum Data Set (MDS) and compared these with the most recent assessment in the record done by facility nurses. Kappa statistics were generated for all data items and derived for 22 QI's over the entire sample and for each facility. Finally, facilities with many QI's with poor Kappa levels were compared to those with many QI's with excellent Kappa levels on selected characteristics. RESULTS: A total of 462 facilities in 6 states were approached and 219 agreed to participate, yielding a response rate of 47.4%. A total of 5758 residents were included in the inter-rater reliability analyses, around 27.5 per facility. Patients resembled the traditional nursing home resident, only 43.9% were continent of urine and only 25.2% were rated as likely to be discharged within the next 30 days. Results of resident level comparative analyses reveal high inter-rater reliability levels (most items >.75). Using the research nurses as the "gold standard", we compared composite quality indicators based on their ratings with those based on facility nurses. All but two QI's have adequate Kappa levels and 4 QI's have average Kappa values in excess of.80. We found that 16% of participating facilities performed poorly (Kappa <.4) on more than 6 of the 22 QI's while 18% of facilities performed well (Kappa >.75) on 12 or more QI's. No facility characteristics were related to reliability of the data on which Qis are based. CONCLUSION: While a few QI's being used for public reporting have limited reliability as measured in US nursing homes today, the vast majority of QI's are measured reliably across the majority of nursing facilities. Although information about the average facility is reliable, how the public can identify those facilities whose data can be trusted and whose cannot remains a challenge.

Aged↗

The quality of quality measurement in U.S. nursing homes.

PURPOSE: This article examines various technical challenges inherent in the design, implementation, and dissemination of health care quality performance measures. DESIGN AND METHODS: Using national and state-specific Minimum Data Set data from 1999, we examined sample size, measure stability, creation of ordinal ranks, and risk adjustment as applied to aggregated facility quality indicators. RESULTS: Nursing home Quality Indicators now in use are multidimensional and quarterly estimates of incidence-based measures can be relatively unstable, suggesting the need for some averaging of measures over time. IMPLICATIONS: Current public reports benchmarking nursing homes' performances may require additional technical modifications to avoid compromising the fairness of comparisons.

Nursing Homes↗

Identification and evaluation of existing nursing homes quality indicators.

We summarize work done to identify and evaluate existing quality indicators (QIs) for long-term care (LTC) settings. Indicators operationally defined using routinely collected and computerized patient assessments were identified and then aggregated to characterize the performance of the nursing facility over a specific period of time. Of 143 indicators reviewed, only 22 were recommended for use in comparing performance across facilities. Conceptual and technical issues influence the appropriateness of QIs for different audiences.

Aged↗