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Biomedical subjects

W Molloy

Publications and source records attributed to W Molloy.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Provisional educational needs of health care providers in palliative care in three nursing homes in Ontario.

Health care providers in three nursing homes in Ontario were surveyed to determine educational needs, barriers to meeting these needs, and the preferred format for education. Of the 415 health care providers asked to participate, 225 completed the questionnaire. Need was expressed for the majority of the 35 educational topics identified, including the role of the palliative care team, management of physical symptoms, pharmacological and non-pharmacological management of pain, stress management, spiritual needs, culture and death, and counseling. Group discussions and seminars were favored over traditional lectures. The primary factors influencing attendance at a palliative care workshop were loss of pay and time and location of the workshop.

Education↗
PubMed1996

Does treatment with L-thyroxine influence health status in middle-aged and older adults with subclinical hypothyroidism?

OBJECTIVE: To determine if health-related quality of life (HRQL) in patients of middle age and older with elevated thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) and normal total thyroid hormone levels-subclinical hypothyroidism-improves with L-thyroxine replacement therapy. DESIGN: Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: Outpatient clinic. PATIENTS: Thirty-seven patients with subclinical hypothyroidism, most with symptoms consistent with hypothyroidism, over 55 years of age. INTERVENTIONS: Placebo or L-thyroxine replacement therapy to achieve normal TSH level. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Disease-specific and general HRQL, cognitive function, bone mineral density, lipid levels. The mean daily dose of L-thyroxine replacement in the active group was 68 +/- 21 micrograms. TSH decreased by 8.6 mIU/L (95% confidence interval [CI] 4.1 to 13.1) and T4 increased by 27.9 nmol/L (95% CI 14.8 to 41.2). There was a statistically significant improvement in a composite psychometric memory score in treated versus control patients; all other outcomes showed similar findings in the two groups. Although confidence intervals for most measures did not exclude an important improvement in HRQL with thyroid replacement, no measure of symptoms or HRQL either showed clinically important trends in favor of treatment, or approached conventional levels of statistical significance. CONCLUSIONS: In middle-aged and older patients with elevated TSH and normal T4, it may not be harmful to follow biochemical and clinical status even in the presence of nonspecific symptoms potentially associated with hypothyroidism.

Aged↗
PubMed1996

National survey on the attitudes of Canadian physicians towards drug-detailing by pharmaceutical representatives.

OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to study the attitudes of Canadian physicians toward product presentations by pharmaceutical representatives (PRs), the use of inducements by the pharmaceutical industry, and methods to improve the quality of prescribing information provided to physicians. DESIGN: We used a mailed survey. PARTICIPANTS: A random sample of 550 Canadian physicians in all settings was chosen. OUTCOME MEASURES: The main outcome measure was the proportion of respondents agreeing with a series of statements. RESULTS: The response rate was 262 of 525 deliverable surveys (50 per cent). Respondents had a mean of 4.2 interactions per week with PRs. Of the 262 respondents (5.8 per cent of data were incomplete), 193 (80 per cent) believed that PRs overemphasize their products' effectiveness, 108 (45 per cent) thought PRs do not present fairly the drugs' negative aspects, and 223 (92 per cent) felt that PRs have production promotion as a goal. Most, 175 (70 per cent), believe that drug-detailing affects physicians' prescribing behavior. Most, 210 (86 per cent), considered drug samples acceptable, but fewer agreed that other inducements were acceptable. Of the respondents, 183 (74 per cent) agreed that PRs should be required to use guidelines for standardized, comprehensive drug-detailing, and 165 (65 per cent) agreed that face-to-face drug-detailing by PRs using standardized guidelines would be an effective way to receive information. CONCLUSIONS: There is dissatisfaction among Canadian physicians about the quality of information provided by the pharmaceutical industry. Standardized, comprehensive guidelines would be accepted by physicians as one improvement.

Advertising↗
PubMed1982

Serum elevation of high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in epileptic patients taking carbamazepine or phenytoin.

Serum lipids and the cholesterol concentration in the high density lipoprotein (HDL) fraction were measured in epileptic patients taking either carbamazepine or phenytoin as single drug treatment. There was a significant increase in HDL-cholesterol levels in patients taking both phenytoin and carbamazepine. Serum total-cholesterol concentrations in patients taking both drugs did not differ significantly from those of controls. The ratio of HDL-cholesterol/total cholesterol was increased in both drugs and the increase reached significance in patients taking phenytoin. There was a significant increase in serum triglycerides in females taking carbamazepine.

Adolescent↗