Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “NORTH CAROLINA”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 253 records · Page 14Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Autosomal dominant macular dystrophy simulating North Carolina macular dystrophy.

OBJECTIVE: To characterize an autosomal dominant macular dystrophy with highly variable expression that does not fall clearly into a known disease entity. METHODS AND PATIENTS: Clinical, angiographic, and electrophysiologic data of five affected members in a family of Indian origin were evaluated. Molecular genetic analysis was undertaken to assess whether the gene responsible for the phenotype in this pedigree mapped to a region previously assigned to dominantly inherited macular dystrophies, including North Carolina macular dystrophy. RESULTS: The fundus appearance in the proband simulated stage 3 North Carolina macular dystrophy. Affected relatives had features in common with pattern dystrophy, fundus flavimaculatus with a dark choroid, and dominantly inherited drusen. Linkage to loci assigned to a number of retinal dystrophies principally affecting the posterior pole, including the North Carolina macular dystrophy locus, was excluded. CONCLUSION: The findings support the view that different genotypes are associated with similar phenotypes in autosomal dominant macular dystrophy.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Implementation dilemmas in North Carolina's Willie M. program.

The state of North Carolina entered into a consent agreement in response to a class-action lawsuit initiated by a class of emotionally or neurologically impaired children who had exhibited assaultive or violent behavior and who had been denied appropriate care and education. The consent agreement stipulates in detail a full range of services appropriate to each child's ability. The Willie M. program represents a dramatic shift in state-level child welfare services, but dilemmas deter the full realization of its potential. These dilemmas are discussed and illustrated.

Aggression↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Seeking improvements through laboratory benchmarking. The Western North Carolina Collaborative Group.

The laboratory departments at six North Carolina hospitals have formed an ongoing benchmarking team that has been meeting on a regular basis for more than 2 years. This article describes how the laboratory managers on this multihospital team have learned the benchmarking process, standardized procedural cost accounting in the group, compared and reduced costs, improved quality and efficiency, and created networking channels with other health-care professionals. The team members have quantified and reported significant savings and increased revenue for their laboratories as a direct result of their participation in this project.

Cost Savings↗
PubMed2001

Tuberculosis in North Carolina: trends across two decades, 1980-1999.

In North Carolina, we analyzed cumulative data for tuberculosis (TB) from 1980 through 1999 to determine trends in incidence, population subgroups at risk, and implications for health policy- makers. The overall incidence rates declined significantly over the study period (p = 0.0001). This decline correlates strongly with an increase in TB patients receiving directly observed therapy. Males have approximately twice the risk for disease, and persons >65 years of age are at the highest risk. For every Caucasian with TB, six blacks, six Hispanics, and eight Asians have the disease. TB incidence rates are declining in all other population subgroups but increasing in foreign-born and Hispanic persons.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Accidental firearm fatalities in North Carolina, 1976-80.

All accidental gunshot fatalities in North Carolina were reviewed for the years 1976-80. There were 210 cases, of which 94 were self-inflicted and 116 were inflicted by others. Young white males predominated as victims, 31 per cent under the age of 15. Sixty-five per cent of the accidents occurred in the home and 18 per cent occurred in rural, "hunting" locations. Forty-one per cent of the cases involved shotguns, 39 per cent involved handguns, and 16 per cent, rifles. Sixteen per cent of the accidents involved children playing with guns and 14 per cent involved dropped or mishandled weapons. During the same period, there were 2,553 suicides and 2,509 homicides by firearm. Gunshot fatalities are an important American public health problem.

Accidents↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Women with cured breast cancer a study of mastectomy patients in North Carolina.

A study of 49 postmastectomy patients in North Carolina, four years following the surgery, revealed that the women did not feel they had been prepared for their postoperative experiences; were not, in general, familiar with Reach to Recovery as a supportive organization, nor perceived it as such; only occasionally examined their remaining breast; and had a number of persisting physical complications. The extent of physical disability was found to be related to the quality of life inasmuch as women with a high number of physical symptoms were much more likely to have a higher number of symptoms of depression than women with fewer complications. Social supports mediated the effects of surgical complications on mental outlook, but only up to a point. Sexual adaptation was found to be associated with the quality of the marital-sexual relationship and its importance to the woman.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1999

The incidence of ehrlichial and rickettsial infection in patients with unexplained fever and recent history of tick bite in central North Carolina.

We examined the clinical and laboratory findings of a consecutive series of patients from central North Carolina presenting with fever and a history of tick bite within the preceding 14 days. Evidence of a tick-transmitted pathogen was detected in 16 of 35 patients enrolled over a 2-year period. Nine patients were infected with Ehrlichia chaffeensis, and 6 were infected with a spotted fever group rickettsia; 1 patient had evidence of coinfection with E. chaffeensis and a spotted fever group rickettsia. Four patients had detectable antibodies against the human granulocytic ehrlichiosis agent; however, only 2 had a 4-fold antibody titer rise without detectable antibodies against E. chaffeensis. The other 2 were thought to have cross-reacting antibodies to E. chaffeensis. We conclude that ehrlichial infections may be as common as spotted fever group rickettsial infections in febrile patients from central North Carolina with a recent history of tick bite.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Health-related quality of life among North Carolina adults with diabetes mellitus.

BACKGROUND: Previous research on health-related quality of life among people with diabetes used subgroups of diabetics who were not representative of a larger population and long questionnaires that are not practical for surveillance. OBJECTIVE: To identify people with diabetes in North Carolina who are at risk for a poor quality of lift based on demographic and medical characteristics using surveillance data. METHODS: Analysis of Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance System data from North Carolina, years 1998 through 2001, to examine associations between demographic and medical characteristics among people with diabetes and four different health-related quality-of-life outcome indicators, including general health status, physically unhealthy mentally unhealthy and functionally limited days. The demographic and medical characteristics studiedwere age, sex, ethnicity marital status, education, income, health insurance, obesity duration of diabetes, and insulin use. These same characteristics were also tested for independent associations with functionally limited days. RESULTS: Ethnicity and gender were not associated with any of the quality-of-life measures among people with diabetes. Those younger than age 65 were more likely to have mentally unhealthy days, but age was not related to the other outcomes. A household income of less than 20,000 dollars was related to poor general health and greater than one week each of physically unhealthy mentally unhealthy and functionally limited days. Subjects with a high school education or less, no health insurance, and those not married or cohabiting had at least one poor health-related quality-of-life outcome. Obesity duration of diabetes often or more years, and insulin use were also associated with at least one poor quality-of-life outcome. The only characteristic that was independently related to the number of functionally limited days was income. People with diabetes of working age and with low incomes were more likely to have greater than one week of functionally limited days (aOR = 10.3; 95% CI = 4.9-21.5). CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest an association between poor quality of life and low-socioeconomic status among people with diabetes in North Carolina.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Aneurysms of the abdominal aorta. Incidence in blacks and whites in North Carolina.

We examined race and sex relative to the unexpected finding of an abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) at 1,665 autopsies plus 545 abdominal computed tomographic scans in subjects over the age of 50 years. We compared our demographic data with those of North Carolina and our hospital to determine if the data base was representative. White males had a higher incidence (4.2%) of AAA than any other group of race and sex (1.2% to 1.6%) or combination of groups. Although whites (2.9%) had a higher incidence than blacks (1.5%) and males (3.4%) had a higher incidence than females (1.3%), this can be attributed to the influence of the white male. The demographic data of the group studied were similar to those of our institution's admissions and to the North Carolina population. We conclude that (1) there is an increased incidence of AAA in the white male compared with the white female, black male, and black female in North Carolina; (2) there is no difference in the incidence of AAA in the white female, black male, and black female; (3) race alone may not influence the incidence of AAA as there was no difference between white and black females.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2005

Determinants of dental referral practices among WIC nutritionists in North Carolina.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the effects of knowledge and confidence on dental referral practices among WIC nutritionists in North Carolina. METHODS: A questionnaire consisting of 118 Likert scale-type questions was administered to 92% of all WIC nutritionists in North Carolina (n = 324). The relationship of knowledge and confidence with frequent dental referrals was tested using logistic regression. RESULTS: Regression results found that confidence in performing oral health risk assessments (OR = 2.12; 95% CI = 1.13, 3.96), confidence in making dental referrals (OR = 3.02; 95% CI = 1.45-6.29), and confidence in expected outcomes that parents would seek dental care when advised to do so (OR = 3.11; 95% CI = 1.62, 5.97) were associated with more frequent dental referrals. CONCLUSIONS: The more confident WIC nutritionists feel about oral health, the more likely they are to make dental referrals. Screening and referral by WIC workers may benefit children by improving access to dental care, as the WIC clinic is frequently the first point of contact with a health professional.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

A study of the breast cancer dynamics in North Carolina.

This work is concerned with the study of breast cancer incidence in the State of North Carolina. Methodologically, the current analysis illustrates the importance of spatiotemporal random field modelling and introduces a mode of reasoning that is based on a combination of inductive and deductive processes. The composite space/time analysis utilizes the variability characteristics of incidence and the mathematical features of the random field model to fit it to the data. The analysis is significantly general and can efficiently represent non-homogeneous and non-stationary characteristics of breast cancer variation. Incidence predictions are produced using data at the same time period as well as data from other time periods and disease registries. The random field provides a rigorous and systematic method for generating detailed maps, which offer a quantitative description of the incidence variation from place to place and from time to time, together with a measure of the accuracy of the incidence maps. Spatiotemporal mapping accounts for the geographical locations and the time instants of the incidence observations, which is not usually the case with most empirical Bayes methods. It is also more accurate than purely spatial statistics methods, and can offer valuable information about the breast cancer risk and dynamics in North Carolina. Field studies could be initialized in high-rate areas identified by the maps in an effort to uncover environmental or life-style factors that might be responsible for the high risk rates. Also, the incidence maps can help elucidate causal mechanisms, explain disease occurrences at a certain scale, and offer guidance in health management and administration.

Breast Neoplasms↗
PubMed1999

Workers' compensation experience of North Carolina residential construction workers, 1986-1994.

A total of 31,113 workers' compensation claims among 7,400 North Carolina Homebuilders Association (NCHA) members and their subcontractors for the period 1986-1994 were analyzed to calculate workers' compensation claim incidence density rates. For the 7 years studied, the average rate (cases/200,000 work hours) for all claims was 16.40 and the rate for medical or lost time cases was 10.78. Highest rates for cases involving medical costs or paid lost time by mechanism of injury were observed for being struck by an object (3.1), lifting/movement (1.97), falls from a different level (1.13), striking against an object (0.87), and falls on the same level (0.46). Rates by mechanism of injury were highest for muscle strains (2.34), wounds/punctures (2.33), bruises/contusions (1.24), fractures/dislocations (0.98), and injuries to the eyes (0.81). Among medical cost or lost work time cases, body parts with highest injury rates were back/shoulders (1.99), fingers (1.31), leg/knee (1.00), hand/wrist (1.00), foot/ankle (0.86), and eyes (0.82). Injury rates were found to vary substantially among the residential construction trades. For more serious injuries involving medical costs greater than $2,000 or any lost work time, rates were highest for welders and cutters (28.1), insulators (24.3), roofers (19.4), and carpenters (15.3). The same general trends by trade were observed for cases involving paid lost time except that roofers were highest, with a rate of 9.1, followed by insulators (8.5), welders and cutters (5.8), and carpenters (5.8). Rates of falls from a different level resulting in medical costs or lost work time were highest for roofers (5.54), insulators (3.53), carpenters (2.05), and drywall installers (1.99). Descriptive information for falls from a different level resulting in paid lost time during 1993-1994 (n = 219) were reviewed to better determine the causes and circumstances of injuries. Falls from a roof accounted for 25.4 percent of the cases followed by falls involving scaffolds (23.9%) and ladders (20.6%), and falls from ceiling joists, floor joists, or framing (14.8%). Twenty-six work-related deaths occurred with vehicle accidents (n = 6) being the major known cause of death, followed by falls (n = 3), being struck by an object (n = 3), electric shock (n = 2), and contact with energy or chemicals (n = 2). Consistent with other analyses of workers' compensation data, chronic occupational diseases are not well captured in the workers' compensation claims among home builders; therefore, a companion study has examined mortality patterns among North Carolina construction workers.

Humans↗
PubMed1999

The North Carolina High School Athletic Injury Study: design and methodology.

PURPOSE: Organized interscholastic athletics are an integral part of the educational program at almost every school level. With this growing popularity of sports and their inclusion in more public school programs, it becomes increasingly apparent that additional consideration must be given to the injury problem associated with sport. The North Carolina High School Athletic Injury Study (NCHSAIS) was undertaken to identify patterns of injury among male and female athletes in North Carolina high schools participating in any of 12 sports. Specific aims are to measure the incidence, severity and etiology of injuries; to determine the relationship of demographic factors and protective equipment, exposure to play, and school characteristics to injuries; to study the relationship of coaches' training and experience to injury occurrence; and to compare the incidence and severity of injury among female and male athletes in the same or comparable sports. METHODS: A two-stage cluster sample of 100 high schools in North Carolina was selected for this 4-yr prospective study. RESULTS: Participation by the initial sample or a random replacement was achieved for 91 of the 100 schools. Nonresponse occurred at multiple levels of the sample for this study, and the weekly participation form posed the greatest respondent burden. CONCLUSIONS: The NCHSIAS offers a successful methodology for addressing sports injuries. In this paper we describe the design, methodology, and implementation issues that emerge in conducting a large scale epidemiological study in a population of high school athletes.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

Assessment of the incidence of rape--North Carolina, 1989-1993.

Rape has a substantial impact on the health of victims, including a broad spectrum of physical, psychologic, and social sequelae (1-3). The development of appropriate and effective rape-prevention programs is assisted by consistent collection of information about and by accurate estimation of the incidence of rape. In North Carolina, as in many other states, the only source of statewide and county-specific population-based data on rape incidence is the Uniform Crime Reporting Program (UCR), coordinated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); however, these data may underestimate the actual incidence of rape (4,5) because they include only assaults that have been reported to police and that conform to the UCR definition of forcible rape. To assess the usefulness of rape crisis centers (RCCs) as an additional potential source of data for determining the incidence of rape, in 1994 the Injury Control Section, North Carolina Department of Environment, Health, and Natural Resources (NC-DEHNR), surveyed RCCs in North Carolina, then compared estimates of the annual incidence based on RCC and UCR data for selected counties during 1989-1993. This report summarizes the results of the survey and comparative analysis.

Humans↗
PubMed2005

Predicted impact and evaluation of North Carolina's phosphorus indexing tool.

Increased concern about potential losses of phosphorus (P) from agricultural fields receiving animal waste has resulted in the implementation of new state and federal regulations related to nutrient management. In response to strengthened nutrient management standards that require consideration of P, North Carolina has developed a site-specific P indexing system called the Phosphorus Loss Assessment Tool (PLAT) to predict relative amounts of potential P loss from agricultural fields. The purpose of this study was to apply the PLAT index on farms throughout North Carolina in an attempt to predict the percentage and types of farms that will be forced to change management practices due to implementation of new regulations. Sites from all 100 counties were sampled, with the number of samples taken from each county depending on the proportion of the state's agricultural land that occurs in that county. Results showed that approximately 8% of producers in the state will be required to apply animal waste or inorganic fertilizer on a P rather than nitrogen basis, with the percentage increasing for farmers who apply animal waste (approximately 27%). The PLAT index predicted the greatest amounts of P loss from sites in the Coastal Plain region of North Carolina and from sites receiving poultry waste. Loss of dissolved P through surface runoff tended to be greater than other loss pathways and presents an area of concern as no best management practices (BMPs) currently exist for the reduction of in-field dissolved P. The PLAT index predicted the areas in the state that are known to be disproportionately vulnerable to P loss due to histories of high P applications, high densities of animal units, or soil type and landscapes that are most susceptible to P loss.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1971

A survey of organizational practices in North Carolina schools of nursing libraries.

Prompted by the apparent unavailability of published information regarding the cataloging practices in North Carolina schools of nursing libraries, this study was conducted using a questionnaire sent to the thirty-eight schools of nursing in the state. The "average" North Carolina school of nursing library is an autonomous facility administered by nonprofessional personnel or by a person with an undergraduate degree in a nonlibrary field. The materials are organized by the National Library of Medicine Classification and Medical Subject Headings in combination with the Library of Congress classification and subject headings, except for bound journals which are shelved alphabetically by exact title. It is recommended that separate school of nursing and hospital or medical school libraries be consolidated under a trained librarian in order to standardize and unify cataloging practices on the local level and to gain the advantages available through regional and national cooperation of health sciences libraries.

Cataloging↗
PubMed2004

Factors affecting increasing radiation dose for mammography in North Carolina from 1997 through 2001: an analysis of Food and Drug Administration annual surveys.

RATIONALE AND OBJECTIVES: To determine which factors affected the increase in average glandular dose recorded at the annual US Food and Drug Administration Mammography Quality Standards Act inspections of mammography equipment in North Carolina from 1997 to 2001. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Average glandular dose, HVL, kVp, ambient light, luminance, equipment age, processing speed, and system speed for every mammography unit at all facilities in the state were collected by state inspectors. A mixed-effect model was used to assess the average changes of glandular dose over time and to identify the factors associated with these changes. RESULTS: There was a statistically significant increase in the average glandular dose in North Carolina in 1999, 2000, and 2001 when compared with the baseline year of 1997. Factors that were statistically significantly linked to this effect were changes in kVp, processing speed, and system speed. CONCLUSION: Average glandular dose for mammography has recently increased in North Carolina. This change is likely caused by changes in screen-film products and processing techniques.

Annual Reports as Topic↗
PubMed2002

Differences in outcome with subspecialty care: pyloromyotomy in North Carolina.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Proponents of subspecialization in surgery claim that fellowship training improves the quality of care. Others claim that general training is adequate for most routine surgical procedures. The authors questioned whether there were differences in outcomes when general surgeons (GEN) operate on children and infants with common surgical conditions compared with the care of their pediatric surgical (PED) colleagues. METHODS: The authors retrospectively reviewed the Healthcare Investment Analysts North Carolina Information Network database to identify patients who underwent pyloromyotomy for congenital hypertrophic pyloric stenosis in North Carolina during the period from October 1995 through September 1998 (n = 780). Information obtained included demographics, insurance type, hospital, length of stay, total hospital charges, occurrence of mucosal perforation, and type of surgeon (general v pediatric). RESULTS: Of the 780 pyloromyotomies performed, 363 (48%) were performed by pediatric surgeons. Pediatric surgeons cared for more Medicaid patients than general surgeons (PED, 52% v GEN, 40%; P =.001). Infants treated by pediatric surgeons had a lower incidence of mucosal perforation (PED, 0.5% v GEN, 2.9%; P =.0015), which was associated with decreased overall total hospital charges (no perforation, $4,806 plus minus 79 v perforation, $6,592 plus minus 492; P =.002). When patients with uncomplicated pyloric stenosis were evaluated (96% of cases), those cared for by pediatric surgeons had lower total hospital charges (PED, $4,496 plus minus 95 v GEN, $5,121 plus minus 121; P =.0001) and shorter length of stay (PED, 2.7 plus minus 0.1 days v GEN, 3.1 plus minus 0.1 days; P =.01). CONCLUSIONS: In North Carolina, general surgeons treat more than half the patients who have pyloric stenosis, though fewer with Medicaid. The cost and incidence of mucosal perforation were increased in infants with pyloric stenosis when care was provided by general rather than pediatric surgeons.

Databases as Topic↗