Uses and abuses of Tuskegee.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
SEARCH · Search PubMed
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.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
The furore over the retention of organs at postmortem examination, without adequate consent, has led to a reassessment of the justification for, and circumstances surrounding, the retention of any human material after postmortem examinations and operations. This brings into focus the large amount of human material stored in various archives and museums, much of which is not identifiable and was accumulated many years ago, under unknown circumstances. Such anonymous archival material could be disposed of, used for teaching, used for research, or remain in storage. We argue that there are no ethical grounds for disposing of the material, or for storing it in the absence of a teaching or research rationale. Nevertheless, with stringent safeguards, it can be used even in the absence of consent in research and teaching. Regulations are required to control the storage of all such human material, along the lines of regulations governing anatomy body bequests.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
BACKGROUND: The study sought to determine the contribution of HIV seropositivity to the arrest of decline in tuberculosis notifications in Scotland. METHODS: Survey forms relating to each tuberculosis notification in 1993 were completed by the notifying consultant. Voluntary anonymous HIV testing of tuberculosis cases aged under 65 was requested. Age, sex, ethnic status, country of birth, employment status, occupation, previous tuberculosis, contact status, risk factors for HIV infection, HIV serostatus of cases aged under 65, site, radiological extent, and bacteriological status of tuberculous disease were determined. RESULTS: Five hundred and seventy four cases of tuberculosis were originally notified, of which 77 (14%) subsequently proved to be non-tuberculous and were therefore denotified. Of the 497 cases 423 (85%) were white and 58 (12%) were from the Indian subcontinent. Eighty five per cent of patients from the Indian subcontinent were aged < 55 years whereas 64% of white patients were aged > 55 years. Pulmonary disease was found in 74%, non-pulmonary in 22%, and combined disease in 4% of patients. Of 242 HIV tests performed, three were positive and five other HIV positive patients were known, giving an HIV positivity rate of 1.6% of all tuberculosis notifications in 1993. Annual notification rates for Scotland were 9.7 per 10(5) before and 8.7 per 10(5) after exclusion of previously treated cases; rates were 8.4 per 10(5) for the white population and 179 per 10(5) for those from the Indian subcontinent. CONCLUSIONS: The study documents the distribution of tuberculous disease in Scotland by age, sex, site, and ethnic group for the first time. Notification practices, with respect to denotification, need to be improved. Infection with HIV is presently uncommon in cases of tuberculosis in Scotland but continued vigilance is essential.
A community-derived sample of 392 heroin users and 145 cocaine users were interviewed about their drug use and sexual behaviour, with (optional) collection of saliva specimen for linked anonymous HIV/HBV testing. The heroin sample was stratified (50/50) across current treatment and non-treatment status. For cocaine users 80% were not in current contact with any treatment. Overall levels of sexual activity were several times higher than reported in recent national surveys. Last-year prevalence of heterosexual anal intercourse was 23% and 20% for heroin-using males and females respectively (last-month figures--12% and 10%); and 23% and 15% for cocaine-using males and females respectively (last-month figures--7% and 9%). Two-thirds of subjects rarely or never used condoms during heterosexual anal intercourse. For females, receptive anal intercourse was positively related to a history of sex-for-money activity, high scores of severity of dependence, and injecting as a current route of use.
BACKGROUND: Self-administered computer-assisted blood donor screening strategies may elicit more accurate responses and improve the screening process. METHODS: Randomized crossover trial comparing responses to questions on a computerized hand-held tool (HealthQuiz, or HQ), to responses on the standard written instrument (Donor Health Assessment Questionnaire, or DHAQ). Randomly selected donors at 133 blood donation clinics in the area of Hamilton, Canada participated from 1995 to 1996. Donors were randomized to complete either the HQ or the DHAQ first, followed by the other instrument. In addition to responses of 'yes' and 'no' on both questionnaires, the HQ provided a response option of 'not sure'. The primary outcome was the number of additional donors deferred by the HQ. RESULTS: A total of 1239 donors participated. Seventy-one potential donors were deferred as a result of responses to the questionnaires; 56.3% (40/71) were deferred by the DHAQ, and an additional 43.7% (31/71) were deferred due to risks identified by the HQ but not by the DHAQ. Fourteen donors self-deferred; 11 indicated on the HQ that they should not donate blood on that day but did not use the confidential self-exclusion option on the DHAQ, and three used the self-exclusion option on the DHAQ but did not indicate that they should not donate blood on the HQ. The HQ identified a blood contact or risk factor for HIV/AIDS or sexually transmitted infection that was not identified by the DHAQ in 0.1% to 2.7% of donors. CONCLUSION: A self-administered computerized questionnaire may increase risk reporting by blood donors.
The present study documents the first systematic assessment of a brothel in Bangladesh in terms of sexually transmitted disease (STD) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). A cross sectional study was undertaken on brothel-based commercial sex workers (CSWs) selected systematic random sampling to assess the prevalence of STDs and HIV among CSWs in a brothel setting. Two hundred and ninety-six CSWs were selected from a brothel with a population of 593 women. Following informed consent, endocervical and blood samples were obtained for the diagnosis of genital chlamydia, gonorrhoea, HIV and syphilis respectively. In addition, another 170 consecutive blood samples were collected from the total CSW population for HIV tests. All blood samples for HIV testing were made anonymous by removing patient identifiers before testing. Endocervical specimens were tested by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for the diagnosis of genital chlamydia and gonorrhoea. Syphilis and HIV infections were diagnosed by serology. One hundred and sixty-nine (57.1%) of the women were Treponema pallidum haemagglutination (TPHA)-positive, 20 (6.8%) of the women were Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL)-positive at a greater than 1:8 dilution. Eighty-two (28%) of the women were found to be infected either by gonorrhoea or chlamydia. No HIV antibody was found in any of the 466 blood samples. A high prevalence of STDs and low prevalence of HIV in the CSWs in Bangladesh suggest potential for the rapid spread of HIV once it is introduced in this high-risk population. The opportunity to control STD and HIV infection in this population should not be missed, in order to prevent a large epidemic in the future.
This article considers ethical issues in relation to exercising accountability when nursing people with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection or acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). A range of issues will be explored, some of which may be considered contentious.
I want to argue for two propositions. First, I suggest that what some researchers may take to be a simple trade-off between minor violations of the truth for the sake of access to far greater truths represents a profound miscalculation with far-reaching and cumulative reverberations. Second, I submit that today's research environment, as demanding, competitive, and sometimes bewildering as it is, offers genuine scope for what Murdoch calls truth-seeking, for imaging and questioning, and for relating to facts through both truth and truthfulness; but that, in so doing, it presents hard choices with respect to methods, and, in turn, to personal integrity--not only in particular research projects but also with respect to that fragile research environment in its own right.
This article presents the results of an evaluation of Orientation and Serological Support Centers, or Anonymous HIV Testing Centers, in the Northeast of Brazil. Methodological triangulation was used to evaluate these health programs and services, including qualitative and quantitative methodology and pointing to the insufficiency of single-discipline reasoning to encompass phenomena in social organizations. The article also shows results from this triangulation experience, seeking to combine Social Sciences and Epidemiology. It describes the structure and dynamics of these services, analyzes the relationships, perceptions, and representations of the actors, presents a self-evaluation by the professionals, expounds on some quantitative results, and discusses some limits and problems, as well as proposals to overcome them.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
OBJECTIVES: Cholestasis Familiaris Groenlandica (CFG, or progressive familiar intrahepatic cholestasis type 1 (PFIC1)) is a very common lethal recessive inherited disease in Greenland. A missense mutation, 1660G>A (asp554asn) in the gene ATP8B1 causes the disease (Klomp et al. 2000). STUDY DESIGN: A family study examining medical files from the period 1951-2003 from East Greenland resulted in 46 cases of PFIC1 and more than 220 relatives showing carrier status. Further, random blood sample testing 953 anonymous persons from 11 major cities or districts all over Greenland have been analysed for carrier status of the mutation. METHODS: A sensitive PCR method is developed to distinguish between normal and mutant alleles for ATP8B1 in the Greenland population. RESULTS: The mutation 1660G>A is found in all areas of Greenland, and the frequency of the mutant allele vary all over the country. A shockingly high frequency for the mutant allele is found in East Greenland in Ittoqqortoormiit (0.16) and in Tasiilaq (0.077), whereas in Northwest Greenland lower frequencies are found in Uummannaq and Ilulissat (0.032), and Maniitsoq (0.005). CONCLUSIONS: The high frequency of the mutation in East and Northwest Greenland strongly indicates that routine screening of the population for carrier status should be done.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.