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At least 1,423 records · Page 79Linked to original sources
PubMed1974

The epidemiology of influenza in California, 1968-1973.

Influenza is one of the most common acute febrile respiratory diseases in adults. Epidemics caused by influenza viruses occur every few years. When such epidemics are in progress, the medical community, the general public and the news media seek information regarding the presence, spread and severity of influenza. The methods and findings of the Influenza Surveillance System in California for the years 1968 through 1973 should be of interest generally. This period spans the total California experience with the type A Hong Kong variant (A/Hong Kong/1/68 [H(3)N(2)]), and the first appearance of the English strain of type A influenza virus (A/England/42/72 [H(3)N(2)]). The surveillance of influenza during this period showed that there were major epidemics in Calfornia only during the state's first experience with the type A Hong Kong variant in 1968-69, and with the English strain in 1972-73. Problems and limitations in influenza surveillance do exist. Nonetheless, the major surveillance indices used (school absenteeism, laboratory data and deaths from pneumonia and influenza) are reliable and sensitive indicators of general trends of influenza virus activity. These indices are most useful in comparing the relative severity of influenza epidemics. However, since these indices usually lag several weeks behind the occurrence of disease, this lag must be considered in making estimates of current incidence trends based on these indices.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1972

Emergency medical transportation. A survey of California ambulance operations.

The most urgent recommendation expressed by physicians, Red Cross officials, ambulance operators and others polled in this ambulance survey was to make much more emergency medical care training available to ambulance personnel. Very few sick and injured receive first aid before an ambulance arrives. Therefore there is also an urgent need to train and motivate the public to provide first aid at the scene of the emergency. Urban ambulances usually respond within 10 minutes, but often rural ambulances take more than 30 minutes to reach an emergency. It is during this interim that lives which could be saved by prompt first aid are lost. Little use has been made of aircraft as emergency ambulances; in 1968, only one emergency trip in 1500 was made by helicopter. Also, California has fewer ambulances which make fewer emergency trips on a population basis than the country at large. Communications at all levels need attention. Seventy-eight percent of the ambulance operations serving the public are not listed among the emergency numbers on the inside front page of telephone directories. Less than ten percent of ambulances have direct radio communication with hospitals. In California most ambulance services are commercially operated and there are formidable financial problems which must be solved before these services can be brought into place as a part of the emergency medical care system.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1979

A new genus of cyclopoid copepod (Chondracanthidae) parasitic on halibut from California inshore waters.

Auchenochondria lobosa gen. et sp. n. was recovered from the oral cavity of the California halibut, Paralichthys californicus (Ayers), collected in Agua Hedionda Lagoon, Carlsbad, California. The new genus is closely related to Prochondracanthus Yamaguti 1939, and Rhynchochondria Ho 1967, but can be distinguished from them by the possession of cephalothoracic processes, a long neck, a 2-segmented abdomen, and a distinctly 6-segmented first antenna. Auchenochondria lobosa gen. et sp. n. is the only known species of chondracanthid in which the mandible of the male is equipped with more teeth on both the convex and concave surfaces than that of the female.

Animals↗
PubMed1971

The effect of flea control on Yersinia (Pasteurella) pestis antibody rates in the California vole, Microtus californicus, and its epizootiological implications.

The effects of flea control on the prevalence of (Pasteurella) pestis antibody rates in the California vole, Microtus californicus, were studied in San Mateo County, California, USA. In this area, which had shown antibody prevalence rates of 50% or more during epizootics in previous years, continuous flea control measures reduced the antibody rate to virtually zero and held it at that level for 12 months, although a nearby area showed an incidence of 40-80% seropositive voles for 5 months during the same period. The striking correlation between the reduction of the flea population and the decline of Y. pestis antibody rates suggests that in the area studied there is no evidence that soil, or any factor other than the flea vector, was the agent of transmission of the infective agent in wild rodents.

Animals↗
PubMed1969

Survey on medical student attitudes. A socio-economic report of the Bureau of Research and Planning, California Medical Association.

One of the concerns of the Committee on the Role of Medicine in Society of the California Medical Association is the apparent "attitude gap" between medical students and physicians already established in practice. In November 1967, the first of a series of meetings took place between Committee members and senior students from each California medical school. Discussion ranged from curriculum planning to individual and organizational politics, and revealed differences of opinion between students and physicians on such issues as Medicare and the financing of health care for the nation. These discussions suggested to members of the Committee that several clearly defined subject areas were worthy of further investigation. It was decided, therefore, that a questionnaire be sent to medical students and residents, with the goal of gaining a better understanding of the nature and extent of such differences of opinion. Some of the highlights of the findings of this survey are discussed in this Socio-Economic Report.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1970

Clinical laboratory personnel: is there a shortage in California?

In a study of vacancy rates for laboratory personnel in California to determine if there is in fact a serious or critical shortage of qualified individuals in this group of allied health professionals, it was found that while the answer is still elusive, it would appear that although the shortage may be somewhat greater than normal it is not critical in most areas of the state. For most areas, the situation seems to have improved from 1966 to 1968. There are a few geographical areas, predominantly rural, where shortages of licensed personnel are critical. Vacancy rates also are higher in hospital laboratories. Recruitment difficulties in these situations may be related to insufficient incentives, including but not necessarily limited to salaries. Training in California laboratories may facilitate recruitment in specific instances, and may assume greater importance in the future as working conditions for health professionals continue to improve in other states. And finally, the use of laboratory assistants, aides, and clerks can materially assist the laboratory work, thereby freeing the licensed professional staff to accept responsibilities commensurate with the increasing sophistication of laboratory knowledge and practice.

California↗
PubMed1971

Methylmercury poisoning. An assessment of the sportfish hazard in California.

A quantitative assessment of the methylmercury risk in California entails measurement of the contamination distribution, the probability of methylmercury intake and knowledge of the toxicological properties of methylmercury. This article reviews the scientific basis for the California State Task Force's decision to warn the public against excessive consumption of sport fish contaminated by methylmercury.

California↗
PubMed1971

Therapeutic abortions in California.

Therapeutic abortions in California have increased from 5,030 in 1968 to 15,339 in 1969, and over 60,000 are estimated for 1970. Also, there are pronounced regional differences in therapeutic abortions relative to live births. In 1969 the San Francisco Bay Area had six times as many abortions (115 per 1000 births) as did the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area (19). Preliminary figures for 1970 indicate this difference may be narrowed to a two-fold difference by the end of the year. Experience in other countries indicates morbidity and mortality risks are high in procedures done after the twelfth week, and in California one abortion in four is done after this period. Planning is needed to assure access to abortion services in all areas of the State and to meet the obligations of law and equity implicit in the Therapeutic Abortion Act. This should include counseling, follow-up, and referral services and not just the abortion procedure alone. Extension and more effective use of family planning services could substantially reduce unwanted pregnancies and the consequent demand for abortion. Efforts are also indicated to reduce the proportion of women terminating pregnancy after the twelfth week of gestation.Deaths associated with illegal abortions have decreased from 35 in 1966-1967 to 22 in 1968-1969. This is consistent with the view that the number of illegal abortions is decreasing.

Abortion, Therapeutic↗
PubMed1968

Phenylketonuria. Experience at one center in the first year of screening in California.

One year's experience with phenylketonuria during the calendar year 1966, the first year for compulsory newborn screening in California, was reviewed. The over-all prevalence rate from reported cases in California during this period was one case per 19,500 persons tested. Fifty-seven persons suspected of having pku were evaluated, and 25 of them were determined to be phenylketonuric. Eleven of the 25 were infants in whom the abnormality was detected through the newborn screening program or because it was detected in a sibling through a screening program. All the newborn phenylketonuric patients were developing normally at the time of last report (although the follow-up periods were short). In nine of the other children, pku was detected because they were retarded. Five retarded children who were diagnosed as phenylketonuric at another clinic were given dietary assistance. Five additional infants had elevated serum phenylalanines but did not have the classic biochemical findings of pku and are being evaluated further. Nine infants with positive screening tests exhibited biochemical and clinical findings consistent with transient tyrosinemia. Eighteen other children were evaluated and found to have no metabolic abnormality. The newborn screening program for pku is of decided benefit in early identification of a group of infants who have a high rate of potentially serious metabolic disease. Early identification permits treatment soon enough to prevent mental retardation. Newly identified patients should be evaluated in a medical setting capable of careful pediatric, biochemical and nutritional surveillance.

California↗
PubMed1969

School health-history forms. A study of those used in California, with suggestions for changes.

The health history form has an important role in the evaluation of student performance. Recommendations for therapeutic programs may be based on information gained from the health history. One hundred three California high schools reported the frequency of their use of the health history form. Only 56 percent of these schools require health histories of their new students. Only 38 percent obtain health histories from their athletes.Sixty-four of the 103 California high schools responding enclosed copies of the health history form in use in their schools. Analysis of these forms revealed a lack of uniformity of content and, in general, failure to obtain information pertinent to the in-school student problem.A format for a school health history form whose primary purpose is to reveal school-related health data was developed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1966

Hemolytic disease of the newborn. Review of deaths in California.

In order to find ways to decrease mortality from hemolytic disease of the newborn, a study was undertaken by physicians of the California Medical Association in cooperation with the California State Department of Public Health. Neonatal deaths during a two and a half year period were investigated and analyzed by review committees with the view of evaluating presumed deficiencies in management. The findings indicate that proper prenatal prediction and preparation by the physician for the management of HDN calls for earlier and more comprehensive use of warning signals, as well as a constant reappraisal of current technology. New advances in the management of HDN require increasingly close cooperation between patients, their physicians and consultants.

California↗
PubMed1966

Earlier diagnosis of cervical cancer. An analysis of reports to the California tumor registry from 1942 to 1963.

The mortality rate for cervical cancer in California declined during the period 1950-64. Indirect evidence shows that the incidence is also declining, but it is difficult to assess this decline because of the effect of the increasing use of cytologic examination on incidence rates for cervical cancer. Cervical cancer, in the 57 hospitals reporting to the California Tumor Registry, is being diagnosed at an earlier stage than in previous years. The proportion of cases diagnosed with the lesion still in the in situ stage rose from zero in 1942 to 56 per cent in 1963, and invasive cervical cancer, as a proportion of all invasive cancer in women, decreased from 15 per cent to 9 per cent. There is wide variation among hospitals in the proportion of cervical cancer cases that are in situ at time of diagnosis.

California↗
PubMed1980

Nurse practitioner and physician's assistant clinics in rural California. Part II: a survey.

Twenty-six rural California clinics have employed nurse practitioners (NP's) or physician's assistants (PA's) to meet the primary health care needs of local communities. Of the 24 NP's and 5 PA's involved, 11 were men and 18 were women. Their average age was 37, and all but five were trained in California. The clinics, with less than 50 percent on-site physician supervision, averaged 19 miles in distance from the nearest physician (ranging up to 63 miles). More than half the clinics were satellites of central, physician-staffed, nonprofit clinics, a third were community-administered and two were private. Half served a whole community, a quarter were established to serve Indians and a quarter to serve Chicanos. Each NP or PA saw an average of 13 patients a day. All nonprivate clinics received subsidies from a variety of local, state and federal funds. Four of the clinics had closed or had no medical staff at the time of our survey.NP/PA clinics are proving to be a feasible and valuable means of offering essential health care needs to remote communities.

California↗
PubMed1984

Protozoal myeloencephalitis in horses in California.

Three cases of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis were diagnosed over a 12-month period in horses that had never left the state of California. These cases suggest that the disease is enzootic in California.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

A cost-benefit analysis of California's mandatory premarital screening program for syphilis.

As do most states, California requires premarital serologic tests for syphilis. The Venereal Disease Research Laboratory (VDRL) test and a fluorescent treponemal antibody-absorbed (FTA-ABS) are often used in series for this purpose. In 1979 in California, there were approximately 300,000 persons tested premaritally, but only 35 were found to have asymptomatic infectious syphilis (incidence=0.012%). Including all the direct costs of this screening program, the yearly costs of premarital screening is $8.5 million or almost $240,000 per case found. If one takes into account the sensitivities and specificities of the tests, one still has 6 false-negative and 90 false-positive tests using the 1979 figures. The benefits of the program are the number of cases of congenital syphilis that are prevented. Using a worse-case method, no more than 1.5% of the cases of syphilis detected would result in a case of congenital syphilis. The estimated benefits would result in a savings of approximately $161,000. The economic costs of the premarital screening program far outweigh the benefits.

California↗
PubMed1983

The California experience with the diversion program for impaired physicians.

Since January 1980, following a change in California law, impaired physicians have been given the opportunity to be diverted from possible medical board discipline into a statewide treatment program financed by the Board of Medical Quality Assurance. The success of the program has depended on a rapid response mechanism, an individualized treatment program, an ironclad confidentiality, and a multilevel monitoring system. This nondisciplinary approach has made it easier for physicians to encourage their sick colleagues to volunteer for treatment. The experience after 2 1/2 years indicates that impaired physicians are found and treated more quickly when legal restrictions against the physicians' licenses are avoided. Of the 117 physicians currently participating in the California Diversion Program, 109 have been able to continue their practice of medicine while undergoing treatment.

Alcoholism↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Worksite hypertension programs: results of a survey of 424 California employers.

More than 30 million American workers 17 years of age or older have some degree of hypertension, and nearly two-thirds of these workers have blood pressure greater than 160/95 mm Hg. Many employer-sponsored hypertension detection and control programs have been reported, but much of the information about these programs is anecdotal and based on perceptions rather than on formal evaluation. To gain an estimate of the number and nature of such programs among California employers, the authors surveyed 424 California organizations with more than 100 employees at one or more sites. Experienced survey researchers conducted 30-minute telephone interviews with key personnel of these firms to probe their companies' health promotion activities, including those devoted to hypertension screening and control. Of the 424 organizations, 43 (10.1 percent) had worksite hypertension programs, and 24 (5.7 percent) were planning to initiate such a program within the following 12 months. But 357 employers neither offered a hypertension program at the time of the survey nor planned to initiate one within the following year. Survey responses indicated that during the 3 years before the survey, the number of worksite hypertension programs among the organizations surveyed had increased by 110 percent. This rapid rate of increase, together with the nearly 50 percent increase in number of programs that employers were planning for the following 12 months, suggest that the number of similar programs in other regions may also be growing at an accelerating rate. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute's strong endorsement of worksite hypertension programs and employers' current interest in health promotion and disease prevention activities should act as a spur for further growth of these programs. For maximum growth, however--especially among smaller companies--active promotion by business and community groups is essential.

California↗
PubMed1981

A red Beneckea from Laguna Figueroa, Baja California.

A new bacterium (nitrate-respiring, prodigiosin-producing, marine curved rod with a sheathed flagellum) has been isolated from anaerobic mud underlying a microbial meat. This brightly pigmented red bacterium, referred to as strain BV1 (Baja California vibrio, isolate 1) was taken from a closed, hypersaline basin at Laguna Figueroa (or Laguna Mormona), Baja California de Norte, Mexico. It is closely related to the recently described Beneckea gazogenes (Harwood, 1978), which was isolated from an estuarine habitat, the Sippewissett salt marsh at Woods Hole, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Strain BV1 and B-gazogenes are both oxidase positive facultative anaerobic curved rods which bear a single polar flagellum, and synthesize the red-orange tri-pyrrole pigment prodigiosin. The bacterium, which fluoresces green when excited with UV light (lambda = 455 nm), deposits pigment extracellularly in copious quantities. The extracellular pigment deposits fluoresce red-yellow. Both BV1 and B. gazogenes are able to grow utilizing xylose, cellobiose or arabinose, products of plant biosynthesis, as sole carbon sources. BV1 differs from B. gazogenes in cell size, pattern of pigment production, nutritional characteristics, the ability to perform anaerobic respiration using nitrate as a terminal electron acceptor, sensitivity to a newly discovered lytic phage and to the antibiotic vibriostat O/129.

Anaerobiosis↗