Results for “Reference Books” — Page 97

PubMed1989

A community survey of haematological values in rural Nigeria.

Most studies on haematological values in Nigeria have been in hospital patients. The present study provides information on haematological values of red blood cell counts, haematocrit, haemoglobin, mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration, blood groups and genotypes. The study shows that there is agreement in some respects between the values obtained and those available in standard text books. It also shows that the values are influenced by sex and dietary in-take. Differences in ethnic composition of different populations studied previously was concluded from the differences in the blood genetics of the study population and of those previously reported elsewhere in Nigeria. Iron deficiency anaemia was established using haematological values.

Blood Group Antigens↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Aging: laboratory testing and theories.

OBJECTIVE: To review theories of aging and the changes in laboratory test results that occur because of physical changes in the normal elderly patient. DATA SOURCES: Books on aging, laboratory test interpretation, and nutrition as well as published articles on aging, vitamins, and nutrition. STUDY SELECTION: Elderly people. DATA EXTRACTION: Survey of the literature. DATA SYNTHESIS: Aging theories may present possible aspects of the effects of aging on health in the elderly. Normal aging may lead to physical changes that alter laboratory test results without causing disease. Treatment of these "abnormal" results in the elderly may be detrimental to their health. CONCLUSION: As the elderly population increases, laboratorians will encounter an increasing number of elderly patients. Discriminating between truly abnormal test results and those caused by aging will require laboratory reevaluation of adult reference ranges.

Age Factors↗

PubMed1981

Don Juan and the vision of Vision.

Castaneda's well-known sequence of Don Juan books is used as a paradigmatic example of the relativist position. Central to Don Juan's teaching is the problem of perception: the main task, he constantly reiterates, is simply to 'see', to recognise that the commonsense world we customarily perceive is nothing more than a cultural construct. To combat this thoroughgoing relativism a case study is taken from the early history of visual science. In classical antiquity several fundamentally different 'views' (to use Don Juan's term) of how we see contended for approval. It was only at the beginning of the seventeenth century that the 'modern' interpretation was selected. This interpretation was selected, ultimately, because it 'worked'. Reference is made to both Wittgenstein and Marx to support this appeal to praxis. It is argued that through an intricate, complex, and ill-understood process of popularisation our self-image is ultimately grounded in the theories of natural science; and these, in turn, are ultimately grounded in our action in the world of things.

Greece↗

PubMed1995

A centile chart for birth weight for an urban population of the Western Cape.

Evidence from large epidemiological studies has supported concern that being born light for gestational age (LiGA) may be detrimental. The incidence of LiGA babies is an important indicator of the health of women of reproductive age in deprived communities. In the assessment of LiGA in the Western Cape, centile charts constructed for populations in other parts of the world are generally used. These charts, however, may not be appropriate. Patients residing in the area served by the Tygerberg Hospital obstetric service, who booked early with singleton pregnancies, had their gestational age confirmed by early ultrasound and delivered between 1 March 1989 and 28 February 1990 were included in the study. The sample consisted of 3,643 patients. The mean birth weight was 2,995 g (SD 573 g) and the range 760-5,080 g. The distribution of birth weight at each week of gestation from 28 to 42 weeks was not normal. The 4-parameter Johnson family of densities was used to model the distribution of birth weight at each gestational age. A comparison of the distribution of birth weight in the study relative to the perinatal growth chart for international reference constructed by Dunn was also made. In addition to considering an overall chart, the sample was subdivided according to a number of characteristics (e.g. gender, firstborn and latter-born babies, smoking habit, hypertensive disorders and induction of labour) in order to explore their impact on the distribution of birth weight. Having explored the potential impact of all these factors, it was concluded that a single chart including all patients could be constructed.

Birth Weight↗

PubMed2003

[German physicians' access to professional knowledge. Acceptance, quality and availability of professional information with special reference to electronic information media].

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: The growing relevance of continuous medical education is evident. Also information retrieval helping to solve clinical problems yet at the patient's bedside becomes more and more important. This study challenges common and coming methods of information retrieval applied by German physicians. It helps answering the question which advantage or disadvantage due to the chosen method of information acquisition may arise. It also shows which practical relevance and which grade of quality the information seeking doctor may anticipate. METHODS: A questionnaire was sent out to all registered clinicians in hospital and practice in Germany. Not only traditional means of information retrieval were analyzed. Also, a lot of the questions posed focused on the acceptance and use of new media in the professional context. About 16,000 colleagues answered by filling in the complete form therewith allowing a deep insight into their informational needs and habits. RESULTS: While traditional media like books and scientific papers enjoy wide public confidence, the acceptance and estimated reliability of virtual sources of information today still remain restrained. The lack of transparency of the virtual sources and ways of information within the web according to often imprecise rules for quality assurance lead to major complaint. Information offered directly by the industry has a very low rate of acceptance. CONCLUSION: To gain higher confidence in electronic media presenting professional knowledge and advanced medical training, the development of technological advantages today seems to be less relevant. Work on the transparency of the informational structures including clear definition of resources and clear indication of possible conflicts of interest are just as important as a comprehensible quality of forthcoming medical content.

Adult↗

PubMed1990

[The history of dandruff and dandruff in history. A homage to Raymond Sabouraud].

In one of his books, written at the beginning of this century, Raymond Sabouraud devotes some 280 pages to the history of dandruff. Their reading illustrates how, from the Greeks to Sabouraud's era, this desquamative disease has been subjected to endless doctrinal and scientific conflicts, long before the so-called "present" controversies. One of the early conflicts, between Celsus and Galen, lies in the nature of the squames, i. e. dry or exudating, leading to the inclusion (or non inclusion) or pityriasis in the group of desquamative diseases, such as psoriasis or ichytosis. Translated into Latin (furfur, porrigo) and into Arabic, the word pityriasis was replaced in the Middle Age by tinea which then referred to any disease of the human scalp. With Plenk, Lorry, Willan and others, the 18th century brought a new attitude of mind where observation took precedence over doctrine, but owing to the lack of experimental approach there was no adequate description of the squames and their anatomical origin. This was the case with Hebra who, in the 19th century, claimed that dandruff was nothing but a sebaceous disease. This major turn resulted for decades in a confusion between dandruff and seborrhoea. In the late 19th century, bacteriological studies were decisive steps taken by Rivolta, Malassez and Sabouraud. The presence on scalps affected with dandruff of a bottle-shaped "fungus" (Pityrosporum ovale was initially not regarded as a yeast) was taken as being the definite cause of the disease. The Sabouraud dogma was born, but as early as 1877 it was denied by Vidal who observed these "spores" on healthy scalps.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Dermatology↗

PubMed2005

Long-term seizure outcomes following epilepsy surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Assessment of long-term outcomes is essential in brain surgery for epilepsy, which is an irreversible intervention for a chronic condition. Excellent short-term results of resective epilepsy surgery have been established, but less is known about long-term outcomes. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of the evidence on this topic. To provide evidence-based estimates of long-term results of various types of epilepsy surgery and to identify sources of variation in results of published studies, we searched Medline, Index Medicus, the Cochrane database, bibliographies of reviews, original articles and book chapters to identify articles published since 1991 that contained > or =20 patients of any age, undergoing resective or non-resective epilepsy surgery, and followed for a mean/median of > or =5 years. Two reviewers independently assessed study eligibility and extracted data, resolving disagreements through discussion. Seventy-six articles fulfilled our eligibility criteria, of which 71 reported on resective surgery (93%) and five (7%) on non-resective surgery. There were no randomized trials and only six studies had a control group. Some articles contributed more than one study, yielding 83 studies of which 78 dealt with resective surgery and five with non-resective surgery. Forty studies (51%) of resective surgery referred to temporal lobe surgery, 25 (32%) to grouped temporal and extratemporal surgery, seven (9%) to frontal surgery, two (3%) to grouped extratemporal surgery, two (3%) to hemispherectomy, and one (1%) each to parietal and occipital surgery. In the non-resective category, three studies reported outcomes after callosotomy and two after multiple subpial transections. The median proportion of long-term seizure-free patients was 66% with temporal lobe resections, 46% with occipital and parietal resections, and 27% with frontal lobe resections. In the long term, only 35% of patients with callosotomy were free of most disabling seizures, and 16% with multiple subpial transections remained free of all seizures. The year of operation, duration of follow-up and outcome classification system were most strongly associated with outcomes. Almost all long-term outcome studies describe patient cohorts without controls. Although there is substantial variation in outcome definition and methodology among the studies, consistent patterns of results emerge for various surgical interventions after adjusting for sources of heterogeneity. The long-term (> or =5 years) seizure free rate following temporal lobe resective surgery was similar to that reported in short-term controlled studies. On the other hand, long-term seizure freedom was consistently lower after extratemporal surgery and palliative procedures.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1997

The uptake and acceptability to patients of cystic fibrosis carrier testing offered in pregnancy by the GP.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the uptake and acceptability of cystic fibrosis (CF) carrier testing when offered to women at the first antenatal booking appointment by their general practitioner. SETTING: Eight-general practices in the north west region with a combined patient list size of 42000. DESIGN: Offer of carrier screening at first antenatal booking appointment to pregnant women below 14 weeks' gestation; women accepting were alternately allocated to either couple testing (with full disclosure) or stepwise testing: SUBJECTS: Six hundred and twenty three women were offered CF carrier testing. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Acceptance of the offer of CF carrier testing. (2) Acceptability of the test to women following screening, evaluated through (i) postal questionnaire, (ii) semistructured interview. RESULTS: Five hundred and twenty-nine (84.9%) women accepted the test; the level of uptake varied across the eight practices (range 11-99%). In 26/249 (10%) couple tests no paternal sample was provided. When asked what had influenced their decision to be tested, 59/377 (16%) women did not refer to CF in their answers and six (2%) said that they did not feel they could refuse the test. After receiving their results, 368/379 (97%) women felt that they had made the right decision to be tested, but two carriers and three non-carriers had felt unhappy about testing. Couple testing with full disclosure was associated with lower anxiety levels two weeks after receiving the result for the pregnancy than stepwise testing and 82/278 (29%) non-carriers believed that they had no residual risk in relation to CF. CONCLUSIONS: The response from women accepting CF carrier testing was largely positive but a minority of women expressed concern about the test and the way it was offered and a substantial proportion of women were falsely reassured by their "negative" result. Higher levels of acceptance tended to occur in the practices which offered the test there and then rather than giving couples more time to decide about testing. Some women appeared to have accepted the test because of a belief in the importance of testing in pregnancy rather than because of the disease in question.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Smoking interventions for patients with cancer: guidelines for nursing practice.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To identify strategies for oncology nurses to assist patients with cancer in modifying their smoking behaviors. DATA SOURCES: Published research articles, conference proceedings, Surgeon General Reports, and book chapters. DATA SYNTHESIS: Cigarette smoking is associated with a variety of cancers, and persistent smoking following a cancer diagnosis contributes to increased morbidity and mortality. Smoking cessation affords numerous health benefits to patients with cancer, including improved respiratory functioning, increased activity tolerance, and a personal sense of accomplishment. To date, few smoking interventions have targeted patients with cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Oncology nurses can become more actively involved in effective smoking interventions by incorporating current research findings and theoretical models of behavior change into daily practice. NURSING IMPLICATIONS: Oncology nurses can more effectively help their patients who smoke by assessing smoking status and patients' readiness to quit; providing brief, supportive messages consistently over time; offering or referring patients to appropriate resources; and providing continued follow-up.

Behavior Therapy↗

PubMed2003

Preattentive auditory context effects.

The effects of auditory context on the preattentive and perceptual organization of tone sequences were investigated. Two sets of experiments were conducted in which the pitch of contextual tones was varied, bringing about two different contextual manipulations. Preattentive auditory organization was indexed by the mismatch negativity event-related potential, which is elicited by violations of auditory regularities even when participants ignore the sounds (e.g., by reading a book). The perceptual effects of the contextual manipulations on auditory grouping were assessed using target-detection and order-judgment tasks. The close correspondence found between the effects of auditory context on the perceptual and preattentive measures of auditory grouping suggests that a large part of contextual processing is preattentive.

Acoustic Stimulation↗

PubMed2006

[Dr. Puigvert and Archivos Españoles de Urología].

OBJECTIVES: For the celebration of the first Century of Dr. Antonio Puigvert Gorro's birth we want to know his contribution to and relationship with Archivos Españoles de Urología. METHODS: We review all articles published by Dr. Puigvert, and additionally all articles with reference to his person and his work; we also review his written works and biography. RESULTS: He was one of the founders of the journal and always maintained a great cooperation until the '70s; he published important works in it, which are analyzed. We also emphasize his contribution to Urology in addition to his dedication to the history of the speciality. CONCLUSIONS: Dr. Puigvert is one of the most distinguished figures in the Spanish Urology, with an immense working capacity and written works. In his works published in Archivos he presents the results of his observations and his studies, as well as part of his innovations, ideas, and discoveries, that he later left in his urology books.

History, 20th Century↗

PubMed1995

Genetic amniocentesis in biamniotic twin pregnancies by a single transabdominal insertion of the needle.

We present a technique to aspirate amniotic fluid from both sacs in biamniotic twin pregnancies using a single abdominal insertion with a spinal needle. It was successful in 48 out of 55 cases of biamniotic twin pregnancies referred to our perinatal unit between 1985 and 1994. The single insertion technique was used when the inter-amniotic membrane was clearly evident and two separate free amniotic fluid pools could be reached by the operator with a single puncture. An adequate amount of amniotic fluid was sampled from both sacs to make a cytogenetic diagnosis in all cases. There were four fetuses with trisomy 21 in three twin pregnancies. In two cases, only one twin was affected whilst the co-twin was normal, so that a selective feticide was performed. No miscarriages due to genetic amniocentesis were reported. After 1990, all genetic amniocenteses in biamniotic twin pregnancies (except for one case due to late booking) were performed between 14 and 15 weeks of gestation and with all cases except one, it was possible to sample both twins by a single puncture. We suggest that early amniocentesis (14-15 weeks) by a single abdominal puncture could be a reliable and safe alternative to first-trimester chorionic villus sampling in twin pregnancies.

Amniocentesis↗

PubMed2005

Oral medicine--update for the dental practitioner. Aphthous and other common ulcers.

This series provides an overview of current thinking in the more relevant areas of oral medicine for primary care practitioners, written by the authors while they were holding the Presidencies of the European Association for Oral Medicine and the British Society for Oral Medicine, respectively. A book containing additional material will be published. The series gives the detail necessary to assist the primary dental clinical team caring for patients with oral complaints that may be seen in general dental practice. Space precludes inclusion of illustrations of uncommon or rare disorders, or discussion of disorders affecting the hard tissues. Approaching the subject mainly by the symptomatic approach--as it largely relates to the presenting complaint--was considered to be a more helpful approach for GDPs rather than taking a diagnostic category approach. The clinical aspects of the relevant disorders are discussed, including a brief overview of the aetiology, detail on the clinical features and how the diagnosis is made. Guidance on management and when to refer is also provided, along with relevant websites which offer further detail.

General Practice, Dental↗

PubMed2005

Oral medicine -- update for the dental practitioner: dry mouth and disorders of salivation.

This series provides an overview of current thinking in the more relevant areas of oral medicine for primary care practitioners, written by the authors while they were holding the Presidencies of the European Association for Oral Medicine and the British Society for Oral Medicine, respectively. A book containing additional material will be published. The series gives the detail necessary to assist the primary dental clinical team caring for patients with oral complaints that may be seen in general dental practice. Space precludes inclusion of illustrations of uncommon or rare disorders, or discussion of disorders affecting the hard tissues. Approaching the subject mainly by the symptomatic approach -- as it largely relates to the presenting complaint -- was considered to be a more helpful approach for GDPs rather than taking a diagnostic category approach. The clinical aspects of the relevant disorders are discussed, including a brief overview of the aetiology, detail on the clinical features and how the diagnosis is made. Guidance on management and when to refer is also provided, along with relevant websites which offer further detail.

Adult↗

PubMed2005

Oral medicine--update for the dental practitioner. Mouth ulcers of more serious connotation.

This series provides an overview of current thinking in the more relevant areas of oral medicine for primary care practitioners, written by the authors while they were holding the Presidencies of the European Association for Oral Medicine and the British Society for Oral Medicine, respectively. A book containing additional material will be published. The series gives the detail necessary to assist the primary dental clinical team caring for patients with oral complaints that may be seen in general dental practice. Space precludes inclusion of illustrations of uncommon or rare disorders, or discussion of disorders affecting the hard tissues. Approaching the subject mainly by the symptomatic approach--as it largely relates to the presenting complaint--was considered to be a more helpful approach for GDPs rather than taking a diagnostic category approach. The clinical aspects of the relevant disorders are discussed, including a brief overview of the aetiology, detail on the clinical features and how the diagnosis is made. Guidance on management and when to refer is also provided, along with relevant websites which offer further detail.

Behcet Syndrome↗

PubMed2005

Oral medicine--update for the dental practitioner: oral malodour.

This series provides an overview of current thinking in the more relevant areas of oral medicine for primary care practitioners, written by the authors while they were holding the Presidencies of the European Association for Oral Medicine and the British Society for Oral Medicine, respectively. A book containing additional material will be published. The series gives the detail necessary to assist the primary dental clinical team caring for patients with oral complaints that may be seen in general dental practice. Space precludes inclusion of illustrations of uncommon or rare disorders, or discussion of disorders affecting the hard tissues. Approaching the subject mainly by the symptomatic approach--as it largely relates to the presenting complaint--was considered to be a more helpful approach for GDPs rather than taking a diagnostic category approach. The clinical aspects of the relevant disorders are discussed, including a brief overview of the aetiology, detail on the clinical features and how the diagnosis is made. Guidance on management and when to refer is also provided, along with relevant websites which offer further detail.

Halitosis↗

PubMed2005

Oral Medicine--update for the dental practitioner: oral white patches.

This series provides an overview of current thinking in the more relevant areas of oral medicine for primary care practitioners, written by the authors while they were holding the Presidencies of the European Association for Oral Medicine and the British Society for Oral Medicine, respectively. A book containing additional material will be published. The series gives the detail necessary to assist the primary dental clinical team caring for patients with oral complaints that may be seen in general dental practice. Space precludes inclusion of illustrations of uncommon or rare disorders, or discussion of disorders affecting the hard tissues. Approaching the subject mainly by the symptomatic approach--as it largely relates to the presenting complaint--was considered to be a more helpful approach for GDPs rather than taking a diagnostic category approach. The clinical aspects of the relevant disorders are discussed, including a brief overview of the aetiology, detail on the clinical features and how the diagnosis is made. Guidance on management and when to refer is also provided, along with relevant websites which offer further detail.

Candidiasis, Oral↗

PubMed2005

Oral medicine -- update for the dental practitioner. Disorders of orofacial sensation and movement.

This series provides an overview of current thinking in the more relevant areas of oral medicine for primary care practitioners, written by the authors while they were holding the Presidencies of the European Association for Oral Medicine and the British Society for Oral Medicine, respectively. A book containing additional material will be published. The series gives the detail necessary to assist the primary dental clinical team caring for patients with oral complaints that may be seen in general dental practice. Space precludes inclusion of illustrations of uncommon or rare disorders, or discussion of disorders affecting the hard tissues. Approaching the subject mainly by the symptomatic approach -- as it largely relates to the presenting complaint -- was considered to be a more helpful approach for GDPs rather than taking a diagnostic category approach. The clinical aspects of the relevant disorders are discussed, including a brief overview of the aetiology, detail on the clinical features and how the diagnosis is made. Guidance on management and when to refer is also provided, along with relevant websites which offer further detail.

Bell Palsy↗