Publications by authors named "Christopherson D"

We report the utility of rapid antigen tests (RAgT) in a cohort of US healthcare personnel with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection who met symptom criteria to return to work at day 5 or later of isolation. In total, 11.9% of initial RAgT were negative.

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Aerosol-generating procedures in the office represent a major concern for health care-associated infection of patients and health care providers by SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has not yet provided any recommendations for the use of portable air purifiers, air purifiers with high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filters have been discussed as an adjunctive means for decontamination of SARS-CoV-2 aerosols in health care settings. This commentary discusses HEPA filter mechanisms of action, decontamination time based on efficiency and flow rate, theoretical application to SARS-CoV-2, and limitations.

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Objective: Korean men have the highest rate of smoking in the world, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the second leading cause of death in this population. The study's objective was to describe factors related to smoking behavior in men hospitalized with CVD in Korea.

Methods: In collecting data for this cross-sectional study, a structured questionnaire was administered using a guided interview and medical record abstraction.

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Objectives: Our purpose was to evaluate the impact of nesiritide on renal function in patients with acute decompensated heart failure and baseline renal dysfunction.

Background: Although nesiritide is approved for the treatment of acute decompensated heart failure, retrospective analyses have raised concerns that it may cause worsened renal function. To date, no randomized clinical trials have prospectively evaluated this issue.

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Background: A particularly high rate of smoking among South Korean men corresponds to high rates of cardiovascular disease.

Objectives: This study evaluated South Korean men hospitalized with cardiovascular disease to explore beliefs about the health benefits of smoking cessation, to determine smoking cessation intentions, and to identify factors associated with confidence in quitting smoking.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional, descriptive study.

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Few data exist on the effectiveness of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk-reduction programs in patients with limited access to health care. The objective of this project was to evaluate a disease management approach to multifactor CVD risk reduction in patients with limited or no health insurance and low family income. Patients (n = 148) were recruited from not-for-profit or free clinics and hospitals and randomized to usual care or usual care plus team case management.

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The objectives of this study were to determine both the intra-rater reliability and the smallest real difference necessary to detect meaningful clinical changes over an 8-12 week period for three clinical measures of posterior shoulder flexibility. Posterior shoulder tightness has been associated with abnormal humeral head translations that narrow the subacromial space and contribute to impingement. Posterior shoulder stretching to normalize joint kinematics is often used when treating individuals with subacromial impingement.

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Purpose: We present psychometric properties of 9 health and psychosocial measures in a sample of hospitalized women with cardiovascular disease. This information will be useful to others needing to make choices about selection of health and psychosocial measurements in women smokers.

Methods: Psychometric properties were examined using baseline measures from a cross-sectional study, nested within a randomized clinic trial, Women's Initiative for Non-Smoking.

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Background: Hair mineral analyses are being performed frequently both with and without medical advice. Reasons for analysis often are ill defined.

Objective: To assess variability of trace element data both within a series of samples from an individual and among mean values published from other research laboratories.

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Background: Although men hospitalized with cardiovascular disease (CVD) show high smoking-cessation rates, similar data for women are lacking. We tested the efficacy of smoking-cessation intervention in women hospitalized for CVD.

Methods And Results: In this randomized controlled trial conducted from 1996 to 2001, 277 women diagnosed with CVD (mean age 61+/-10 years) were randomly assigned within 1 of 12 San Francisco Bay Area hospitals to a usual-care group (UG; n=135) or intervention group (IG; n=142).

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Objectives: This article describes the demographic, psychosocial, and medical characteristics and smoking patterns of women hospitalized with cardiovascular disease (CVD) enrolled in the Women's Initiative for Nonsmoking (WINS) trial.

Design: Study design is a randomized clinical trial with cross-sectional baseline data.

Setting: Women enrolled during a 27-month period from 10 hospitals in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone) is a hormone often taken as a dietary supplement to prevent the normal decline with age and in the hope of preventing heart attacks. Rats in two experiments were made deficient in copper by standard methods and criteria. Copper deficiency decreased DHEA in serum by approximately 50%.

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This article describes the design and methods of the Women's Initiative for Nonsmoking, a nurse-managed intervention for smoking cessation and relapse prevention in women hospitalized with cardiovascular disease. The Women's Initiative for Nonsmoking is a randomized clinical trial with a 3-month intervention period and follow-up at 6, 12, 24, and 30 months. Data were collected at 10 urban hospitals in the San Francisco Bay area.

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A method to determine the shape of a patient by placing radiopaque wires and chains on the skin and taking two isocentric X-ray films is described. The wire locations are reconstructed by X-ray stereo photogrammetry, and a beam's eye view of the wire frame structure can be obtained with reference to the original setup of the "stereo-pair" films. An algorithm for paving between the wires with triangular plates is described which allows the calculation of the tissue deficit distance and compensator thickness.

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A frameless method for stereotactic multiple arc radiotherapy (SMART) is described. Three short gold wires are implanted in the scalp approximately 100 mm apart. These are localized in a computed tomographic or angiographic study along with the target.

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In postoperative radiotherapy of brain tumors it is usually the case that preoperative imaging studies, either CT or MRI, were performed outside of the purview of the radiation therapy department. Thus the target volume is defined in an imaging study that does not lend itself readily for entry to a 3-D treatment planning system. A method is described that adjusts the patient structure defined by scan data to an appropriate position for radiotherapy.

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A method for the three dimensional location of lymph nodes with respect to the skin surface is described. The technique is based on the reconstruction of surface shape using isocentric radiographs taken with metal chains draped on the patient. Registration of the radiographic study to the lymphoscintigraphic study is accomplished automatically by matching the location of four radiopaque and radioisotope markers.

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Heart rate and blood pressure responses to low-level exercise tests in patients immediately before and after coronary artery bypass graft surgery lack sufficient documentation. This study documents heart rate, blood pressure, electrocardiographic responses and symptoms during low-level treadmill tests (LLTT) of 19 patients in two subgroups (A and B) before surgery, and again the day before hospital discharge. Preoperatively, the most common reason for stopping the treadmill test early was onset of angina.

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