Efficacy of breast self-examination teaching methods among older women.

Existing breast self-examination (BSE) educational approaches have not been successful in gaining older women's compliance in proficient BSE. The experimental study detailed in this article was designed to determine whether there is a difference in BSE performance between women taught BSE individually using self-modeling in addition to a breast model (experimental group) and women taught BSE in a group using only a breast model (control group). Seventy-nine women, age 50 and older, randomly were assigned to the experimental and the control group.

Hospital utilization for AIDS: are all hospital days necessary?

This study examined hospital utilization and, specifically, unnecessary hospital days for patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) in a Midwest regional referral center as of June 1987. In 1990 a follow-up study was conducted to measure changes in length of stay (LOS) and unnecessary days. Results show a mean LOS consistent with other studies and a pattern of unnecessary days comprising 14% to 18% respectively of the mean LOS.

An eating plan and update on recommended dietary practices for the endurance athlete.

This article presents a six-group exchange food plan for the endurance athlete. The plan allows approximately 1,850, 3,460, and 3,760 kcal for a weight reduction diet, general training diet, and carbohydrate-loading intake plan, respectively. Because complex carbohydrate is the primary source of fuel, the training diet and the carbohydrate-loading diet contain 500 g and 600 g carbohydrate, respectively, whereas in the weight reduction plan more than 60% of total energy is carbohydrate.

Doppler ultrasound and the silent ductus arteriosus.

A clinically undetectable, small ductus arteriosus was identified by Doppler ultrasonography in 21 individuals. Infants were excluded from the study and no patient had pulmonary hypertension. Persistence of the ductus arteriosus is likely to be more common than shown by less sensitive diagnostic methods.

Chemotherapy for glioblastoma multiforme.

Treatment for the patient with a glioblastoma multiforme often includes chemotherapy with many specific nursing implications directly associated with this form of treatment. While the four agents described share some common adverse effects such as nausea and vomiting, even with this relatively common adverse effect, the onset, duration and severity varies. Multiple other adverse effects like nephrotoxicity, ototoxicity, thrombocytopenia and leukocytopenia vary greatly from agent to agent in occurrence and severity.

Practice and effectiveness of breast self examination: a selective review of the literature (1977-1989).

From a review of the literature on studies on breast self examination (BSE), it is evident that BSE functions as an effective preventive health behavior. Only 19% to 40% of women practice BSE on a monthly basis, and there is no strong evidence that women who practice monthly BSE perform the procedure correctly. Confidence in BSE performance, prior BSE instruction, and finding some way to remember to do BSE were the factors most positively associated with frequent BSE practice.

Influence of an anticalculus mouthrinse treatment on the dentition and periodontium in beagle dogs.

This research evaluated the effect of an anticalculus mouthrinse, containing 3.3% pyrophosphate anion and 1.0% of a copolymer of vinylmethyl ether and maleic acid (Gantrez), on calculus formation, gingivitis, gingival recession, and epithelial attachment in beagle dogs over a one-year period of time, compared to a distilled water rinse.

Increasing asthma prevalence in a rural New Zealand adolescent population: 1975-89.

A survey of asthma symptoms and spirometry in 435 adolescent schoolchildren was undertaken in 1989 in a rural, largely Maori population. The survey questionnaires were identical to those used in a 1975 survey at the same school. The prevalence of reported asthma or wheeze significantly increased from 26.

Small bowel injuries following blunt abdominal trauma. Early recognition and management.

We reviewed the cases of 15 patients with intestinal perforation following blunt abdominal trauma, which occurred between 1971 and 1988. Twelve patients were treated at The Mary Imogene Bassett Hospital (Cooperstown, NY); three other patients were treated at surrounding area hospitals. These injuries included 11 motor vehicle accidents, three low-velocity impact injuries, and one blast injury.

Skoptic syndrome: the treatment of an obsessional gender dysphoria with lithium carbonate and psychotherapy.

Cases of body image pathology are often misdiagnosed. Recognition of the obsessional annoyance with body image, especially with primary and secondary sex characteristics (skoptic syndrome), is important in making a differential diagnosis with other psychiatric and gender identity disorders. We have reported the successful use of lithium carbonate in treating two cases of skoptic syndrome.

Hospitalization rates in nursing home residents with dementia. A pilot study of the impact of a special care unit.

Although Special Care Units (SCUs) have recently gained attention as appropriate places for caring for institutionalized patients with dementia, few studies have evaluated their effectiveness. This pilot study focused primarily on one aspect of patient care, the possible prevention of acute hospitalization. Because transfer from nursing home to the acute hospital can be a traumatic experience for patients with dementia, important services that SCUs might provide include those preventive strategies aimed at reducing the need for transfer to the acute hospital.

Doppler flow characteristics in the assessment of pulmonary artery pressure in ductus arteriosus.

The Doppler spectral pattern of flow through the ductus arteriosus was studied in 117 patients. In 37 who underwent catheterisation, Doppler records and aortic and pulmonary artery pressure were available (21 simultaneously with two catheters) for review while the others had surgical ligation of the duct on the basis of the results of non-invasive tests. Four flow patterns were obtained: (a) continuous flow, maximum velocity in late systole with gradual fall throughout diastole; (b) continuous flow, high systolic flow with rapid fall to a very low early diastolic velocity maintained throughout diastole; (c) continuous low velocity, maximum in late diastole; and (d) bidirectional flow.

Use of lithium carbonate in the treatment of autoerotic asphyxia.

We report the successful use of lithium carbonate to promptly extinguish life-threatening behavior in a case of autoerotic asphyxia occurring in a 26-year-old male. In addition to his paraphilia, the patient met the DSM-III-R criteria for dysthymia, and had an avoidant personality disorder secondary to verbal, physical and sexual abuse inflicted during childhood and adolescence.

Potroom asthma: New Zealand experience and follow-up.

Occupational asthma related to work in potlines in an aluminum smelter has been diagnosed on clinical criteria in 57 workers. About half were regular tobacco smokers but atopy was uncommon. There was a wide range in the time for which each had been employed prior to development of symptoms, but the average was about 20 months.

The development of male prostitution activity among gay and bisexual adolescents.

The current research literature regarding male-juvenile prostitution activity is reviewed. An attempt is made to develop some theoretical understanding of the development of this activity among gay and bisexual adolescents. A predisposition, resulting from faulty psychosexual and psychosocial development, appears to make these boys vulnerable to the situational variables that they encounter.

Normal limits of the high-fidelity pediatric ECG. Preliminary observations.

A study of more than 1,780 neonates, infants, and children was carried out, using a digital electrocardiograph with a sampling rate of 500 per second, to revise the normal limits of the pediatric ECG. The 12-lead ECG was used with V4R replacing V3. All leads were recorded simultaneously off-line in digital form on magnetic tape and were subsequently analyzed using well-established computing techniques.

A rostrocaudal gradient for neurotransmitter metabolites and a caudorostral gradient for protein in canine cerebrospinal fluid.

Neurotransmitter metabolites (dihydroxyphenylacetic acid [DOPAC], homovanillic acid [HVA], and 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid [5-HIAA]) in CSF of 10 healthy dogs were evaluated with reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection. Neurotransmitter metabolite concentrations determined in CSF collected from the cisterna magna were compared with those values in CSF collected from the lumbar dorsal subarachnoid space. Amounts of DOPAC (P = 0.

Viral respiratory tract infection and exacerbations of asthma in adult patients.

The role of viral respiratory tract infections in acute exacerbations of asthma was studied prospectively in 31 patients with atopic asthma aged 15-56 years. Patients recorded symptom scores for asthma and peak expiratory flow rate daily for 11 months. In addition, they reported for detailed clinical, functional, and virological study every four weeks and as soon as possible after the onset of worsening asthma or symptoms suggesting a respiratory tract infection.

Analysis of neurotransmitter metabolite concentrations in canine cerebrospinal fluid.

The concentrations of dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC), homovanillic acid (HVA), and 5-hydroxyindole-3-acetic acid (5-HIAA) in CSF obtained from the cisterna magna of 21 nonneurologically compromised dogs were determined by high-pressure liquid chromatography and electrochemical detection. A rapid method of sample preparation, which involved single filtration through a deproteinizing membrane, was used. Canine CSF obtained in this manner contained 5.

Doppler assessment of the interventricular pressure drop in patients with ventricular septal defects.

Doppler ultrasound was used to assess the pressure drop between the ventricles in 109 infants and children (61 less than two years old) with a ventricular septal defect who underwent cardiac catheterisation. The pressure in both ventricles was measured at catheterisation in 103 patients either simultaneously through two catheters (41) or with a single catheter withdrawn across the septum or removed from one ventricle to the other (62). When pressure was measured simultaneously with two catheters (41 patients) the peak to peak and instantaneous gradients showed a maximum difference of 20 mm Hg with levels within 10 mm Hg of each other in 36.