The emergency department utility of Simplify D-dimer to exclude pulmonary embolism in patients with pleuritic chest pain.

Study Objective: Pleuritic chest pain is a common presenting complaint in the emergency department (ED) and a symptom of pulmonary embolism. Patients with pleuritic chest pain would benefit from a simple and rapid way of screening for pulmonary embolism. The aim of this study is to assess the utility of Simplify D-dimer as a rule-out tool for pulmonary embolism in ED patients with pleuritic chest pain.

Comorbidity between DSM-IV alcohol and specific drug use disorders in the United States: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Background: To date, there have been no published data on 12-month comorbidity of DSM-IV alcohol and drug use disorders in the general U.S. population.

Critical care without walls: The role of the nurse consultant in critical care.

Background: The nurse consultant role was first described in 1999 and has undergone little evaluation since. Critical care nurse consultant roles have developed against a background of service innovation following a review of adult critical care and have resulted in a variety of job roles and titles. There is some evidence to suggest that these posts are developing differentially and with varied role content.

Effect of root canal filling/sealer systems on apical endotoxin penetration: a coronal leakage evaluation.

Endotoxin, elaborated by gram-negative organisms, is an important factor in apical periodontitis. The objective of this study was to evaluate the magnitude of endotoxin penetration through root canal treated teeth using a dual chamber model system. Forty-four maxillary anterior teeth were prepared endodontically and canals filled either by lateral condensation or a warm thermoplasticized technique in combination with either Roth's 801 or AH 26 sealer.

'It's not like the wards'. Experiences of nurses new to critical care: a qualitative study.

Background: Critical care is both emotionally and intellectually challenging, yet little is currently known about the experience of nurses' new to this environment.

Aims: The aims of the study were to: 1. Explore the experience of nurses' new to critical care.

Teeth with large amalgam restorations and crowns: factors affecting the receipt of subsequent treatment after 10 years.

Background: The authors evaluated the factors associated with the receipt of subsequent treatment by teeth restored with a large amalgam restoration or a large amalgam restoration and crown restoration after 10 years.

Methods: The authors used retrospective data from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry (Iowa City, Iowa) administrative database and patient records to evaluate patient and tooth factors for their association with the two primary outcomes: receipt of any subsequent treatment and receipt of catastrophic treatment (extraction, endodontic therapy).

Results: The authors followed 518 teeth over a 10-year period (49 percent with large amalgam restorations and 51 percent with crowns).

The association between stress and drinking: modifying effects of gender and vulnerability.

Aims: To assess the relationship between number and type of past-year stressful experiences and alcohol consumption, with a focus on how gender, poverty, and psychological vulnerability moderate this association.

Methods: Data from 26 946 US past-year drinkers 18 years of age and over, interviewed in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), were used to construct multivariate linear regression models predicting six measures of drinking pattern and volume.

Results: There was a consistent positive relationship between number of past-year stressors experienced and all measures of heavy drinking.

Factors related to utilization of dental services during pregnancy.

Objectives: The purposes of this study were to investigate factors related to utilization of dental services during pregnancy and to assess the extent of mothers' knowledge regarding oral health during pregnancy and its effect on pregnancy outcomes.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional data were collected from 625 women using a structured questionnaire mailed to mothers who had given birth in Johnson County, Iowa from August 2001 to March 2002. The survey assessed knowledge, behaviours, attitudes toward dental care during pregnancy, and personal, demographic and pregnancy-related factors.

Quantifying the risks associated with exceeding recommended drinking limits.

Background: Although daily and weekly drinking limits demonstrate strong sensitivity and specificity in identifying alcohol use disorders (AUDs), there are no descriptive data that present the risks associated with exceeding these limits in a format suitable for presentation to patients, students, and the general public.

Methods: Data collected in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions were used to estimate the risks of past-year DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence associated with various frequencies of exceeding daily drinking limits (no more than 4 drinks for men; no more than 3 drinks for women) in a nationally representative sample of 26,946 US drinkers 18 years of age and older. These risks were further categorized by whether weekly drinking limits (no more than 14 drinks for men; no more than 7 drinks for women) were exceeded and by maximum number of drinks consumed in the past year.

Effectiveness of the derived Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) in screening for alcohol use disorders and risk drinking in the US general population.

Background: The three consumption questions from the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT-C) are increasingly used as a screener for alcohol use disorders (AUDs) and risk drinking.

Methods: In a representative sample of US adults 18 years of age and older, AUDIT-C scores (derived from consumption questions embedded in a large national survey) were used to estimate sensitivity, specificity, and areas under receiver operator characteristic curves (AUROCs) for alcohol dependence, any AUD, and risk drinking. AUDs were defined according to DSM-IV criteria.

Overview of the evidence for clinical interventions in pediatric dentistry.

Purpose: The purpose of this report was to describe the quantity of published literature and types of studies supporting the use of 4 pediatric dentistry procedures: (1) ferric sulfate pulpotomy; (2) stainless steel crowns; (3) space maintainers; and (4) atraumatic restorative technique (ART).

Methods: When available, titles and abstracts of reports written in English and published over a 36-year period (1966-2002) concerning these procedures were retrieved from MEDLINE. They were classified using a modified classification scheme that, in addition to the study designs, also considered the 4 dimensions of measuring dental outcomes.

In vitro fracture resistance of endodontically treated central incisors with varying ferrule heights and configurations.

Statement Of Problem: The in vitro effectiveness of a uniform circumferential ferrule has been established in the literature; however, the effect of a nonuniform circumferential ferrule height on fracture resistance is unknown.

Purpose: This in vitro study investigated the resistance to static loading of endodontically treated teeth with uniform and nonuniform ferrule configurations.

Material And Methods: Fifty extracted intact maxillary human central incisors were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 groups: CRN, no root canal treatment (RCT), restored with a crown; RCT/CRN, no dowel/core, restored with a crown; 2 FRL, 2-mm ferrule, cast dowel/core and crown; 0.

Development of a new eye care guideline for critically ill patients.

Ventilated, critically ill patients have an increased risk of corneal exposure and microbial keratitis; however there is evidence that eye care is a neglected area of patient care. An audit of eye surface disease and eye care documentation revealed a problem within one general intensive care unit (GICU). An education programme was developed to highlight the incidence of eye surface disease and importance of eye care in the ventilated patient.

Recovery from DSM-IV alcohol dependence: United States, 2001-2002.

Aims: To investigate the prevalence and correlates of recovery from Diagnostic and Statistical Manual version IV (DSM-IV) alcohol dependence by examining the past-year status of individuals who met the criteria for prior-to-past-year (PPY) dependence.

Design: Cross-sectional, retrospective survey of a nationally representative sample of US adults 18 years of age and over (first wave of a planned longitudinal survey).

Methods: This analysis is based on data from the 2001-02 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC), in which data were collected in personal interviews conducted with one randomly selected adult in each sample household.

Co-occurrence of DSM-IV personality disorders in the United States: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

The objective of this study was to determine the co-occurrence of 7 of the 10 Diagnosis and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision ( DSM-IV-TR ) personality disorders (PDs) in the US population. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 43 093 respondents in the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism's 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, a nationally representative survey of the US population. Odds ratios were calculated to determine associations among PDs.

Psychopathology associated with drinking and alcohol use disorders in the college and general adult populations.

This paper examines the associations between past-year drinking status and the prevalence of 15 different past-year anxiety, mood and personality disorders, using a large (n = 43,093) nationally representative sample of the U.S. population.

Natural history of treatment outcomes for teeth with large amalgam and crown restorations.

The natural history of posterior teeth treated with a four or more surface amalgam restoration (LA) or a large amalgam restoration and a full-coverage crown (LAC) were compared over five- and 10-year periods. Subsequent treatment information was used to construct Treatment Outcome Trees (TOT), which described treatment that the teeth received after placement of LA and LAC restorations. Data were collected for all treatments provided to patients who received a four or five surface LA in 1987 or 1988 at the University of Iowa, College of Dentistry (UICD).

Mating system of the Eurasian badger, Meles meles, in a high density population.

Badgers are facultatively social, forming large groups at high density. Group-living appears to have high reproductive costs for females, and may lead to increased levels of inbreeding. The extent of female competition for reproduction has been estimated from field data, but knowledge of male reproductive success and the extent of extra-group paternity remains limited.

Color stability of provisional crown and fixed partial denture resins.

Statement Of Problem: Provisional resins are used extensively during fixed prosthodontic treatment and exhibit varying degrees of color change/discoloration over time. Data are needed to help predict color stability of provisional resins.

Purpose: The purpose of this in vitro study was to measure the color change of 12 provisional prosthodontic materials after immersion in artificial saliva and artificial saliva-coffee solutions for 1, 2, and 4 weeks.

Effect of storage solution on surface roughness of provisional crown and fixed partial denture materials.

Purpose: This study evaluated the surface roughness of polished provisional materials at baseline and after storage in artificial saliva and artificial saliva-coffee solutions.

Materials And Methods: Ten specimens (25 mm x 25 mm x 2 mm) of 12 commercially available provisional crown materials (5 methacrylate and 7 bis-acryl resins) were fabricated and polished. Baseline surface roughness measurements (Ra) were made using a surface roughness tester.

Immigration and lifetime prevalence of DSM-IV psychiatric disorders among Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites in the United States: results from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Background: There exist no national prevalence data on specific DSM-IV Axis I psychiatric disorders among foreign-born and US-born Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites.

Objective: To present nationally representative data on the prevalence of DSM-IV lifetime psychiatric disorders among foreign-born and US-born Mexican Americans and non-Hispanic whites.

Design: Face-to-face survey conducted in the 2001-2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.

Nicotine dependence and psychiatric disorders in the United States: results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions.

Background: No information is available on the co-occurrence of DSM-IV nicotine dependence and Axis I and II psychiatric disorders in the US population.

Objectives: To present national data on the co-occurrence of current DSM-IV nicotine dependence and other psychiatric disorders by sex and to estimate the burden of all US tobacco consumption carried by nicotine-dependent and psychiatrically ill individuals.

Design: Face-to-face interviews.

Co-occurrence of 12-month mood and anxiety disorders and personality disorders in the US: results from the national epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions.

The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence and co-occurrence of DSM-IV personality disorders (PDs) among individuals with current DSM-IV mood and anxiety disorders in the US population and among individuals who sought treatment for such mood or anxiety disorders. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with 43,093 individuals, 18 years and older, in the National Institute on alcohol abuse and alcoholism's 2001-2002 National epidemiologic survey on alcohol and related conditions (NESARC). Odds ratios (ORs) were calculated to determine the prevalence and associations between current DSM-IV axis I and axis II disorders.

Best evidence topic report. Low molecular weight heparin for intravenous drug users with deep vein thrombosis.

A short cut review was carried out to establish whether low molecular weight heparins were safer and more effective anticoagulants than coumarins in injecting drug users (IDUs) with deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Altogether 276 papers were found using the reported search, of which two presented the best evidence to answer the clinical question. The author, date and country of publication, patient group studied, study type, relevant outcomes, results and study weaknesses of these best papers are tabulated.

Another look at heavy episodic drinking and alcohol use disorders among college and noncollege youth.

Objective: To estimate rates of heavy episodic drinking, alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence among U.S. adults 18-29 years of age and determine the relationship of these rates to student status and residence.