Int Q Community Health Educ
January 1990
A volunteer primary health worker (PHW) must acquire a basic knowledge of preventive and curative medicine to approach his community with authority. Knowledge gained during training must be retained as a foundation for village level action. This study is a follow-up survey of knowledge among PHWs in a Western Nigerian town five years after training.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFElderly patients receiving a hearing aid have usually experienced a hearing disability for many years. Simple methods of screening the pre-retirement age group for hearing impairment are described. Screening is feasible and effective.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDiabetes Res Clin Pract
June 1989
We studied the clinical profile of 296 non-insulin-dependent diabetic (NIDDM) patients with nephropathy and renal failure. Male preponderance was striking in this group and the age of onset of diabetes was between 30 and 50 years in 75%. Retinopathy was present in 86% with proliferative changes in 20% and coronary artery disease was evident in 40% of the patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough an estimated 1 million Americans suffer ocular injuries each year, the setting of injury and its prognostic implications have not been closely examined. Using data compiled by the Eye Injury Registry of Alabama (EIRA) from 514 cases of serious eye injury, we examined the demographics and prognosis of ocular injury by setting of injury. Work-related injuries accounted for only 28% of total injuries, and injuries occurring at home accounted for 27%, followed by situations related to recreation (25%), assault (11%), travel (5%), and "other" (school, unknown, etc) (4%).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOf all the causes of eye injury, gunshot has recently been cited as resulting in the highest rate of blindness and the lowest rate of visual recovery. Many of these cases are hunting accidents in which safety glasses could have prevented or lessened ocular damage. To evaluate the effectiveness of various types of safety glasses, we fired a Remington automatic shotgun at mannequin heads fitted with one of four types of safety lenses.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn the 10-year period from 1977 to 1987, lawnmowers have been responsible for approximately 70,000 injuries annually with an estimated 5% (3300) involving the eyes. Hyphema, angle recession, and traumatic retinopathy are especially common forms of lawnmower ocular trauma. A series of 14 cases of lawnmower-induced eye injuries is presented along with demographics of the patient population involved.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResults are described on the association of increased serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) and serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) activities with valproic acid (VPA) and coantiepileptic drug therapy in a group (n = 126) of randomly selected chronically medicated out-patients. The highest incidence (SGOT, 28.3%; SGPT, 26.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn synaptosomal fractions of rat brain the activities of phospholipase A2 and the phospholipid base-exchange enzymes are highly dependent on external Ca2+ concentrations. Their activity is inhibited by the presence of 50 mM ethanol in vitro. Administration of ethanol to rats by inhalation causes a progressive increase in the activity of these enzymes in synaptosomal preparations at all Ca2+ concentrations studied.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFTher Drug Monit
November 1985
Results are described on the association of elevated ammonia (NH3) with valproic acid (VPA) therapy in a large group (n = 157) of randomly selected, chronically medicated (greater than 2 years) outpatients. The highest incidence (45.5%) of elevations occurred in patients comedicated with VPA-phenobarbital (PB)-phenytoin (PHT) combinations, followed by VPA-PB (33.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhospholipase C (PLC) activity was measured by the incorporation of [3H]-inositol into lipids and by the breakdown of [3H]-inositol-labelled phosphatidylinositols (PI) and polyphosphatidylinositols (PPI) to [3H]-inositol phosphates; phospholipase A2 (PLA2) activity by the breakdown of [3H]oleic acid-labelled phosphatidylcholine [( 3H]PC) to [3H]oleic acid and the enzymes of phospholipid base exchange (PLBE) by the incorporation of [14C]serine into membrane lipids. The activities of these enzymes in rat brain preparations were all increased by procedures which increase intracellular Ca2+, and were all inhibited to a varying extent by the presence of ethanol, 50 mM, in vitro. In contrast, the activities of PLA2 and PLBE enzymes were markedly increased in preparations from animals which had received ethanol chronically in vivo.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSixty-eight depressed out-patients were allocated to treatment with either oral amitriptyline (75-225 mg/day) or intramuscular flupenthixol decanoate (10-30 mg every 14 days) in flexible dosage for 12 weeks under double-blind procedures. Various observer- and self-rating scales were applied before and after 2, 4, 8 and 12 weeks of treatment. Twenty-four patients completed the course of amitriptyline and 20 the course of flupenthixol.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDescribed is a method to perform drug utilization review retrospectively by using mutually exclusive categories. Drug use criteria were developed and structured in such a manner so that a patient's drug use experience could be readily and appropriately classified by medical records technicians during the routine medical record abstraction. Utilizing a contract abstracting service format, a summary by category of drug use experiences for the patients audited is provided monthly and used as the preliminary audit summary.
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