OBJECTIVES: To determine effects of tricyclic antidepressants (TCA) on the ECG of dogs treated for behavioral conditions and to examine correlations between ECG findings and serum concentrations of these medications. DESIGN: Repeated-measures study. ANIMALS: 39 client-owned dogs with behavioral problems. PROCEDURE: Two groups of dogs with behavioral problems were evaluated. ...

OBJECTIVE: The Working Group on Civilian Biodefense has developed consensus-based recommendations for measures to be taken by medical and public health professionals following the use of plague as a biological weapon against a civilian population. PARTICIPANTS: The working group included 25 representatives from major academic medical centers and research, government, ...

We describe an outbreak of cutaneous larva migrans (CLM) in a group of 140 holidaymakers to a resort in Barbados and the index case. methods A two-page questionnaire was mailed to holidaymakers and 90% responded. results 25.4% of respondents developed a rash consistent with CLM. Risk factors for developing the ...

Developing a strategy and turnaround plan for a struggling medical group practice requires a combination of art and science. Orchestrating an effective about-face calls for decisive action on several fronts at once. Too many groups are slow to recognize the need to rescue a perilous situation. And rather than taking ...

Apart from a few pioneering medical centers, most medical organizations lack the internal knowledge and technical expertise to develop a comprehensive digital imaging business plan, create medical imaging architectures, select vendor(s), and implement picture archiving and communication systems (PACS) and other information systems. Many of these processes are only done ...

True synergy, as an organizational design, is uncommon in medical groups. This article addresses the experiences of a medical group that practiced an extreme form of synergy--the total equality of its physicians--since its inception almost 30 years ago. Synergy is the close coordination of the efforts and resources of individuals ...

The middle Miocene hominoid Otavipithecus namibiensis is the first and most complete fossil ape from sub-equatorial Africa and represents a significant addition to the taxonomically sparse African middle Miocene hominoid fossil record. The Otavipithecus hypodigm comprises the holotype mandible, which presents a unique mosaic of dental and gnathic characters, and ...

OBJECTIVE: This project was designed to determine the prevalence of self-reported arthritis and its effect on the daily lives of Chippewa Indian people on tribal lands in Wisconsin. DESIGN AND METHODS: After review and approval by the LCO Tribal Council and the University of Minnesota Human Subjects Committee, face-to-face interviews ...

Influenza immunisation policy and practice in primary care in central southern England was surveyed in early 1998, when national guidelines advised immunisation only for people with specified 'higher risk' medical conditions or who lived in long stay facilities such as nursing or residential homes. Three hundred and one questionnaires were ...

Delivering satisfaction to patients has become increasingly important among professionals in the medical community. However, administrators in medical group practices charged with the task of nurturing customer satisfaction are often required to allocate their limited funds across an array of initiatives intended to ensure the delivery of the right amount ...

The objective of this prospective double-blind study was to determine whether postoperative residual paralysis (PORP) after pancuronium or vecuronium results in hypoxemia and hypercapnia in the immediate admission period to the recovery ward. Eighty-three consecutive surgical patients received balanced or intravenous anesthesia with pancuronium for operations lasting longer than one ...

Bioterrorism includes possible use of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), preferably biological agents, by non-state terrorist groups as well as criminal clusters. The threat from terrorists to utilize biological agents to achieve goals is not new, but the threshold to realize the threats seems to be lower than previously expected. ...

Of numerous regional economic agreements, the European Union (EU), the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), South American Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Agreement are examples that are actively pursuing ...

PURPOSE: To report our results of medical management of myopia, and add these to the prior literature supporting this practice. METHOD: Retrospective review of the medical records of 35 patient-subjects offered this treatment with adequate followup over a five year period. Treatment consisted of prescription of photochromic gray extra lenses ...

Parkinson's Disease (PD) prior to the age of 40 affects between 5-10% of the PD population. The psychosocial changes that patients with early PD encounter, may be more devastating and disabling than the actual motor disability. The paper describes a unique experience in groupwork with young female PD patients treated ...

The work was directed to emphasize the role of motivation in the process of term formation in medicine. The authors present a confrontational analysis of a sample of medical terms. The aim of analysis is to show motivation in term formation in six different languages, that is in English, German, ...

The efficacy of a florfenicol premix was studied in weaning pigs experimentally inoculated with Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae. Twenty five clinically healthy pigs were distributed into 3 groups; group A non-medicated, groups B and C orally medicated with 20 and 40 ppm of florfenicol respectively. The pigs were fed during 12 consecutive ...

In this contribution it is argued that it is difficult to talk of medical informatics education since the groups that need education in this field are not very homogeneous. Also these groups overlap. WG 1 of IMIA is in the process of producing recommendations for curricula in medical informatics. The ...

The structures of different types of arthropod sensilla are compared and theories regarding the evolution of these sensory organs are presented. Arthropod sensilla are built according to a common plan, and are probably homologous to scolopidia. Certain similarities in the structure of sensilla in different arthropod groups can be the ...

BACKGROUND: Determination of urinary free catecholamine and total (i. e., free plus conjugated) metanephrine excretion is considered the most clinically sensitive biochemical test for pheochromocytoma. In this study, we evaluated new immunoassay methods for the measurement of these analytes for potential drug-based interference. METHODS: Urine samples collected from patients on ...

Shame is thought to be a ubiquitous and destructive psychological process associated with psychiatric and medical conditions. This study examined its nature in two contrasting health problems that influence women's self-evaluations of their bodies and attractiveness, namely an eating disorder (a psychiatric disorder with medical implications) or vulvodynia (i.e., vulvar ...

AIM: To compare the onset of action of the local antacid Maalox and the systemic H2-antagonist ranitidine, during 'on demand' ambulant treatment of a single heartburn episode, using a randomized, parallel group, double-blind, double-dummy design. METHODS: Subjects with self-perceived heartburn without known gastrointestinal disease or interfering treatments were selected with ...

The aim of this study was to determine the motivation of patients (n = 73) who had undergone microsurgical refertilization for further treatment (assisted reproduction) and the demand for medical counseling. By an interview, 57/73 patients could be evaluated for motivation, further demand for medical counseling, and the postoperative outcome ...

PURPOSE: To compare the contamination of contact lenses and contact lens disinfection solutions in a population of contact lenses wearers comprised of medical personnel and non-medical subjects. METHODS: Forty-six medical personnel working in an infectious environment and 35 non-medical subjects were enrolled in the study. Contact lenses and contact lens ...

OBJECTIVE: This study compared the personality traits, health beliefs and 'medical experiences' of Japanese patients of both orthodox (OM) and complementary medicine (CM). DESIGN AND OUTCOME MEASURE: Altogether, ninety-eight Japanese patients completed a questionnaire. This looked at the types of illness they had had, medical history, satisfaction with GP, general ...

"Without cause" terminations by health plans, medical groups, and IPAs are under attack by physicians, consumers, the courts, and legislatures. This article describes recent challenges to such terminations, including both legislative and legal challenges. It suggests that medical groups, large or small, should expect an increasing number of employed physicians ...

The links between late-life depression and the medical comorbidities that are often associated with it can be divided into two paths. The path from medical illness to depression reflects general mechanisms related to stress, disability, and loss, as well as more specific physiological mechanisms, including those related to subclinical cerebrovascular ...

Insertion analysis of short and long interspersed elements is a powerful method for phylogenetic inference. In a previous study of short interspersed element data, it was found that cetaceans, hippopotamuses, and ruminants form a monophyletic group. To further resolve the relationships among these taxa, we now have isolated and characterized ...

The features or mechanisms of dyshidrosis have not been sufficiently clarified. Neither has the difference between hyperhidrosis and hypohidrosis. To clarify the features and mechanisms of dyshidrosis (hyperhidrosis and hypohidrosis) in syringomyelia, the clinical features focusing on hidrosis of 30 patients with syringomyelia and Chiari malformation located from a syringomyelia ...

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to compare the distribution of Langerhans' cells in normal human gingiva and in nifedipine- and immunosuppressive medication-induced gingival overgrowth by means of an immunohistochemical study. METHODS: Gingival samples were collected from 11 nifedipine-medicated cardiac patients, 22 triple-medicated (azathioprine, prednisolone, and cyclosporin A) renal ...

At first, the retreat of practice management companies looked like a great opening for hospitals. What better way to acquire prime medical groups from motivated sellers? Trouble is, you still need a motivated buyer. That's why some observers contend hospitals will purchase only a fraction of medical groups being divested ...

Medical and nonmedical students completed a questionnaire indicating how willing they would be to try various therapies for treatment. Both groups assessed more traditional complementary practices such as homeopathy and acupuncture as similar to more orthodox treatments such as physiotherapy or prescribed diets. Both groups appeared not to differentiate between ...

OBJECTIVES: This multicenter, randomized, open-label study was undertaken to compare the effects on menstrual cycle control of two oral contraceptive regimens: monophasic levonorgestrel (LNG) 100 micrograms/ethinylestradiol (EE) 20 micrograms (Alesse or Loette) and triphasic norethindrone (NET) 500-750-1000 micrograms/EE 35 micrograms (OrthoNovum 7/7/7). METHODS: Healthy women with normal menstrual cycles were ...

We used a medical readiness model of health assessment based on the Neuman systems model, a comparative-descriptive design, to assess the health or state of well-being of Air Combat Command medical personnel. Group I consisted of 636 personnel actively participating in medical readiness training, and group II consisted of 127 ...

OBJECTIVE: To develop consensus-based recommendations for measures to be taken by medical and public health professionals following the use of anthrax as a biological weapon against a civilian population. PARTICIPANTS: The working group included 21 representatives from staff of major academic medical centers and research, government, military, public health, and ...

Strategic planning can help a medical practice take an honest look at itself in light of the changes taking place in its environment and within the practice itself. The objective is for the group to design a plan, or road map, to its envisioned future. For medical practices, strategic planning ...

BACKGROUND: Due to the aging of the population on one hand and both medical and dental innovations on the other, the number of medical complications which occur during dental treatment is expected to rise. In order to prevent such complications, dental practitioners have used a medical risk-related history which includes ...

PURPOSE: We examined the efficacy of potassium citrate based medical prophylaxis for preventing upper urinary calculous recurrence, and compared it with the stone recurrence rate in patients who only received intermittent or no medical prophylaxis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 493 patients with upper urinary calculi, ...

INTRODUCTION: Nation-wide implementation of medication discussion (MD) groups in the Netherlands was designed as a bottom-up approach and has been in progress for five years. This invites a review of what has been achieved in these structured discussions between general practitioners and pharmacists. CONTEXT: Early in 1997 the Dutch Foundation ...

During battlefield and mass casualty incidents, triage has been traditionally performed by many different personnel, including medics, nurses, dentists, and physicians. The objective of this study was to determine which military medical providers are most knowledgeable in mass casualty triage. The design was a prospective, written, timed, case-based examination of ...

STUDY DESIGN: An intervention study by the medical advisers of a social security sickness fund on a mandatorily insured patient population after open discectomy for herniated lumbar intervertebral disc. The medical advisers were randomized into two groups: a control group (n = 30) and an intervention group (n = 30). ...

OBJECTIVE: To explore characteristics of patients and factors that influence their decision in selecting photorefractive keratectomy (PRK) and contact lenses. METHODS: A questionnaire was presented to 255 PRK and 240 contact lens patients, covering patient demographics, refraction, reasons for choosing PRK or contact lens, and advice from clinicians or friends/relatives. ...

OBJECTIVES: To determine the use of antimalarial prophylaxis and the relative frequency of adverse events with different regimens in visitors to the Kruger National Park. DESIGN: Retrospective postal survey of a cohort of 7,397 visitors during April 1996. Telephonic interviews were conducted with all respondents who reported neuropsychiatric adverse events ...

Percutaneous tracheostomy has been touted as the preferred route of tracheostomy. However, to date, no prospective randomized study comparing bedside percutaneous (BP) to bedside open (BO) tracheostomy has been performed. Surgical intensive care unit (sICU) patients were randomized to receive either a BP or a BO tracheostomy. Patients were monitored ...

OBJECTIVE: To compare the effectiveness of two means for increasing the use of advance medical directives: written materials only versus written materials and an educational videotape. DESIGN: Population-based, randomized controlled trial with 3-month follow up. SETTING: Kaiser Permanente Colorado Region, a not-for-profit group-model health maintenance organization. PARTICIPANTS: A population-based sample ...

Generalized periodic epileptiform discharges (GPEDs) are generalized, synchronous electrographic discharges. This study investigates etiologies, relationship to status epilepticus (SE), and the prognosis for patients with GPEDs. All EEGs with GPEDs performed at Duke University Medical Center between January 1994 and October 1995 were identified. Clinical histories and EEGs were reviewed. ...

OBJECTIVE: This report investigates a possible correlation between chronic use of Viadent products and the subsequent development of leukoplakia in the maxillary vestibule. STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective review of 88 patients with leukoplakia of the maxillary vestibule is presented. Prevalence of Viadent use was determined in this group and in ...

This article discusses how Sutter Health's affiliated medical groups and independent practice associations (IPAs) prepared for entering a pharmacy risk agreement. It should serve as a primer for those providers contemplating pharmacy risk and is written in lay terms. Providers who expect not just to survive, but to thrive, in ...

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of brushing with both a sonic and mechanical counter rotary power toothbrush on the bond strength of orthodontic brackets. Forty-five extracted teeth were divided into three random groups and had orthodontic brackets bonded to them. One group was brushed with ...

A postal survey was conducted on 410 pig farms in south-west England to investigate the risk factors for vulva biting. The results of the bivariate analyses indicated that group housing, keeping a boar in the same pen and the number of sows per drinker were significantly associated (P < or ...