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Biomedical subjects

A A O'Donell

Publications and source records attributed to A A O'Donell.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Antibodies to silicone elastomers and reactions to ventriculoperitoneal shunts.

Silicone elastomers used to make medical implants and prostheses are generally believed to be biologically inert. However, we have seen two patients who showed severe, apparently immunemediated, reactions to ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunts. We used an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in which Silastic tubing served as the solid-phase antigen to test serum from the two patients, five other VP shunt patients without inflammatory reactions, and nine healthy adults. IgG binding to Silastic tubing was consistently higher in the two patients than in the healthy or patient controls. The IgG seemed to be binding specifically, since IgG Fab fragments also bound to the tubing, and preincubation of serum with Silastic or silylated proteins removed most of the activity. These findings show that specific immune reactivity to elastomers of polydimethylsiloxane can develop in human beings.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Epidemiology of otitis media: a community study.

A community study of the incidence of clinically diagnosed otitis media and middle ear effusions was undertaken in the City of Galveston, Texas, based on a random sample of records of patients aged 0-8 years receiving medical care from four major sources during 1975. No overall sex or ethnic differences were observed in association with otitis media. Thirty-five per cent of the sample had at least one episode of otitis media during 1975 and, of these, one-third had two or more episodes, yielding a conservative annual incidence rate of 55.1 per cent for this age group. The overall age-specific incidence pattern indicated the highest rates for the 0-2 year age group (71 to 114 episodes per 100 children) with a steady decline in risk with increasing age. Infants who received an initial diagnosis within the first 12 months of life experienced significantly more episodes of otitis during a two-year period than did children who received an initial diagnosis after one year of age. Seasonal patterns of otitis media were comparable with those reported in other studies. Analysis by birth month of children who experienced repeated episodes of otitis indicated an increased number of children born in the late summer and fall.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1979

Comparison of faculty and resident expectations for residency training in hypertension.

Faculty and residents in family medicine rated the degree of importance for a resident to have mastered each of 123 performance objectives by the end of residency training. The performance objectives, developed at the national level, describe the diagnosis, treatment, and management of clinic patients with hypertension. While faculty members' ratings of the objectives were in moderate agreement, the ratings of the residents by level of training were in low agreement. A comparison of faculty and resident ratings resulted in very low agreement. An analysis of the type and nature of the performance objectives and topic areas where disagreement occurred was also conducted. The results indicate that while disagreement was widespread, no pattern for the disagreement was evident. Implications for the use of performance objectives developed outside a local residency program are discussed.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed1978

Barriers to health career aspirations of young women in the Lower Rio Grande Valley.

This study concentrated on a sample of 75 young women in high school in the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas (LRGV). The effects of socioeconomic status, size of residential community, and career deflection on the types of barriers to career aspirations perceived by these young women were examined. To identify barriers unique to young women, we compared them to a group of young men of similar age from the LRGV who also were aspiring to a health career. The barriers most frequently identified could be overcome by programs already at work in the LRGV sponsored by the Area Health Education Center. Extrapolating from this study, there are 25,007 students in the valley, 5,041 are young women interested in health careers which may indicate a potential improvement in the representation in the health professions.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Patient simulators in teaching patient education skills to family practice residents.

The University of Texas Medical Branch Family Medicine Residency includes in its curriculum the use of interviews with simulated patients for the teaching of patient education skills. Success with simulated cases requires careful programming of the stimulator, realistic situations, and objective evaluation and feedback for the residents. This paper describes the "patient education guidelines" which we used in programming a simulated patient, as well as specific objectives for the content of the residents' interviews and a rating form for evaluating the educational process used by the residents. The interviews with a simulated patient were video taped for review by faculty and residents, using the content objectives and the rating form as aids in the feedback session.

Cholecystectomy↗