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Biomedical subjects

A Balfour

Publications and source records attributed to A Balfour.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Informed consent for middle ear operations: a United Kingdom survey.

Otorhinolaryngologists throughout the UK routinely perform middle ear operations. Although the risk of serious complications in the hands of a well-trained surgeon is very low, some of the complications of middle ear surgery are devastating to the patient viz. facial nerve palsy and complete hearing loss. The subject of informed consent is highly topical because of clinical governance and medico-legal implications. We have audited the practice of the Consultant members of the British Association of Otorhinolaryngologists-Head and Neck Surgeons via a postal questionnaire with regards to their consenting process prior to middle ear operations. Our study looked at the practice of discussing different complications and the complication rates, the person consenting, time spent on consenting, and the documentation. We found that wide variations exist in the consenting process. The implications of the results are discussed. This study is particularly pertinent at the present time with the implementation of the new consenting standards document published by the Department of Health.

Ear, Middle↗
PubMed2003

Use of laser, otoendoscopy and facial nerve monitoring in otological surgery: United Kingdom survey.

Newer surgical tools, which have been widely accepted as important adjuncts in otological surgery, include the laser, otoendoscopy and facial nerve monitoring. A confidential postal questionnaire survey was carried out to evaluate the usage of these newer techniques among the Consultant members of the British Association of Otorhinolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. Our study revealed that the usage of otoendoscopy, laser and/or facial nerve monitoring is not as widespread as might be thought among otological surgeons in the United Kingdom.

Endoscopy↗
PubMed1996

Review of clinical activity by microbiologists.

A data form was devised and used to collect information on clinical cases involving a microbiologist. From the results a relational database management system was created. Of a total of 280 interventions, 137 (49%) were proactive, and in 118 (86%) of these cases the advice given was accepted. The majority of the patients in these cases showed subsequent improvement. Of all the interventions, the given advice was acted upon in 235 (84%), in 22 (8%) it was not and for the remainder this information was not available. This study was a simple method of gaining information on the clinical involvement of the microbiology department of a large city hospital. It provides a reference point from which further research and audit can be based.

Databases, Factual↗
PubMed1995

Mapping TNNC1, the gene that encodes cardiac troponin I in the human and the mouse.

We have mapped the TNNC1 gene, whose protein product is the cardiac TnI protein. TnI is one of the proteins that makes up the troponin complex, which mediates the response of muscle to calcium ions. The human TNNC1 locus had been assigned to a large region of chromosome 19, and we have refined the mapping position to the distal end of the chromosome by amplification of DNAs from a chromosome 19 mapping panel. We have also mapped the mouse Tnnc1 locus, by following the segregation of an intron sequence through DNAs from the European Interspecific Backcross. Tnnc1 maps close to the centromere on mouse chromosome 7.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Comparative study of antirotational single tooth abutments.

Identifying the functional and mechanical limitations of single tooth implant systems is essential for the long-term success of the restoration. Three designs with different prosthetic connections were evaluated with their corresponding single tooth abutments for structural integrity and cyclic fatigue. The internal implant octagon was the weakest connection under off-axis impact loading and lateral loading, and the external hexagon implant was rendered unrestorable under lateral loading. Overall, the internal hexagon design was found to provide the highest degree of single tooth stability. This was attributed to the increased material strength of the titanium alloy implant in comparison to the softer CP titanium implant, and to the abutment's longer, 1-degree tapered mating hexagon.

Alloys↗
PubMed1993

Immunisation of the preterm baby.

The study was designed to quantify the preterm baby's response to routine childhood immunisations. A total of 69 preterm babies were put into two groups according to their gestational age: less than 32 weeks and between 32 and 35 weeks. Within each group the babies were randomly placed into one of three schedules for immunisation with diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis and oral poliomyelitis vaccines at 3, 4 and 5 months; 3, 4, 5 and 18 months; and 3, 4 and 10 months. Antibodies were measured before immunisation, one month after the third vaccine dose and at age 19 months. Of these children, 30 had further antibody estimations when they were between 4 and 5 years of age. One month after the third immunisation and at 19 months of age all infants, independent of gestational age, had adequate immunity to the four infections. Children sampled before and after their pre-school booster, with few exceptions, showed persistence of protective antibody and an enhanced response to the booster dose respectively. No correction needs to be made for prematurity when initiating routine immunisation in premature infants.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1992

Efficacy of pyrimethamine for the prevention of donor-acquired Toxoplasma gondii infection in heart and heart-lung transplant patients.

Seven (11%) of the first 65 patients who received heart transplants at Papworth Hospital were mismatched for Toxoplasma gondii. Of these, four (57%) experienced T. gondii infection and two died. The remaining two had severe symptoms and received anti-T-gondii chemotherapy for a year after transplantation. In an attempt to reduce the impact of donor-acquired T. gondii in our heart transplant recipients, we decided in April 1984 to give prophylactic pyrimethamine to all T. gondii-mismatched patients. In this study, 7 years later, we review the efficacy of this policy. Five of 37 (14%) patients given prophylactic pyrimethamine acquired T. gondii infection; only one was symptomatic, and none died. This compares with 100% symptomatic infection in the pre-1984 patients, who did not receive prophylactic pyrimethamine. We believe that our experience has shown that pyrimethamine is effective in reducing the incidence and severity of primary donor-acquired T. gondii infection in mismatched heart and heart-lung transplant recipients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Estimation of Corynebacterium diphtheriae antitoxin in human sera: a comparison of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay with the toxin neutralisation test.

Serum samples from 101 individuals were titrated for Corynebacterium diphtheriae antitoxin by an IgG-specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and a neutralisation test in tissue culture (TC). In some of the sera, the concentrations of antitoxin determined by the two assays were different; antitoxin values in these sera were titrated again by neutralisation tests in guinea pigs (GNT). Antitoxin concentrations of greater than 0.01 IU/ml by GNT partly corresponded to values obtained in both ELISA and TC. Only the values from TC agreed with lower GNT results. Heat inactivation of sera was investigated and rejected as a possible reason for the discrepancy in the results. ELISA can be used to detect levels of less than 0.1 IU/ml, although the accuracy below 0.01 IU/ml, often considered a protective level, is questionable. At higher levels ELISA was reproducible for the titration of diphtheria antitoxin in human sera and offers a useful alternative to both in-vivo assays and TC.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Five types of non-union grievance systems.

Organizations without a process for hearing and resolving employee complaints leave their employees feeling powerless to affect the system that drives their working hours--a feeling that can send morale and motivation plummeting and fuel a vote to "go union" in an organizing effort. Even if unions fail to capitalize on such situations, the federal government may see a need to step in. Thus there is good reason, says author Alan Balfour (associate professor of management at the University of South Florida), to institute grievance systems for non-union employees. But which system is best? Balfour discusses the advantages and disadvantages of five: an open-door policy; ombudsman; juries of peers; hearing officers; and binding, outside arbitration. In doing so, he distinguishes between those that simply address the facts of a case and those that try to get to the root of a problem and solve it in ways that repair the relationships involved.

Employee Grievances↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Wound care. Discharged but not forgotten.

A pilot study assessed a methodology for establishing the incidence of post-discharge surgical wound infections. An infection rate of 13% was recorded. The eight patients who developed infections generated 35 clinical episodes. This could have resource implications for early discharge after surgery.

Adult↗