The influence of a mammography unit in rural hospitals on obtaining mammograms.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to A M Barclay.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A randomized controlled study that evaluated a recall system and patient education material by mail in 178 asymptomatic female family practice patients aged 50 to 69 years showed no effect on the proportion of patients who had cancer screening tests (P = .20) and a significant adverse effect on the mean number of tests performed (P = .05) after 4 months. In a subgroup of previous compliers (those who had one or more tests 12 months before the study), however, there was a lower proportion of patients receiving one or more tests (P = .019) with a lower mean number of tests (P = .007) than previous compliers in the control group. Recall strategies for cancer screening tests need to be more extensively studied in the United States before they are routinely adopted in family practice.
Caution is required when prescribing psychotropic drugs to elderly patients, because of altered pharmacokinetics. Benzodiazepines with a relatively short half-life, such as temazepam (Restoril), alprazolam (Xanax), and lorazepam (Ativan), are better hypnotics for the elderly than those with a long half-life. Lorazepam and clorazepate dipotassium (Tranxene) are appropriate anxiolytics for elderly patients. Antipsychotics have anticholinergic and extrapyramidal symptoms in varying degrees. Thiothixene (Navane) and haloperidol (Haldol) in low doses are the drugs of choice despite their extrapyramidal symptoms. Trazodone (Desyrel) is a good antidepressant for the elderly because of its minimal anticholinergic effects, although it is quite sedating. Desipramine (Norpramin) is the least sedating and has the fewest anticholinergic effects of the tricyclic antidepressants and therefore may be better tolerated. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors and lithium should be used with great caution.