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Biomedical subjects

A M Kotzer

Publications and source records attributed to A M Kotzer.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Creative strategies for pediatric nursing research: data collection.

As the researcher contemplates the design and methodology of a study involving children, the age and maturity of the child are key factors for consideration. A good understanding of the child's cognitive and developmental level of functioning will greatly facilitate the explanation to the child and the process of obtaining data from the child. The successful outcome of a study may depend on how well the investigator uses this knowledge and is able to make appropriate adaptations in data collection to meet the requirements of the study design.

Child

Pitfalls in diagnosing galactosemia: false negative newborn screening following red blood cell transfusion.

Newborn galactosemia screening programs using the fluorescence spot test to detect red cell galactose-1-phosphate uridyltransferase activity are prone to inaccuracy if the screened infants have received blood transfusions. We describe an infant with galactosemia who received packed red cell transfusions in the first few days of life and was misdiagnosed after an initial positive screening test result. Although the patient was thought to have cytomegaloviral hepatitis, a percutaneous liver biopsy helped direct the evaluation toward identifying the galactosemia carrier state in both parents. This case report illustrates the need for careful consideration of the patient's history of transfusion of blood products when evaluating newborn screening results.

Blood Transfusion

A longitudinal comparison of irritable and nonirritable infants.

Infantile colic is characterized by persistent crying, diminished soothability, and excessive activity or restlessness. The purpose of this study was to explore the processes underlying the persistent, recurrent irritability by investigating behavioral and interactional differences in irritable and nonirritable infants. In this two-group longitudinal study, 40 infants and their mothers were followed over the first 4 months of life. Statistically significant differences between the two groups were found, with the irritable infants demonstrating an increase in the amount and intensity of crying, more disruption in sleep-wake states, and less synchrony in mother-infant interaction.

Adolescent

Development of a system for monitoring infant state behavior.

The concept of infant state refers to patterns of behavior that comprise the sleep-wake cycle. The infant's ability to organize state behavior rhythmically is indicative of central nervous system maturation and predictive of later development. This article describes the development of a noninvasive, computerized infant monitoring system that can be used to categorize the infant's sleep-wake behavior into states. Development of the system occurred in two phases: In the first phase of the study, reliability and validity of the infant monitoring system for recording continuous behavioral and physiological data were assessed. These results were then used in the second phase to develop a rule-based computer program to interpret the signal data stored on a micro-diskette and to characterize the infant's state throughout the period of monitoring. The capability of computerized data collection and analysis of infant state behavior has expanded the application of this infant monitoring system. Its use as an investigative tool in clinical research is discussed.

Adult