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Biomedical subjects

A Wai

Publications and source records attributed to A Wai.

2 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Double-blind comparison of cefazolin and ceftizoxime for prophylaxis against infections following elective biliary tract surgery.

Antibiotics have been shown to reduce the incidence of wound infections after elective biliary tract procedures. Cefazolin and cefoxitin are among the agents most commonly promoted for this purpose. Cefoxitin has been substituted with ceftizoxime in many institutions; however, the role of ceftizoxime as a prophylactic agent in this setting has not been determined. To assess the comparative prophylactic efficacies of cefazolin and ceftizoxime in biliary tract surgery, we conducted a double-blind, randomized prospective clinical trial in a tertiary-care teaching hospital. Adult patients were randomized to one of two treatment groups and received a 30-min preoperative dose of study drug and as many as two postoperative doses at 12 and 24 h, depending on hospitalization status. Cefazolin and ceftizoxime were given as 1,000-mg doses. Patients with infections, those receiving prior antibiotics, or those with beta-lactam allergies were excluded. Over the 19-month study tenure, 167 patients were enrolled. Seventeen patients were excluded from analysis because of protocol violations. Of the 150 evaluable patients (72 and 78 receiving cefazolin and ceftizoxime doses, respectively), there was no significant difference among groups regarding sex, age, weight, preoperative Apache II score, baseline chemistry, and hematological parameters. Groups were also equivalent regarding the surgeon, type of procedure, characteristics (blood loss, drains, organ injury, and complications), and duration of hospital stay (mean, 5.6 versus 4.3 days [P = 0.31]). No clinical evidence of infection (7-day hospital stay and 30-day follow-up) was identified in 93% of cefazolin and 92% of ceftizoxime patients (P = 1.0). Microbiological confirmation was found in only 18% of primary-site infections. In conclusion, cefazolin and ceftizoxime appear to be equivalent for the prevention of infection in biliary tract surgery with the dosage regimens studied.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Types of optometric testing emphasized in different practice modes.

BACKGROUND: In order to determine if tests performed in an examination vary with practice settings, we surveyed all 5,200 California licensed optometrists and asked them to identify their primary mode of practice and the percentage of time and/or frequency that certain test procedures were done in an eye examination. METHODS: We restricted our analysis to three practice modes: private, corporate, and nonprofit/health maintenance organization (NP/HMO). We received a 66.4 percent response rate. To determine any trends in emphasis of testing by the three practice modes and to establish relationships between the three, we compared each mode of practice to the other. The combinations were private vs. corporate, corporate vs. NP/HMO, and private vs. NP/HMO. The three combinations were compared to the frequency of performing case history, stereo acuity testing, binocular vision testing, biomicroscopy, dilated fundus examination, tonometry and perimetry. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: We found the following relationships in the frequency/emphasis of testing as statistically significant: 1) For stereopsis testing: private practices performed it more often than corporate; 2) For binocular vision testing: private practices performed it more than did either corporate or NP/HMO, corporate performed it more than NP/HMO; 3) For tonometry: corporate performed it slightly more than NP/HMO; 4) For dilation: NP/HMO performed it more than both private and corporate; and 5) For perimetry: private performed it more than both corporate and NP/HMO.

Data Collection↗