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Biomedical subjects

C Blain

Publications and source records attributed to C Blain.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Improving detection of alcohol misuse in patients presenting to an accident and emergency department.

OBJECTIVES: To assess and improve deployment of a brief test for alcohol misuse: the Paddington Alcohol Test (PAT). Design-Prospective study of the effects of audit feedback. SETTING: An urban accident and emergency department. SUBJECTS: Senior house officers (SHO) (n = 13). OUTCOME MEASUREMENTS: PAT use and categorisation of patients for each SHO; observational analysis of presenting complaints according to PAT. RESULTS: 1062 of 1737 patients (61.1%) were defined as PAT possible-that is, presented with > or = one complaint listed on the PAT test proforma. In month 1, PAT uptake was poor. PAT use improved significantly when feedback was instituted (p<0.0001). The response to audit and feedback showed marked inter-SHO variation. When feedback was withdrawn (month 4), there was a significant reduction in PAT use (p=0.003). Three other indices of detection followed this trend: (a) number of PAT positive patients identified, (b) proportion of PAT possible patients identified as PAT positive, and (c) number of PAT positive patients referred to the alcoholic health worker. The 10 most common PAT positive categories, accounting for 77% of all PAT positive complaints were: fall > collapse (including "fit", "blackout") > head injury (including "facial injury") > assault (including "domestic violence" and 'other') > nonspecific gastrointestinal problem > "unwell" > psychiatric (including "depression", "overdose", "confusion") > cardiac (including "chest pain" and "palpitations") > self neglect > repeat attendance. CONCLUSIONS: Ongoing audit with feedback improves both PAT use and detection of alcohol misuse. The PAT is now simpler including only 10 conditions, which should further aid its use.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Heavy metals in human and animal bones from ancient and contemporary France.

The concentrations of Cd, Pb, Zn, Ba, Mg and Ca have been determined in 180 human bones from the last five millenia, and in 22 contemporary and 20000-50000-year-old animal bones. The original concentrations of Cd and Zn in the ancient human bones were not changed by fossilization processes, whereas Pb and Mg tended to migrate out of the bones, and Ba and Ca concentrations increased with the age of the bones. The distribution of metals in the structure of both the ancient and contemporary bones is not uniform, and neglecting this may render it difficult to compare results obtained from different studies. In Europe and Peru in the late Middle Ages the concentration of Pb in human bones increased by one order of magnitude. The high level of Pb persisted in Europe for several centuries and only recently decreased by an order of magnitude. The concentration of Cd has increased in human bones in the 20th century, to about ten times above the pre-industrial level. The concentration of Pb in contemporary cow bones from France is below analytical detection limits, probably due to competition of Pb with Ca and P which are added to cow fodder as mineral additives.

Animals↗
PubMed1984

[Chronologic course of the content of lead, cadmium and zinc in human bones in France].

The concentrations of Pb, Cd and Zn have been determined in human bones from the past 5,600 years. During this time the level of Zn in bones was stable. Concentration of Cd was low and stable throughout the ages until it increased recently by an order of magnitude. Concentration of Pb increased by one order of magnitude in the Middle Ages and returned again to a low level in the contemporary population of Paris.

Anthropology↗