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Biomedical subjects

C J O'Leary

Publications and source records attributed to C J O'Leary.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1998

The influence of decisions made by developers on health status questionnaire content.

To investigate the effect of stringent and lenient criteria upon the process of item selection in the development of a health status questionnaire, an item pool (179 items) was administered to 139 patients with left ventricular dysfunction. Associations between each item and the criteria of gender, age, duration of disease, global health and global impairment were examined. Items were selected from the pool on the basis of their associations with the criteria using four levels of stringency. The most stringent criteria rejected items which had a shared variance of > or = 4% with gender, age and duration of disease and a shared variance of > or = 6% with global health and impairment. The most lenient criteria rejected items which had a shared variance of > or = 6% with gender, age and duration of disease and a shared variance of > or = 4% with global health and impairment. Using the most stringent criteria, 75 items were selected, compared with 127 items using the most lenient criteria. Small differences in the level of association had large effects on item selection. The choice of level of association used to base item selection can have a crucial influence on questionnaire content.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1998

Systemic markers of inflammation in stable bronchiectasis.

Patients with bronchiectasis have an active local and systemic inflammatory response during infective exacerbations. Systemic markers of inflammation were investigated during a stable phase of their illness, because continued inflammation could affect their general health and be involved in disease progression. The relationship between levels of various systemic markers of inflammation and extent of disease on computed tomographic scan, lung function, sputum bacteriology and health related quality of life (HRQoL) was investigated in 87 noncystic fibrosis bronchiectasis patients. Several markers were elevated and correlated with the extent of disease and poor lung function. The total white cell count, neutrophil count and erythrocyte sedimentation rate correlated with both disease measures. Sputum bacteriology did not correlate with inflammation markers and patients with positive and negative cultures were similar. C-reactive protein and total white cell count correlated with some components of a disease-specific HRQoL questionnaire. In conclusion, patients with bronchiectasis in a stable phase have raised systemic markers of inflammation. Some markers, particularly the neutrophil count, correlate with disease severity. This result is in keeping with the hypothesis that the level of inflammation determines disease progression and health status.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Validation of the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire in bronchiectasis.

There is no disease-specific instrument available for health status assessment in bronchiectasis. We examined the stability, validity and responsiveness of a measure designed for asthma and COPD, the St. George's Respiratory Questionnaire (SGRQ), in this condition. One hundred and eleven patients were studied on 2 separate d 6 mo apart. On both days each patient completed the SGRQ and measures of general and disease-specific health, mood, and fatigue. They also performed a shuttle walking test and comprehensive lung function tests. Repeatability was tested over 2 wk in 23 patients. The intraclass correlation (ri) for the SGRQ Total score was 0.97. The SGRQ component scores correlated well with relevant markers of disease activity. Examples include: SGRQ Symptoms score versus MRC Wheeze score, r = 0.634, p < 0.0001; Activity score versus shuttle walking test, r = -0.659, p < 0.0001; and impacts score versus physical fatigue, r = 0.610, p < 0.0001. Changes in the SGRQ Total score from entry to follow-up also correlated with changes in other measures of the patients' health. There were significant differences in the SGRQ total score between patients who improved and those who deteriorated over the 6 mo in respect to wheeze (F = 5.6, p < 0.01) and breathlessness (F = 6.05, p < 0.01). We conclude that the SGRQ reflects impaired health in bronchiectasis patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Effect of sputum bacteriology on the quality of life of patients with bronchiectasis.

Bronchiectatic patients have impaired health-related quality of life (QoL) and are prone to chronic lower respiratory tract infections. We have investigated whether impaired QoL is related to sputum bacteriology. Eighty seven patients with non-cystic fibrosis (non-CF) bronchiectasis, in a stable phase of their illness, completed three QoL measures, underwent a computed tomography (CT) scan and lung function tests, and provided a fresh sputum sample for microscopy and culture. The QoL of patients colonized by Pseudomonas aeruginosa (Pa group) was significantly worse than all other patients grouped together (non-Pa group), and specifically those infected by Haemophilus influenzae (Hi group) or who had no bacterial growth (NG group) (p<0.05), but not those infected by other bacterial species (O group). The Pa group had worse lung function, but no significant differences were found between the groups for forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) and peak expiratory flow rate. The Pa group had significantly worse bronchiectasis scores than the O, NG and non-Pa groups, but not the Hi group. There were no significant differences between the groups with respect to the number of infective exacerbations in the last year, but the Pa group had significantly more hospital admissions. Patients infected by P. aeruginosa for more than 3 yrs had significantly worse FEV1 (p<0.03) and bronchiectasis scores (p<0.05) than those infected with P. aeruginosa for less time, but not significantly worse QoL. We conclude that, overall, patients infected with P. aeruginosa have worse quality of life, and that P. aeruginosa is associated with a greater extent of disease and worse lung function. Although patients infected with H. influenzae had extensive bronchiectasis their quality of life was better than the P. aeruginosa infected group.

Adult↗
PubMed1990

Graduate medical education in the United States.

The annual surveys of residency programs on which this report is based have had a higher than 90% response rate for the 5 years previous to 1989. Because of a change to the new electronic data collection system in 1989, the response rate decreased to 78.3%. To adjust for the lower response rate, a regression model computed from data from previous years was developed that permitted projected estimates for 1989 data. These numbers are included in several key tables. The number of GY-1 positions seems to have decreased for 1990, although this may be an artifact of the response rate. Reported unfilled positions, including GY-1 unfilled positions, have increased each year since 1985. The number of new-entry residents (GY-1) seems to be leveling out after decreasing since 1985. Because of the lower response rate, it is difficult to determine the trend in the total number of residents on duty. While the observed number of residents is lower than in 1988, statistical projections indicate an increase of 5% over the 1988 count. Thirty-nine percent of residents were training in family practice, internal medicine, or pediatrics. The number and percent of women in residency programs has remained relatively stable despite a steady increase in the number of women graduating from US medical schools. The percentage of FMG residents has continued to decrease. The percentage of black non-Hispanic residents remains steady. The number of graduates of osteopathic medical schools in ACGME programs has increased 17% since 1987. The number of institutions involved in graduate medical education has not changed significantly during the past 3 years.

Accreditation↗