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Biomedical subjects

C M Hyland

Publications and source records attributed to C M Hyland.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Regular planned respite admissions to a geriatric unit.

A programme of regular planned respite admissions to the geriatric unit in Cork was established in 1984, for dependent elderly being cared for at home. Retrospective analysis of the respite programme sought to establish its bed utilisation, type of patients admitted, factors in their selection process, their outcome and any associated hospital morbidity. Twenty-four patients have used the scheme during the four years since its commencement, with an efficiency of bed utilisation in 1987 of 14 patients occupying a mean of 4.33 beds per month. The median number of medical problems per patients was five; their median age 77 years and the percentage over 80 years was 46%. Twenty-two patients were already receiving intensive rehabilitation before being placed on the programme, mobility problems dominated. Nine patients continue on the programme with a mean of 23.9 months of respites to date, eight were discharged and seven died. There was no significant difference between the number of respite stays in hospital and "at home" stays complicated by morbidity. The results suggest that even for a highly selected group of dependent elderly, a planned programme of respite admissions is an effective form of care, uses hospital beds efficiently without associated morbidity and may provide an alternative to long stay institutional care.

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PubMed1989

Group B streptococcal infection as a pyrexia of unknown origin.

Group B Streptococcal bacteraemia seldom behaves as a pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) except in the context of infective endocarditis. Scleroderma is not known to predispose to Group B streptococcal infection. We report a case of Group B streptococcal bacteraemia presenting as a PUO in a patient with probable scleroderma in whom there was no evidence of endocarditis.

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PubMed1982

Aspects of short-term use of two benzodiazepine hypnotics in the elderly.

There are frequent reports of impairment of psychomotor performance on the morning after taking hypnotics. Possible ways of avoiding these problems include a reduction of the dose or using a hypnotic with a short half-life. This study used nitrazepam 2.5 mg and triazolam 0.125 mg in a group of hospitalized elderly patients. Both drugs were effective hypnotic agents but they are different in their residual effects. Patients reported difficulty in waking after nitrazepam but not after triazolam. These difficulties were confirmed by nurse observation. Nitrazepam significantly impairs (after repeated doses) psychomotor performance after five days therapy and this effect was not seen after triazolam. If a benzodiazepine hypnotic is used in the elderly, a drug with a short elimination half-life is an advantage.

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PubMed1981

Effectiveness of once daily oral iron in the elderly.

The response to once daily oral iron was measured in 12 elderly patients with iron-deficiency anaemia over a six-week period. The average haemoglobin response over six weeks was comparable to the results in younger age groups. We concluded that a once daily iron tablet containing 105 mg of elemental iron is as effective as conventional treatment with multiple doses. The increased cost of a once daily tablet should be balanced by the benefits of improvement in drug compliance.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Patient throughput in an acute geriatric unit.

This report presents findings from a 3-year investigation of patient turnover, morbidity and mortality in the department of geriatric medicine based at Cork University and St. Finbarr's Hospitals, Cork. A total of 3,977 patients were admitted during the study period. The majority were 70 years or over (89%), referred by a general practitioner (83%) and female (56%). Seventy-one percent of admissions were discharged home, a further 18% died within the unit while 11% were transferred to continuing care. The median duration of stay was ten days. Age, diagnosis and source of referral significantly influenced both patient outcome and duration of stay. Forty-seven percent of discharged patients were followed-up at either the day hospital or outpatient clinic. A morbidity profile was constructed for a representative sample of 318 patients. 52% of this sample had two or more significant diagnoses. Neurological disorders carried a particularly poor prognosis. The median duration of stay for patients transferred to an on-site long stay facility was approximately one year.

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PubMedDate not supplied

Rectal examination in hospital patients.

Rectal examination should be part of the initial examination of the patient especially those who are over the age of 50 and/or those with gastro intestinal and genito-urinary symptoms. We assessed the rate of rectal examinations carried out on acute general medical and surgical admissions over the age of 50 years.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The significance of basal systolic murmurs in the elderly.

Aortic stenosis is common in the elderly. Basal systolic murmurs are also common. We studied 512 patients over the age of 65 years to ascertain the prevalence of basal systolic murmurs and by using echocardiography on those with basal murmurs to determine the prevalence of significant aortic stenosis. 29% (148) of patients had basal systolic murmurs. 81 (55%) patients of this group had echocardiography carried out and 21 (25.9%) had a gradient across the aortic valve of 30 mmHg or more.

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