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Biomedical subjects

Chris Hawley

Publications and source records attributed to Chris Hawley.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation: reliability update.

BACKGROUND: The Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation is a 30-item scale designed in 1965 for behavioural and observational rating of psychiatric inpatients. AIM: This paper reports a re-evaluation of the Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation carried out to confirm that it remains reliable in a modern United Kingdom (UK) setting. METHOD: The scale is a joint-rated one and we tested the degree of agreement between two individual raters and not, as in previous studies, between two pairs of raters. A total of 100 patients were each rated by two nurses, and a least-squares simple regression model was used to describe the average level of agreement between the pairs of ratings. RESULTS: The correlation in total scale scores was 0.76 (F = 136, P < 0.0001). The correlations for Negative and Positive Factors were 0.68 (P < 0.001) and 0.75 (P < 0.001), respectively. CONCLUSION: This study has shown that the Nurses' Observation Scale for Inpatient Evaluation retains satisfactory inter-rater reliability with current clinical populations, and we suggest that it remains a useful tool for everyday clinical practice and a basis for meaningful communication between staff about patient status.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Diagnosing and treating depression in general hospitals.

Depressive conditions are common in general hospital patients but if recognized can be treated by both pharmacotherapeutic and psychotherapeutic means. Although hospital doctors cannot be expected to be masters of the intricacies of treating depression, they can make the diagnosis and prescribe first-line antidepressants to the benefit of most cases.

Antidepressive Agents↗
PubMed2004

Case histories illustrating the utility of sertindole in clinical practice.

Many conventional and atypical antipsychotic agents are available for the treatment of schizophrenia. Matching individual patients to the medication that suits them best is often a matter of trial and error. Controlled clinical trials and extensive post-marketing research have shown that the atypical antipsychotic agent sertindole is a broadly efficacious and safe choice for the treatment of schizophrenia. Individual case reports emerging from the ongoing sertindole post-marketing clinical programme illustrate how, under normal conditions of clinical practice, a switch to sertindole can benefit patients who have, for various reasons, previously not been satisfactorily managed on conventional or other atypical antipsychotic agents. Such case reports have shown that a switch to sertindole has the potential to provide greater relief from positive, negative and affective symptoms than has been achieved with conventional and certain other atypical agents. Cognitive dysfunction evident during therapy with conventional antipsychotic agents has also been seen to improve in individuals switched to sertindole. These improvements have occurred without evidence of extrapyramidal symptoms or other poorly tolerated adverse events. After switching to sertindole, the five patients described in this report complied well with therapy, were generally able to perform daily activities more efficiently, and also had improved personal relationships and vocational potential, all of which contributed to improvements in their overall quality of life.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Physician prescribing patterns of oral corticosteroids for musculoskeletal injuries.

BACKGROUND: There is considerable controversy as to when and if oral corticosteroids are indicated for musculoskeletal injury. Although the perception is that sports medicine physicians prescribe oral corticosteroids frequently, there is no documentation of this behavior in the literature. The purpose of this study was to obtain a description of the corticosteroid-prescribing patterns of primary care sports medicine physicians and look for common indications. METHODS: A two-page questionnaire was included in the registration packets of 195 physicians at a national sports medicine conference. RESULTS: Ninety-nine questionnaires were returned. Fifty-eight (58.6%) of the physicians reported prescribing oral corticosteroids for musculoskeletal injuries. Physicians who prescribed corticosteroids for injuries averaged 6.6 prescriptions per month. Prednisone was the corticosteroid prescribed by 82% of physicians. The average prescription length was 7 days. One half of the physicians (51.7%) tapered the dose. The most common starting dose (mode) was 60 mg. CONCLUSIONS: Despite little evidence to support their use, primary care sports medicine physicians commonly prescribe corticosteroids.

Athletic Injuries↗