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D H Shennan

Publications and source records attributed to D H Shennan.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

The Ciskei tuberculosis information system.

The organization and evaluation of tuberculosis services have been badly neglected in developing countries. The Ciskei information system controls (a) the issue of treatment of tuberculosis outpatients and (b) the notification of patients and their movements throughout treatment. "TB teams" of one to two nurses and a health assistant, based in each district, monitor the issue of treatment to outpatients. Compliance varies between about 50-80 pc in different districts. A central computerised tuberculosis register collects information about all patients coming under treatment and their subsequent movements until treatment stops. Its value is more in monitoring and correcting the running of the service than in collecting information. It uses alphabetical lists to reduce double registrations, enter follow up information, eliminates duplicates if entered and identify relapses. Reminder letters are sent out automatically when required. Tabulations can be done from the data file, special series of sputum positive patients studied and relapses analysed. There were 1,711 sputum positive registrations in 1991, compared with 1,741 in 1990. More occurred in the winter months. The three year self referred relapse rate is just over four pc. Intensive follow up of 584 patients showed 12 different outcomes; of 404 recorded as completing treatment, 1.7 pc relapsed later, compared with 11.7 pc of the others. The register has been invaluable to the monitoring, control and evaluation of the TB programme in Ciskei. Documentation is limited to copies of forms needed anyway for the ongoing care of patients.

Aftercare↗
PubMed1984

Comparison of a conventional and an initial 2-month intensive drug regimen for treating pulmonary tuberculosis in Swaziland.

In an area where default from out-patient treatment for tuberculosis is very frequent and leads to 16% known failures on the 2SHT/16HT regimen, a 1-year follow-up study was carried out on 201 new sputum smear-positive patients who were hospitalised for the first 2 months of treatment. The first 103 patients were treated with 2SHT/10HT and the remaining 98 with 2SHRZ/10HT. In the first group 15 (17%) out of 89 traced patients were sputum-positive on a single smear after 1 year, compared with 1 (1%) out of 78 in the second group (P less than 0.001).

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Factors predisposing to the development of progressive massive fibrosis in coal miners.

Altogether 238 759 miners employed by the National Coal Board were examined in the third of the Board's radiological surveys from 1969 to 1973 inclusive. Excluding those diagnosed as having progressive massive fibrosis (PMF) on that occasion, 210 847 were in collieries still operating at the time of the fourth survey four to five years later 132 728 attended for radiography at the same colliery on the second occasion, and were used to study the attack rate of PMF. In all groups in the age range 35-54 and having category 2 simple pneumoconiosis (SPN) or less, 80% or more had a second radiograph. It was found that the probability of developing PMF increased sharply with rising category of SPN; however, half the cases occurred in men having SPN categories 0 or 1, who were in the majority. Current coalface work had no significant effect on the attack rate. Age increased the attack rate of PMF within each major SPN category (0, 1, 2, and 3), especially the higher categories. All or part of this effect may have been due to the fact that SPN in younger men with categories 1 and 2 tends to lie in the lower range within these categories. Similarly, a lower distribution of SPN within each category associated with a low overall local prevalence may account wholly or in part for the great difference between the attack rates of PMF supervening on each category of SPN in Scotland and South Wales. The rank (quality) of coal mined had no effect on the attack rate.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

The relationship between coal rank and the prevalence of pneumoconiosis.

As part of the Periodic X-ray Scheme of the National Coal Board (NCB), a comparison is made between the previous and new films of all miners who were face-workers on the former occasion, five years earlier. This assessment is made by distributing the films randomly to all the NCB readers. This paper compares the rank of coal mined in each colliery with each colliery's percentage prevalence of pneumoconiosis of at least ILO category 1 in the films of previous face-workers obtained during the third survey round (1969-73). Of the NCB's 291 collieries in Britain, information enabling a rank classification to be made was available for 250, employing 62 362 face-workers. In these 250 mines a progressive and five-fold increase in prevalence was observed from collieries mining low-rank (bituminous) coal to those mining coal of high ranks (anthracite and high-grade steam and coking coal). A possible reason for this is that, in the past, high-rank collieries may have had the highest mass-concentrations of respirable dust.

Carbon↗