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Biomedical subjects

D Pringle

Publications and source records attributed to D Pringle.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Factors influencing patients' informational needs at time of hospital discharge.

The relationship between patients' perceived informational needs and selected sociodemographic and illness-related variables were examined in a sample of 301 adult medical and surgical patients preparing for discharge from an acute care setting. Marital status, living arrangements and chronicity of illness had no influence on the importance of informational needs as measured by the Patient Learning Need Scale (PLNS). More informational needs were identified by females than males, and those with malignant as opposed to benign disease. Length of time spent in the hospital, number of discharge medications, and patient perception of the influence of the illness on life were positively correlated with informational needs at the time of discharge.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

The Patient Learning Needs Scale: reliability and validity.

The article describes the development and initial psychometric evaluation of an instrument to measure patients' perceptions of learning needs at time of discharge from hospital to home. Evaluation of the Patient Learning Needs Scale was based on responses of 301 adults hospitalized with a medical or surgical illness. Factor analysis isolated seven subscales: medications, activities of living, feelings related to condition, community and follow-up, treatment and complications, enhancing quality of life and skin care. These seven factors accounted for 56.1% of the variance. Cronbach's alpha for the 50-item scale was 0.95.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effects of two pulmonary tuberculosis drug treatments and acetylator status on liver function in a Zimbabwean population.

In Zimbabwe patients with pulmonary tuberculosis who are acid-fast bacilli (AFB) negative in the sputum are treated in the two month intensive phase with isoniazid, thiacetazone pyrazinamide and streptomycin (regimen A). Sputum positive patients receive regimen A plus rifampicin (regimen B). Both groups continue treatment with isoniazid and thiacetazone. 21 patients on regimen A and 19 on regimen B had clinical assessment and liver function tests performed at weeks 0, 2, 4, 8, and 12 weeks of treatment (during and four weeks after, the intensive phase of 8 weeks). Acetylator status was also assessed, no significant difference was found between patients on regimen A or B (41 per cent and 45 per cent fast acetylators respectively). Liver function tests results (alanine aminotransferase and alkaline phosphatase) showed a persisting rise during the intensive phase on both regimens, and further rise after four weeks in the continuation phase, this further rise reaching statistical significance in regimen B. These results are unexpected when compared to other studies but the regimens under investigation are not used elsewhere. The significant rise after stopping intensive therapy in regimen B suggests some protective effect of rifampicin against the hepatotoxicity of the regimen, possibly the isoniazid/thiacetazone component. Acetylator status did not influence the degree of hepatotoxicity.

Alanine Transaminase↗
PubMed1989

Is thiacetazone necessary or useful in the intensive phase of anti-tuberculous chemotherapy?

A retrospective study of 596 case notes of 1195 patients notified for tuberculosis during a three year period, in one district, was conducted. Drug reactions occurred in 75 patients (12.6 percent) and required discontinuation of therapy in 59 (10 percent). In 69 patients the skin was involved. Thiacetazone was by far the commonest drug implicated: two patients died with the Stevens Johnson syndrome. This study suggests that in the all important first two months of anti-tuberculous chemotherapy, thiacetazone, a therapeutically unnecessary agent, should be omitted as its inclusion results in an unacceptably high rate of side effects.

Adult↗