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Biomedical subjects

D Sexton

Publications and source records attributed to D Sexton.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1977

A comparison of serologic methods for diagnosis of Rocky Mountain spotted fever.

Sera referred to the North Carolina Division of Health Services for rickettsial serology in 1974 were tested by complement fixation (CF), microimmunofluorescence (micro-IF), microagglutination (MA) and hemagglutination (HA) for antibodies against Rickettsia rickettsii. There was good agreement among micro-IF,MA and HA tests in detecting antibody responses to this agent, but the CF test was definitely less sensitive than the others, even in illnesses with classical clinical manifestations of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF). Some variables that seemed to influence the CF result were the slow rate of increase in antibody titers, timing of serum collection, early antibiotic treatment and possibly, the particular association of CF antibody response with the IgG immunoliobulin class. Greater use of these newer, but relatively untried, serodiagnostic procedures is recommended infuture studies of RMSF.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Psychometric and descriptive perspectives of illness impact over the life span.

This article describes the development of an instrument that quantifies illness over the course of life. The sample was comprised of 308 women, aged 50 to 70, who were alumnae of a master's program in nursing. Each submitted information concerning illness experienced during each decade of life. Each time period was then rated multidimensionally (Duration, Discomfort, Interference, Threat to Life) to reflect the impact of the various conditions and the means by decade (Decade Impact) were computed. In general, after the first two decades, magnitude of ratings increased with age, indicating greater disease impact. Interrater reliability and internal consistency reliability of the scale were high. Evidence for construct validity included substantial differences between those with and without specific illness conditions, as well as correlations with hospitalization history and health self-ratings. In cluster analysis of patterns across decades, five distinct patterns emerged into which subjects were grouped.

Age Factors↗