Biomedical subjects

E M Harris

Publications and source records attributed to E M Harris.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

The Romano-Ward syndrome: a case presenting as near drowning with a clinical review.

Patients with the Romano-Ward syndrome, a form of congenital long Q-T syndrome (LQTS), present with syncopal episodes and are at risk for sudden death. Patients with LQTS may be misdiagnosed if the physician is unaware of this entity. The risk of sudden death makes recognition important so that appropriate therapy can be initiated. A case is discussed in which the patient presented following a near-drowning episode. Family history revealed a familial "seizure disorder." After analysis of the patient's and father's ECGs, the diagnosis of Romano-Ward syndrome was made. A review of the literature was done, concentrating on presentation, pathophysiology, electrocardiographic findings, etiology, diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of congenital LQTS. This paper is presented to emphasize the importance of physician awareness of LQTS because of the risk of sudden death. Proper diagnosis can lead to treatment that is effective in reducing mortality by more than 90%.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

Chronic mountain sickness in Tibet.

A clinical syndrome identical to the chronic mountain sickness of the Andes occurs commonly in Lhasa, Tibet. It affects, almost exclusively, the immigrant Han population and develops after an average of 15 years' residence at high altitude. The early symptoms are attributable to polycythaemia--headache, dizziness, loss of memory and fatigue being prominent. In the later stages of the disease, dyspnoea and peripheral oedema develop. Haemodynamic investigations show pulmonary hypertension with a normal cardiac output and dilatation of the right ventricle in the long-established case. Respiratory gas studies provide evidence of alveolar underventilation and ventilation: perfusion inhomogeneity. Both clinical and investigatory data suggest that the earlier stages of the disease are dominated by polycythaemia, while cardiopulmonary involvement increases with the duration of the disease. The disease is rare in women and uncommon in Tibetans. Cigarette smoking appears to be a contributory factor.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Accessing community development research methodologies.

This paper is a perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of community development research offered to health promoters by a community development insider. The author provides her rationale for the opinion that no research paradigm other than the qualitative one satisfies the naturalistic context of either community development or health promotion, including inquiry into concepts such as community health, community wellbeing, community competence and community self-reliance. Attention is drawn to key aspects of the community development process with relevance to health promoters which are largely undertheorized, including clarity about the central issue of the nature of the interaction among learning, action and change. Finally, the paper specifies three implications of the naturalistic paradigm for either research or practice. These include academic prejudice against qualitative research from some quarters, the limitations of all research paradigms for some questions, and essential uncertainties of naturalistic inquiry.

Community Health Services↗