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Biomedical subjects

Elizabeth Spencer

Publications and source records attributed to Elizabeth Spencer.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Telavancin versus standard therapy for treatment of complicated skin and soft-tissue infections due to gram-positive bacteria.

BACKGROUND: Telavancin, a novel lipoglycopeptide, exerts concentration-dependent, rapid bactericidal activity on account of its multiple mechanisms of action. Telavancin is highly active against gram-positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), vancomycin-intermediate, and vancomycin-resistant strains. METHODS: We conducted a randomized, double-blind, controlled, phase-2 clinical trial. Patients > or = 18 years of age with a diagnosis of complicated skin and soft-tissue infection caused by suspected or confirmed gram-positive organisms were randomized to receive either intravenously administered telavancin once daily or standard therapy (antistaphylococcal penicillin 4 times daily or vancomycin twice daily). RESULTS: For the study, 167 patients were randomized and received at least 1 dose of study medication. Success rates were similar in all analysis populations at the test-of-cure evaluation. Of patients with S. aureus infection at baseline (n = 102), 80% of the telavancin group were cured and 77% of the standard therapy group were cured. For patients with MRSA infection at baseline (n = 48), cure rates were 82% for the telavancin group and 69% for the standard therapy group. Microbiologic eradication in patients with MRSA infection was 84% for the telavancin group versus 74% for the standard therapy group. MIC90 values were lower for telavancin in all tested strains of S. aureus (< or = 0.25 ug/mL) compared with the MIC90 values for vancomycin and oxacillin. Similar proportions of patients discontinued therapy for adverse events in both treatment groups (approximately 5%). Fewer serious adverse events were reported in the telavancin group (4 events) than were for the standard therapy group (9). CONCLUSION: Clinical and microbiological results of this study support the further development of telavancin, especially for treatment of infection due to MRSA.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Reproducibility of a short semi-quantitative food group questionnaire and its performance in estimating nutrient intake compared with a 7-day diet diary in the Million Women Study.

OBJECTIVES: To assess the short- and long-term reproducibility of a short food group questionnaire, and to compare its performance for estimating nutrient intakes in comparison with a 7-day diet diary. DESIGN: Participants for the reproducibility study completed the food group questionnaire at two time points, up to 2 years apart. Participants for the performance study completed both the food group questionnaire and a 7-day diet diary a few months apart. Reproducibility was assessed by kappa statistics and percentage change between the two questionnaires; performance was assessed by kappa statistics, rank correlations and percentages of participants classified into the same and opposite thirds of intake. SETTING: A random sample of participants in the Million Women Study, a population-based prospective study in the UK. SUBJECTS: In total, 12 221 women aged 50-64 years. RESULTS: In the reproducibility study, 75% of the food group items showed at least moderate agreement for all four time-point comparisons. Items showing fair agreement or worse tended to be those where few respondents reported eating them more than once a week, those consumed in small amounts and those relating to types of fat consumed. Compared with the diet diary, the food group questionnaire showed consistently reasonable performance for the nutrients carbohydrate, saturated fat, cholesterol, total sugars, alcohol, fibre, calcium, riboflavin, folate and vitamin C. CONCLUSIONS: The short food group questionnaire used in this study has been shown to be reproducible over time and to perform reasonably well for the assessment of a number of dietary nutrients.

Cross-Sectional Studies↗
PubMed2004

Effects of a new antibacterial, telavancin, on cardiac repolarization (QTc interval duration) in healthy subjects.

Telavancin is a rapidly bactericidal antibiotic with multiple mechanisms of action against gram-positive bacteria. Preclinical and early clinical data suggested possible effects on cardiac repolarization requiring the conduct of a definitive evaluation of QT effects in healthy subjects. A total of 160 subjects were randomized into four groups to receive placebo (telavancin vehicle), telavancin at a dose of 7.5 mg/kg or 15 mg/kg, or moxifloxacin 400 mg (positive control). All medications were administered once daily for 3 days as 60-minute IV infusions. Sixteen ECGs were obtained over 24 hours following an infusion of D5W (baseline) and following Day 3 infusions of each medication. ECGs were analyzed digitally in a blinded fashion by a validated core ECG laboratory. The primary endpoint was QT data corrected for heart rate by the Fridericia formula (QTcF). Placebo-corrected mean changes in QTcF values for 7.5 mg/kg telavancin, 15 mg/kg telavancin, and moxifloxacin were 4.1 msec, 4.5 msec, and 9.2 msec, respectively. The mean change from baseline in QTcF for moxifloxacin, which served as the assay-sensitive positive control in the study, helped to establish that telavancin had a minimal effect on QT prolongation. No subject had a QTcF > or = 450 msec, and none experienced clinically significant ECG abnormalities. The telavancin treatment groups were not significantly different from each other. There was no correlation of the magnitude of change in QTc and plasma concentrations of telavancin. Telavancin has a < 5-msec mean effect on cardiac repolarization, with a flat-dose response over a two-fold exposure range.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2003

Nutrition education in family practice residency programs.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Nutrition is a required part of family practice residency training. Unfortunately, little is known about the quality or effectiveness of this nutrition training. This study evaluated the current status of nutrition training in family practice residency training programs. METHODS: We surveyed 100 randomly selected US family practice residencies about their nutrition education curriculum. Surveys were sent by e-mail, mail, fax, or administered by phone to individuals identified as responsible for nutrition teaching. A response rate of 66% was obtained. RESULTS: Programs varied greatly in their emphasis on nutrition. Identified barriers were similar across most programs. The presence of at least a part-time faculty member dedicated to nutrition was correlated with perceived effectiveness of nutrition education efforts. CONCLUSIONS: If family physicians are to be prepared to inform their patients regarding nutrition and to make appropriate referrals, improvements in the nutrition curriculum offered in many family practice residency programs will be required. Readers can evaluate their program's nutrition education efforts and see how they compare to our sample. Specific recommendations for potential changes are included.

Clinical Competence↗
PubMed2002

Validation of a food frequency questionnaire in the Hiroshima/Nagasaki Life Span Study.

We evaluated the performance of a 22-item food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) administered in 1980-81 to 3,005 members of the Adult Health Study cohort, part of the Life Span Study. The questionnaire was compared with the records of a 24-hour dietary survey that was performed in 1984-85. From the dietary records, food and nutrient intakes were estimated. The association between the two measures of dietary intake was assessed using Mantel-Haenszel chi-square test and the Spearman's rank correlation coefficient. The frequency of food intake as measured by the FFQ was linearly associated with food intake as measured by the 24-hour diary, with the exception of dry fish. The highest correlations were observed for beverages, including coffee (0.51), milk (0.32) and black tea (0.26). Foods such as fruit (0.27), confectionery (0.23), rice (0.34) and bread (0.28) were also moderately correlated. These results show that, with the exception of dry fish, the FFQ is moderately correlated with the 24-hour diary and can be used to assess diet intake in this cohort.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A preliminary investigation of the impact of stuttering on language use.

This paper reflects on the application of Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) to the field of stuttering. It is argued that the SFL theory may offer insight into the impact that stuttering has on language use. Two case studies are presented to illustrate the application of SFL theory. The two SFL analyses found to be of most use in this pilot study were the analysis of how language is modulated in response to interpersonal aspects of communication (modality) and the analysis of how information is foregrounded (theme). The implications of applying the SFL model to consideration of the utilisation of language resources in people who stutter are discussed.

Adult↗