PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

F Frost

Publications and source records attributed to F Frost.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1978

Tonsillectomies, adenoidectomies, audits: have surgical indications been met?

In the Seattle Prepaid Health Care Project, we studied medical records and claims information for all 97 children undergoing tonsillectomy and/or adenoidectomy in an independent practice plan from February 1971, through January 1975. Overall only 32 per cent of the procedures met commonly promulgated indications of surgery. Of 77 persons having one of these procedures performed because of recurrent pharyngeal or ear infections, 86 per cent did not meet the indications for surgery suggested by screening criteria adapted from model guidelines for PSRO use. The average number of episodes of illness was estimated to be 1.71/per year in the year prior to surgery using lenient assumptions. It is concluded that a major reduction in the frequency of these procedures would be effected by developing an audit strategy that assures the stated indications meet commonly recommended guidelines. The reduction in surgery would occur irrespective of the debate about the efficacy of these procedures.

Adenoidectomy↗
PubMed1978

Preleukaemia (haemopoietic dysplasia) developing in a patient with psoriasis treated with 8-methoxypsoralen and ultraviolet light (PUVA treatment).

A 73-year-old man who had suffered for many years from psoriasis was treated with systemic psoralen and longwave ultraviolet light. After 1 year he developed a preleukaemic condition characterized by a refractory anaemia, a slight thrombocytopenia and a normo- to hypercellular bone marrow with an excess of myeloblasts. Karyotyping revealed an abnormal chromosome (12p-) and agar cultures of bone marrow showed moderate growth with a high cluster/colony ratio. He died 1 year later of renal failure precipitated by an acute pancreatitis. Owing to the possible causal relationship we would like to advise increased attention to the haematopoietic system of patients treated with psoralen.

Aged↗
PubMed1977

Cimetidine in patients with gastric ulcer: a multicentre controlled trial.

Forty-five adult outpatients with endoscopically confirmed gastric ulceration completed a double-blind trial of either cimetidine (1 g/day) or placebo. After six weeks 18 of the 23 patients receiving cimetidine showed complete ulcer healing compared with only six of the 22 patients receiving placebo. The cimetidine group also had fewer days with pain than the placebo group but the difference was not statistically significant. Cimetidine therefore seems to promote healing of gastric ulcers without severe side effects, although its effect on pain is less pronounced than in patients with duodenal ulcers.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

A pragmatic trial of cimetidine in duodenal ulcer patients.

Fifty-eight outpatients with a clinical and radiological diagnosis of duodenal ulcer completed a double-blind randomized trial of the effect of cimetidine on ulcer symptoms. Patients normally treated in general practice were included in the trial. The patients in the treatment group received cimetidine 1 g daily and the controls received inactive tablets. The treatment period was four weeks. During the last nine days 18 (60%) of 30 cimetidine-treated patients were symptom-free against 5 (18%) of 28 controls (P less than 0.005). The antacid consumption, the number of days with pain and the number of hours with pain also differed significantly in the two groups. Apart from a transient rash in one patient no important clinical side-effects were noted. The serum creatinine rose slightly in the cimetidine-treated patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Lung cancer among women residing close to an arsenic emitting copper smelter.

Lung cancer deaths occurring between 1935 and 1969 among women residing near an arsenic emitting smelter were examined. For three geographically defined exposure groups, the observed and expected number of lung cancer deaths were compared. In none of the exposure groups did the observed number of deaths exceed the expected. However, an index of exposure based on distance of residence from the smelter and duration of residence in the area was 27% higher for cases than for age-matched controls (p = .10). Adjusting for a latency of 20 yr, case exposures were 23% higher than for controls (p = .07). Dividing individuals into quintiles of exposure yielded odds ratios ranging from 1 to 1.6 (test of trend, p = .07).

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Using nurse hot line calls for disease surveillance.

Nurse hot line calls are a potential source of public health surveillance data and may help identify epidemics of emerging infectious diseases. In this study, nurse hot line data from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, showed more than a 17-fold increase in calls for diarrhea during the 1993 Milwaukee cryptosporidiosis outbreak. Moreover, consistent patterns of seasonal variation in diarrhea- and vomiting-related calls were detected from the Baltimore, Maryland, and Albuquerque, New Mexico, hot lines. Analysis of nurse hot line calls may provide an inexpensive and timely method for improving disease surveillance.

Cryptosporidiosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Increasing hospitalization and death possibly due to Clostridium difficile diarrheal disease.

This study calculated yearly estimated national hospital discharge (1985 to 1994) and age-adjusted death rates (1980 to 1992) due to bacterial, viral, protozoal, and ill-defined enteric pathogens. Infant and young child hospitalization (but not death) rates in each category increased more than 50% during 1990 to 1994. Age-adjusted death and hospitalization rates due to enteric bacterial infections and hospitalizations due to enteric viral infections have increased since 1988. The increases in hospitalization and death rates from enteric bacterial infections were due to a more than eightfold increase in rates for specified enteric bacterial infections that were uncoded during this period (ICD9 00849). To identify bacterial agents responsible for most of these infections, hospital discharges and outpatient claims (coded with more detail after 1992) were examined for New Mexico's Lovelace Health Systems for 1993 to 1996. Of diseases due to uncoded enteric pathogens, 73% were due to Clostridium difficile infection. Also, 88% of Washington State death certificates (1985 to 1996) coded to unspecified enteric pathogen infections (ICD0084) listed C. difficile infection.

Clostridioides difficile↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Cervical cytology quality assurance in Washington State.

The objectives of this study were to establish a profile of cervical cytology laboratories in Washington State, identify quality assurance problems amenable to correction through education or legislation, and describe differences between large and small cytology laboratories. All 43 Washington laboratories that perform cervical cytology were surveyed by mail during 1989. Completed surveys were returned by 37 (86%) of the laboratories. Nearly half (43%) of the respondents reported processing less than 10,000 Papanicolaou smears annually. Only one-third (35%) of the respondents reported participating in relevant proficiency programs. A proportion of smaller cytology laboratories were compensating their cytotechnologists on the basis of the number of slides read and allowing Papanicolaou smears to be read outside the confines of the laboratory. The results of this study suggest that cytotechnologists in some larger Washington laboratories have been exceeding work load limits recommended by professional associations. Recent legislation includes regulations that address cervical cytology quality assurance. However, continued efforts will need to be made to encourage voluntary adoption of quality control measures not addressed by this legislation.

Female↗