PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

G M Cauthen

Publications and source records attributed to G M Cauthen.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

The epidemiology of tuberculosis in the United States. Implications for diagnosis and treatment.

Tuberculosis in the United States is primarily and increasingly a disease of minorities and the foreign-born. Tuberculosis among non-Hispanic whites is predominantly a disease of the elderly, whereas among minorities and the foreign-born, it is primarily concentrated in young adults. In the past few years, tuberculosis has increased among young adults, especially those who are black or Hispanic. Available data support the hypothesis that the spread of human immunodeficiency virus infection has increased the risk of tuberculosis. A substantial proportion of tuberculosis in the United States is potentially preventable through the administration of preventive therapy to high-risk populations.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

The epidemiology of tuberculosis in the United States.

Tuberculosis (TB) in the United States is primarily and increasingly a disease of minorities and the foreign-born. TB among non-Hispanic whites is predominantly a disease of the elderly, while among minorities and the foreign-born, it is primarily concentrated in young adults. In the past few years, TB has increased among young adults, especially those who are black or Hispanic. Available data support the hypothesis that the spread of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection has increased the risk of TB. A substantial proportion of TB in the United States is potentially preventable through the administration of preventive therapy to high-risk populations.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Tuberculosis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome--Florida.

Florida reported 1858 cases of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and 8455 cases of tuberculosis from January 1, 1981, through October 31, 1986. Of the patients with AIDS, 159 (8.6%) also had tuberculosis, and 154 (1.8%) of the patients with tuberculosis also had AIDS. Among patients with both diagnoses, tuberculosis was diagnosed before AIDS by more than 1 month in 50%, was diagnosed within 1 month before or 1 month after the diagnosis of AIDS in 30%, and was diagnosed more than 1 month after the AIDS diagnosis in 20%. Compared with patients with AIDS only, patients with both diagnoses were also more likely to be Haitian, black (other than Haitian), or Hispanic. Compared with patients with tuberculosis only, patients with both diagnoses were more likely to be younger, male, Haitian, black (other than Haitian), and Hispanic, have extrapulmonary tuberculosis and negative tuberculin skin tests, and have noncavitary chest roentgenograms. These data suggest that patients with AIDS may have an increased risk of tuberculosis and that patients with both diagnoses differ in important demographic and clinical characteristics from patients with AIDS only or tuberculosis only.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Infection and disease among contacts of tuberculosis cases with drug-resistant and drug-susceptible bacilli.

Three hundred ninety-eight tuberculosis patients with tubercle bacilli resistant to isoniazid and/or streptomycin were matched by age, race, sex, and geographic area to an equal number of patients with tubercle bacilli susceptible to 9 drugs, including isoniazid and streptomycin, in an effort to determine whether the risk of infection and disease among contacts of patients with resistant bacilli is different from the risk among contacts to patients with susceptible bacilli. The risk of infection among contacts of previously untreated patients was not significantly different, regardless of whether the bacilli were drug-resistant or susceptible. However, the risk of infection increased if the index patient with resistant bacilli had been previously treated. We found no evidence of a lower risk of infection among contacts exposed to bacilli resistant to the highest concentration of isoniazid tested or among contacts exposed to bacilli resistant to both isoniazid and streptomycin. There was a strong association between infection risk among contacts and the age of the index case; younger patients were more infectious. Index cases tended to infect most (or all) or few (or none) of their contacts. The investigation of contacts of patients excreting drug-resistant bacilli should be given high priority.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Tuberculin skin testing of hospital employees: infection, "boosting," and two-step testing.

The prevalence of tuberculous infection (i.e., reactions greater than or equal to 10 mm to 5 tuberculin units of purified protein derivative; Mantoux skin test) was determined among employees of 10 hospitals located throughout the United States. The risk of infection was strongly associated with age and race/ethnicity; nonwhites and older individuals were at higher risk. The prevalence of infection among hospitals varied threefold, from 7.0% to 21.4%. After adjusting for differences in the characteristics of employee groups (e.g., age, race/ethnicity, and sex), twofold differences among hospitals were still observed. The occurrence of "boosting" on retest was also studied. Among the different hospitals, the rate varied from 0% to nearly 10%. Race/ethnicity and age were the characteristics most closely associated with boosting. From our data and other data in the literature, we conclude that all hospitals should use two-step testing at least on a pilot basis. Our calculations suggest that two-step testing for employees over 35 years of age could be cost effective if the booster rate is greater than 1% of the employees retested.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Stroke-associated deaths in Washington county, Maryland, with special reference to water hardness.

Deaths associated with strokes from 1963 to 1975 among 36,860 adult residents of Washington County, Maryland, were studied in relation to the hardness of drinking water at home, assessed on the basis of 1,569 water samples taken during this period. There was no satisfactory evidence that water hardness was related to stroke mortality. Age was a strongly related factor. There was little or no association with sex, marital status, socio-economic status as reflected by education or housing, smoking history, or frequency of church attendance.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Multivariate Markovian modeling of tuberculosis: forecast for the United States.

We have developed a computer-implemented, multivariate Markov chain model to project tuberculosis (TB) incidence in the United States from 1980 to 2010 in disaggregated demographic groups. Uncertainty in model parameters and in the projections is represented by fuzzy numbers. Projections are made under the assumption that current TB control measures will remain unchanged for the projection period. The projections of the model demonstrate an intermediate increase in national TB incidence (similar to that which actually occurred) followed by continuing decline. The rate of decline depends strongly on geographic, racial, and ethnic characteristics. The model predicts that the rate of decline in the number of cases among Hispanics will be slower than among white non-Hispanics and black non-Hispanics a prediction supported by the most recent data.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Results of a 29-state survey of tuberculosis in nursing homes and correctional facilities.

A survey of the 15,379 cases of tuberculosis reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention by 29 State health departments in 1984 and 1985 revealed that 7.7 percent of the victims older than age 64 were living in a nursing home at the time of diagnosis and 1.8 percent between the ages of 15 and 64 were living in a correctional institution at the time of diagnosis. Incidence rates of tuberculosis for residents of nursing homes and for inmates of Federal and State prisons and local jails were estimated using denominators derived from institutional population counts provided by the National Center for Health Statistics and by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics, and Bureau of Prisons. The aggregate tuberculosis incidence rate for nursing home residents in the 29 States was 1.8 times higher than the rate seen in elderly persons who were living in the community (95 percent confidence interval on the relative risk 1.64, 2.02). The aggregate tuberculosis incidence rate for inmates in correctional facilities was 3.9 times higher than the rate for persons of a similar age who were not incarcerated (95 percent confidence interval on the relative risk 3.35, 4.49). Strengths and limitations of the design and implications of the first survey of tuberculosis incidence, in a large number of States, among residents of nursing homes and correctional facilities are discussed.

Adolescent↗