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Biomedical subjects

J Aitchison

Publications and source records attributed to J Aitchison.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1990

Is the penile brachial index a reproducible and useful measurement?

The intra- and inter-observer variation in the measurement of the penile brachial index (PBI) was prospectively assessed in 30 patients. An appreciable error was discovered that cast doubt on the reliability of the measurements. Up to 20% of patients deemed normal by one observer would be deemed abnormal by a second. The PBI appears to be an inaccurate and poorly reproducible test of penile blood flow which can lead to a false diagnosis and subsequent management of impotent patients. There would appear no justification for the continued use of the penile brachial index in the assessment of erectile dysfunction.

Adult↗
PubMed1975

Individual differences in selecting patients for regular haemodialysis.

Eight clinicians in a renal dialysis unit were asked to classify the suitability of 100 cases (some real, some simulated) for regulat haemodialysis. Seven categories were used, ranging from "excellent prospect: accept without reservation" to "unequivocal rejection," based on 18 items of information previously agreed on as sufficient for the purpose. The ways in which they classified the cases different considerably; only six cases were placed in the same category by all eight clinicians, and this was the "unequivocal rejection" category. Analysis of the extent to which they made effective use of the items showed that between three and nine items were used to a sufficient extent to reach significance for the 100 cases.

Ethics, Medical↗
PubMed1971

Doctors as decision-makers: a computer-assisted study of diagnosis as a cognitive skill.

When viewed as a sequence of decisions clinical diagnosis becomes amenable to detailed investigation in terms of standard statistical concepts. A study of six clinicians diagnosing identical sets of cases of non-toxic goitre is used to illustrate an objective technique for studying the diagnostic process with the aid of a digital computer. Considerable variation in clinicians' routes to correct diagnosis is shown when these routes are compared in detail by five statistical measures related to the effective use of the information available to the clinicians. For rapid analysis of diagnostic skill two visual methods are presented. These can be developed for teaching undergraduates the interpretative skills involved in diagnosis and for studying such skills in experienced clinicians.

Computers↗