Biomedical subjects

J Boateng

Publications and source records attributed to J Boateng.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1994

An evaluation of six new intrauterine devices.

A newer generation of IUDs that includes the Copper T-380A/Ag (TCu-380A/Ag) IUDs and the Multiload Copper-375 (MLCu375) IUDs has been developed and marketed. The high efficacy of these IUDs in preventing accidental pregnancies has been equated to that of oral contraceptives and even sterilization. However, the reduction of two other IUD-related pertinent events, namely, expulsion and medical removal due to bleeding and/or pain, has been less impressive. Therefore, efforts are continuing to develop new IUDs. In this paper, the authors review the physical structures of six new IUDs: the CU-SAFE, Cu-Fix, Ombrelle, Fincoid, and Multiload Mark II IUDs, and the intracervical fixing device (ICFD). The clinical performance of the first four devices is also evaluated. Independent, noncomparative studies suggest that all of the four new IUDs may perform as well as, or even better than, the TCu-380A IUD in terms of expulsions and medical removals attributable to bleeding and/or pain. However, we deem these results tentative, and emphasize the need for multi-center, randomized comparative clinical trials with larger sample sizes and long-term follow-up.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

PubMed1990

Application of the verbal autopsy during a clinical trial.

During a community-based treatment trial of onchocerciasis with ivermectin, verbal autopsies were employed as one method to assess the safety of the drug. The verbal autopsy questionnaire was designed to determine causes of death and mortality differentials in the treated population. During the 8 months of surveillance here reported, 25 individuals died, yet only 9 of these deaths were certified. Seven of the deaths occurred to individuals who had been treated with ivermectin and the majority of the deaths occurred to children under 5, who were excluded from treatment. The verbal autopsy method was evaluated and validated by comparing the verbal autopsy diagnosis of cause of death to death certificate diagnosis, when available. In addition, verbal autopsies were retrospectively performed for all deaths which had occurred at the hospital during the 6 months preceding the start of the study, if these deaths were traceable to households in the surveillance population. We found that in 80% of the adult deaths, the verbal autopsy and death certificate diagnoses of underlying cause of death agreed. The verbal autopsy was less accurate in diagnosing child deaths which we attribute to the design of the verbal autopsy (being to detect potential drug related deaths in adults) and to the delay between death and interview. We conclude that verbal autopsies are an important addition to surveillance systems in remote areas where the absence or inadequacy of health information systems does not allow a thorough follow-up of all subjects in drug studies.

Autopsy↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A DNA sequence specific for forest form Onchocerca volvulus.

Onchocerciasis, or river blindness, is caused by infection with Onchocerca volvulus, a filarial parasite which infects about 40 million people in Africa and Latin America. Epidemiological, clinical, entomological and serological studies of African onchocerciasis led to the hypothesis that Onchocerca volvulus exists in different forms in the forest and savannah. It is uncertain if these differences are due to genetic differences within O. volvulus itself, or to epigenetic factors, such as differences in the host populations. To date no basic biochemical differences between the forest and savannah populations of O. volvulus has been found, although isoenzyme studies have shown that differences in allele frequency between forest and savannah populations exist. Here we describe the isolation of a DNA sequence that seems to be specific for the forest form of O. volvulus, the first indication of a basic genetic difference between the savannah and forest forms.

Base Sequence↗