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Biomedical subjects

J H Mandel

Publications and source records attributed to J H Mandel.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Adolescent occupational injuries in Minnesota. A descriptive study.

A descriptive study of adolescent work injuries was undertaken using information from Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry workers' compensation files. During the two-year period, 1986-1987, 1,607 work-related injuries were reported in adolescents ages 12 through 17. The largest proportions of injuries occurred in wholesale and retail trade (61.2%), services (24.1%), and manufacturing (5.8%). Injuries most commonly reported were sprains (27.1%), lacerations (26.5%), heat burns (11.4%), and contusions (8.8%). Average annual injury rates were estimated at 14.0/1,000 full-time equivalents for adolescents compared with 24.5/1,000 for adults. The extent of disability or severity of injury could not be determined except that there were no deaths reported during this period.

Accidents, Occupational

Occupation and industry on death certificates of long-term chemical workers: concordance with work history records.

This study evaluated the concordance between occupation and industry listed on death certificates with actual work history information for a group (n = 5,882) of long-term (10 years or more) workers at a chemical company. Match rates were calculated as the percent of death certificate occupation and company entries that were confirmed by work history data using 3-digit 1980 U.S. Census Bureau group codes. The concordance rate for industry differed by employment status at death: employed, 94.9%; inactive, 30.8%; and retired, 91.1%. Concordance on occupation was analyzed for employed (n = 467) and retired (n = 932) subjects who had computerized work histories (randomly done prior to the study) and who had matched on the company on the death certificate. Concordance ranged from 0 to 50% for the first job, to 50 to 70% for the last job, longest job, and longest job in the last 10 years of company employment. The most consistent predictor of concordance was job duration. Misclassification was reviewed by occupational category. Results from this and other investigations lead to the inevitable conclusion that usual occupation data from death certificates are grossly inadequate for studies of occupational risks.

Aged

Preparation for practice in internal medicine. A study of ten years of residency graduates.

To evaluate the adequacy of preparation for medical practice, we surveyed 320 internal medicine program graduates. The 210 respondents gave their perceptions regarding preparation in training and importance in practice of eight clinical practice skills and 27 clinical procedure skills. The skills with highest preparation scores were venipuncture, intravenous line placement, and arterial puncture for blood gases. The skills rated as the most important in practice were history taking, physical examination, and selection of diagnostic tests. For 13 of the 27 clinical procedure skills, mean preparation scores were significantly higher than mean importance scores, suggesting "overpreparation." In contrast, seven of the eight clinical practice skills had mean preparation scores significantly lower than mean importance scores, suggesting "underpreparation." Furthermore, greater preparation during training was reported by more recent graduates for five of the overprepared skills. We concluded that skills emphasized in internal medicine training are not necessarily those important for practice and that recent changes in the training and practice environments may be increasing these discrepancies.

Clinical Competence

Low back pain in nurses: the relative importance of medical history, work factors, exercise, and demographics.

Although low back pain (LBP), a major problem for nurses, is presumed to be caused by the physical demands of work, little scientific information supports this view. In this study, registered nurses were surveyed regarding LBP, demographics, medical history, exercise, and work variables. Univariate and multivariate analyses indicated previous LBP or back pain in another location of the spine were strongly associated with LBP during the study year. Aerobic dance exercise was less strongly associated. In contrast, lifting patients was only weakly associated, and other occupational variables not at all. Although results must be interpreted cautiously in light of study limitations, the findings suggest that factors unrelated to work may be more important to LBP than previously thought.

Adult

Pharyngeal infections. Causes, findings, and management.

Pharyngitis is one of the most common clinical problems. Its causes are multiple, two of the best known being streptococcal infection and infectious mononucleosis. Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infections are the focus of diagnostic and therapeutic efforts aimed at reducing the risk of both suppurative and nonsuppurative complications. Several non-group A infections are important to recognize as sources of pharyngitis. In addition, mycoplasmal and chlamydial pharyngitis may be more prevalent than is realized. The possibility of gonococcal pharyngitis should be given special attention because of the severity of complications. Recurrent pharyngitis is difficult to manage. Except for certain specific indications, tonsillectomy remains an unproven therapeutic approach.

Adolescent