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Biomedical subjects

J S Jordan

Publications and source records attributed to J S Jordan.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1994

Timing the shift in retinal local signs that accompanies a saccadic eye movement.

The phantom array was used to probe the time course of the shift in retinal local signs that accompanies a saccadic eye movement. The phantom array materializes when one saccades in the dark across a point light source blinking 120 times per second. One sees a stationary array of flashes--the first materializes discretely near the intended endpoint of the saccade, and subsequent flashes materialize progressively closer to the actual position of the blinking light. Four trained observers indicated the perceived location, relative to the phantom array, of a 1-msec marker flash (M) produced by two LEDs (light-emitting diodes) that vertically bracketed the blinking light. The marker was seen as spatially coincident with the first flash when it flashed 80 to 0 msec before the saccade, and was seen as spatially coincident with either the first flash or the actual position of the blinking light when it flashed more than 80 msec before the saccade, indicating, respectively, that the shift is presaccadic and rather abrupt.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) cluster groups among chronically ill patients: relationship to illness adjustment and treatment outcome.

Cluster analysis of the MMPI has been utilized widely in the chronic low back pain literature to try to identify reliable patient subtypes predictive of treatment outcome. We extended this methodology to patients with heterogeneous chronic medical conditions by replicating prototypic MMPI cluster group profiles and by relating cluster groups to clinical baseline and outcome data. Subjects were two independent samples (n = 254 and n = 263) of chronically ill patients admitted to an inpatient medicine/psychiatry unit. Using a four-cluster solution, similar cluster profile groups were replicated in both samples. Consistent differences emerged between cluster groups on functional impairment, psychiatric diagnoses, depression, and psychosomatic symptoms. Cluster group membership also predicted changes in functional impairment and depression six months after treatment. Results are discussed in terms of similarities between chronic low back pain and chronic illness and tailoring treatment to different patient types.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1992

Depression and level of functioning in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

This study examined the degree to which depression is related to physical and psychosocial dysfunction. The Beck Depression Inventory and the Sickness Impact Profile were administered to 34 patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Information on the demographic variables (age and employment status) and medical status variables (duration of disease and functional classification) were collected for each patient. Regression analyses revealed that depression was an important predictor of total, physical and psychosocial sickness-related behavioural dysfunction. The proportion of variance attributed to depression was moderate to large and was significant even after controlling for important demographic and medical status variables. These results suggest that depression is an important factor to be considered when evaluating the clinical significance of physical and psychosocial dysfunction in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Activities of Daily Living↗
PubMed1990

Myelitis in a cat infected with Toxoplasma gondii and feline immunodeficiency virus.

Severe necrotizing myelitis secondary to localization and reactivation of Toxoplasma gondii within the spinal cord of a domestic shorthair cat was diagnosed by use of light and electron microscopy and immunohistochemistry. The cat also was infected with feline immunodeficiency virus. This case may have useful comparative features to T gondii infections in human patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Animals↗
PubMed1990

The relationship of appraisal and coping to chronic illness adjustment.

There is evidence that adaptation to chronic illness may be affected by psychological factors, especially how patients appraise and cope with the stress of their illness. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship of stress appraisal and coping responses to multiple behavioral indices of illness adjustment among patients with diverse chronic medical conditions. One hundred and one patients admitted to a multidisciplinary medicine/psychiatry unit completed measures of functional impairment, depression, symptom severity, and the Ways of Coping Checklist--Revised. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that emotion-focused coping was positively related to poor psychosocial adjustment and depression after controlling for physician rated disease severity. Appraising chronic illness as holding one back predicted greater emotion-focused coping responses and poorer adjustment to illness. The use of problem-focused coping strategies was generally unrelated to illness adjustment. These findings suggest the presence of an emotion-focused coping triad consisting of wishful thinking, self blame, and avoidance, all of which appear to be maladaptive strategies when coping with chronic medical conditions. Implications for coping skills training and the need for longitudinal research is discussed.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1990

The impact of psychologic factors on measurement of functional status. Assessment of the sickness impact profile.

In this study the relationship between four psychologic health constructs (depression, anxiety, patient response bias, and hostility) and the Sickness Impact Profile (SIP) measurement of functional status was evaluated. The SIP, Carroll Depression Rating Scale (CDRS); and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) were administered to 332 patients hospitalized for treatment of combined medical and psychiatric problems. Pearson's product-moment correlation was high between CDRS and SIP Total score (r = 0.67) and between CDRS and SIP Psychosocial subscale (r = 0.72); correlation was lower between CDRS and SIP Physical subscale (r = 0.44). Six MMPI scales (depression, anxiety, psychasthenia, lie, K, hostility) correlated with SIP Total score (r = 0.18 to 0.50), with SIP Psychosocial score (r = 0.28 to 0.65) and less well with SIP Physical subscale (r = 0.07 to 0.25). Factor analysis of the SIP categories showed two factors with eigenvalues greater than 1. Promax factor rotation showed all SIP Psychosocial categories and all measured psychologic variables loaded most heavily on factor 1. SIP Physical categories loaded most heavily on factor 2. Stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that psychologic variables account for 49% of the SIP total variance, 62% of SIP Psychosocial subscale variance, but only 19% of SIP Physical subscale variance. The CDRS accounts for the major portion of the explained variance with only minor additional contributions from the MMPI scales. We conclude that 1) the SIP discriminates psychosocial and physical dysfunction even in medical patients with extensive psychiatric comorbidity; 2) the SIP measures at least two dimensions of health, one of which is strongly related to depression; and 3) constructs measured by MMPI scales do not have substantial independent contribution to SIP variance.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

The attributional norm of internality and depressive sensitivity to social information.

Two studies examined the existence, within an achievement-related context, of a social norm favoring internal explanations for task performances. In the first study, we investigated the reactions of observers to an actor's high, moderate, or low self-attribution of causal responsibility for his negative performance outcome on an ostensibly standardized aptitude test. The results indicated that the actor was evaluated more positively to the degree that he accepted more personal responsibility for his performance. In the second study, we examined the reactions of depressed and nondepressed observers to an actor's high or low self-attributions of causal responsibility for his poor performance on a test of analytical ability. On the basis of the notion that the chronic lack of control and resultant uncertainty, presumably characteristic of depressed persons, motivates attributional information processing, we expected depressed observers to be more sensitive to the actor's violation of the norm of internality and to respond with more social disapproval than nondepressed observers. Results generally were consistent with this reasoning. Experimental findings are discussed in terms of the interpersonal implications of expressed attributions.

Achievement↗
PubMed1981

Appendicitis with a palpable mass.

Forty-two patients with abdominal masses caused by appendicitis underwent immediate surgery. A clear separation between a phlegmon and abscess could not be made before operation. In most patients, it was possible to perform an appendectomy and, thus, obviate the need for appendectomy at a subsequent admission. There were no deaths in this series of patients. The complication rate of 35.7% could have been reduced by leaving the skin wounds open.

Abscess↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Pyriform sinus perforation secondary to traumatic intubation in a difficult airway patient.

Pyriform sinus perforation is a relatively rare complication of endotracheal intubation in anesthesia. It can occur after traumatic intubation and is potentially lethal. We recently encountered a patient who developed perforation of the left pyriform sinus when intubation was performed emergently by an inexperienced person in a difficult situation outside the operating room. Clinical manifestations and implications of this complication are discussed.

Emergencies↗