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Biomedical subjects

K R Allen

Publications and source records attributed to K R Allen.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Measure of satisfaction of general practitioners with the chemical pathology services in Leeds Western Health District.

The satisfaction of general practitioners with the District Chemical Pathology Services in Leeds Western Health District was assessed by means of a postal questionnaire. The areas of interest covered included communication, test turn-round times, format of reports, advice about tests undertaken in the practice and chemical pathology information services. Communication with the laboratory was the major area of dissatisfaction (21% GPs), followed by test turn-round times (14%) and format of reports (10%). More than half the respondents were interested in an offer of help in selecting equipment for their surgeries and subsequent quality control. Customer satisfaction will become an important issue as a result of the NHS reforms and laboratories may find this exercise useful.

England↗
PubMed1992

Prevalence of haemoglobin variants in a diabetic population and their effect on glycated haemoglobin measurement.

The measurement of glycated haemoglobin (glycated Hb) by automated high pressure liquid chromatography enabled the prevalence of haemoglobin variants (Hb variant) to be determined in a large diabetic population within Leeds, UK. There were 16 patients showing a Hb variant amongst a total of 5300 diabetics, the majority of the variants being HbA/S traits. There were also 13 patients showing a slightly raised HbF in the range of 2% to 5%. A multi-centre study was carried out by distributing blood specimens from some of the patients with Hb traits. Significant differences in the percentage of glycated Hb were observed relating to the methodology used. However, glycated Hb is used to monitor glycaemic control and laboratories must be aware of Hb variant interferences on their methods. Also, screening for Hb variants should be considered for the at risk groups of diabetic patients.

Diabetes Mellitus↗
PubMed1991

Relationships between caregiving daughters and their elderly mothers.

In this qualitative study of 29 pairs of widowed mothers and their caregiving daughters, we employ social exchange theory to identify three relationship types: intrinsic (45%), ambivalent (34%), and conflicted (21%). These types differ in the extent to which the women receive rewards from interacting with their partner, experience costs in their interaction, handle conflicts that arise in their relationship, and express feelings of concern for each other. They also differ in that daughters in intrinsic pairs have fewer children and shorter caregiving histories than daughters in ambivalent or conflicted pairs.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Leisure and the older black woman.

Older black women's leisure experiences have not been studied in the past. Their unique point of view comes from diverse social and cultural experiences punctuated by a lifetime of inequities. Their experiences were described in routine terms; they talked about making it through the day. Their losses led to a feeling of loneliness. They found refuge in affiliating with others at the church and senior centers. Church activities and the personal experience of worship provided a context for remaining independent as they aged.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1990

A lifetime of work: the context and meanings of leisure for aging black women.

Qualitative in-depth interviews with 30 African-American women were conducted to examine the contemporary meanings of leisure within the context of lifelong work histories. Respondents followed a pattern of unpaid agricultural work in childhood, paid work in mostly domestic and service jobs as adults, and volunteer work in church and senior centers as retirees. The women continued their history of self-reliance by incorporating their lifetime of hard work into their leisure experiences and service to self and others in old age.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1989

The introduction of a quality assessment scheme for extra-laboratory blood glucose analysis.

An external quality assessment scheme is described for on-ward testing of blood glucose by nursing staff using the Glucometer II/Glucostix system. This involved the distribution of two concentrations of glucose solutions to the wards at 2-week intervals. Initially, results were examined prior to the introduction of a formal training programme for use of the blood glucose meters when the hospital CV was 25% (low glucose) and 19% (high glucose). Some improvement was shown after 6 months, with CVs of 13 and 8%, and a greater improvement after 12 months with CVs of 6 and 8%, respectively. A ward report was designed to allow easy interpretation of performance by the participants in the scheme. The introduction of this report was well received and generated enthusiasm among the ward staff.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed1985

Clinical value of a sensitive immunoradiometric assay for TSH.

We have investigated a sensitive immunoradiometric assay for serum thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) in 45 thyrotoxic patients not on treatment, 464 euthyroid patients and 111 hypothyroid patients on replacement therapy. Forty-three thyrotoxic and seven euthyroid patients were found to have an undetectable TSH (less than 0.2 mIU/L). Previous work has shown a very clear separation of thyrotoxic and euthyroid patients using sensitive TSH assays. However, our extended study here has revealed that a significant number of euthyroid patients with undetectable TSH (1.5% in our study) are likely to be found if TSH becomes the initial test for thyroid function. Thirty of the hypothyroid patients on thyroxine were found to have undetectable TSH, but only one showed clinical signs of thyrotoxicosis. Most of the patients, although having raised serum free T4, had serum free T3 levels within the euthyroid range or just slightly elevated.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Use of a diode array detector in investigation of neonatal organic aciduria.

We investigated the use of a diode array detector in conjunction with isocratic cation-exchange liquid chromatography for detection of organic acids in urine. The spectra and retention times of abnormal peaks found on chromatography of urine from patients with methylmalonic aciduria, maple syrup urine disease, and lactic aciduria were recorded and compared with those obtained for group of pure organic acids. Our results show that diode array detection helps considerably in tentatively identifying peaks appearing on an abnormal chromatogram while awaiting confirmation by mass spectrometry.

Amino Acid Metabolism, Inborn Errors↗
PubMed1979

Endodontic treatment of primary teeth.

Endodontic treatment of primary teeth is undertaken by indirect pulp capping, direct pulp capping, formocresol pulpotomy and pulpectomy. The same treatment principles apply to both primary and permanent teeth with infected or necrotic pulps. The main differences are the use of formocresol for root canal medication and a resorbably zinc-oxide and eugenol paste for root canal obturation.

Child↗
PubMed1977

A method for the simultaneous determination of serum and cell-bound IgE.

A method for determining the amount of total IgE bound to leucocytes has been devised by measuring that released on incubating various cell number dilutions in acetate buffer pH 4-0. A linear relationship between IgE released and cell number was obtained over a limited concentration range. The method seemed to work satisfactorily with 50 ml of whole blood for those subjects with very high serum levels of total IgE. However, with subjects having a slightly elevated or normal serum IgE level it may be necessary to use twice the amount of blood.

Basophils↗