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Katherine Williamson

Publications and source records attributed to Katherine Williamson.

4 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Testing a classification model for emergency department errors.

AIM: This paper presents an evaluation of the Eindhoven Classification Model for categorizing healthcare errors. BACKGROUND: The ability to decrease healthcare errors will depend on an understanding of the types and patterns of error that occur in various settings. Research addressing the systematic classification of error is in its infancy. METHODS: The sample for this study was two existing sets of healthcare error reports obtained from the emergency department of a regional trauma center. Study data were collected in the summer of 2001 and 2002. The errors in these reports were categorized using a coding tool based on the Eindhoven Classification Model. In addition to testing for inter-rater reliability, the classification model was also evaluated for the number of unclassifiable errors and of categories never selected by the raters (not useful to the error classification model). RESULTS: Our findings of poor inter-rater reliability, large numbers of unclassifiable errors and categories not selected, suggest that the Eindhoven Classification Model, in its current form, cannot be applied to categorizing healthcare errors in an emergency department setting. CONCLUSIONS: Further study is needed to develop and test error categorization models for use in emergency departments and other healthcare settings.

Causality↗
PubMed2005

Effect of training and rest on respiratory mechanical properties in racing sled dogs.

INTRODUCTION: Racing Alaskan sled dogs develop exercise-induced airway inflammation, similar to that reported for elite human athletes participating in cold-weather sports. These human athletes also have airway hyperresponsiveness, but airway function in sled dogs has not been measured. PURPOSE: To compare respiratory mechanical properties in trained, rested Alaskan sled dogs with typical laboratory hounds, and to determine whether subsequent training alters respiratory mechanical properties. METHODS: Nineteen healthy adult Alaskan sled dogs were compared with five healthy adult mixed-breed laboratory hounds. All dogs were rested for at least 4 months before examination. Respiratory mechanical properties were measured while the dogs were anesthetized and ventilated with a piston ventilator. The mean respiratory resistance and compliance measurements for 20 consecutive breaths were used as baseline values immediately before measurement of respiratory reactivity. Respiratory reactivity was the mean of 20 consecutive breaths immediately after the administration of aerosol histamine, expressed as the percentage change in prehistamine measurements. After the initial examinations, the sled dogs were divided into exercised and controls. Exercised dogs were trained for competitive endurance racing. Both groups were examined after 2 and 4 months of training. RESULTS: Alaskan sled dogs had greater respiratory compliance reactivity to histamine (77.47 +/- 8.58% baseline) compared with laboratory dogs (87.60 +/- 9.22% baseline). There was no effect of training on respiratory mechanical properties detected in racing sled dogs. CONCLUSIONS: Racing Alaskan sled dogs have airway dysfunction similar to "ski asthma" that persists despite having 4 months of rest. These findings suggest that repeated exercise in cold conditions can lead to airway disease that does not readily resolve with cessation of exercise.

Aerosols↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Temporal relationship between gastrointestinal protein loss, gastric ulceration or erosion, and strenuous exercise in racing Alaskan sled dogs.

BACKGROUND: Alterations in the appearance and function of gastrointestinal mucosa are common after strenuous exercise. However, the duration of exercise required to alter the gastrointestinal mucosa has not been reported. HYPOTHESIS: We used 42 sled dogs to test the hypothesis that the magnitude of exercise-induced gastrointestinal mucosal dysfunction is related to exercise duration. ANIMALS: Six dogs served as conditioned controls, and the remaining dogs were randomly chosen for examination after 1-5 consecutive days of running at 100 miles/d. METHODS: Gastroduodenoscopy and measurement of gastric permeability were performed 24 hours after cessation of exercise. Intestinal protein loss (represented by fecal alpha-1 protease inhibitor concentration) was measured within 6 hours of cessation of exercise. Twelve of the 42 dogs were examined again after 5 months of detraining to determine the effect of training on gastrointestinal mucosal function. RESULTS: Exercise increased gastric permeability (P = .04) and endoscopic severity of gastric lesions (P < .0001), but neither variable was significantly affected by distance traveled. Acute exercise had no effect on intestinal protein loss. Untrained dogs had significantly lower fecal alpha-1 protease inhibitor concentrations compared with trained, unexercised dogs. Training had no effect on gastric permeability to sucrose or the endoscopic appearance of the stomach. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: These data suggest that relatively modest exercise is required to increase intestinal protein loss, but more substantial exercise is required to cause alterations in the proximal gastrointestinal tract. However, none of these alterations appear to progress with increasing exercise duration.

Alaska↗