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Biomedical subjects

M E Pollack

Publications and source records attributed to M E Pollack.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Competency to consent to treatment.

Competency to consent to treatment is an especially critical determination to make in the field of psychiatry. Psychiatric patients are often capable, despite their illness, of self-advocacy. Careful assessments are required to differentiate competent patients from incompetent patients. Moreover, the character of their illness, from psychosis to organic brain disease, has been found to correlate with a lack of competency. The presence of auditory hallucinations or delusions, however, are not pathognomonic of incompetency. Currently, there exists no standardized method to establish competency, either in psychiatric or in medical patients. This is a review of the several instruments developed by various researchers attempting to create one. It finds promise in several questionnaires that have good inter-rater reliability and validity.

Humans↗
PubMed1997

Representing and developing temporally abstracted knowledge as a means towards facilitating time modeling in medical decision-support systems.

The utilization of the appropriate level of temporal abstraction is an important aspect of time modeling. We discuss some aspects of the relation of temporal abstraction to important knowledge engineering parameters such as model correctness, ease of model specification, knowledge availability, query completeness, inference tractability, and semantic clarity. We propose that versatile and efficient time-modeling formalisms should encompass ways to represent and reason at more than one level of abstraction, and we discuss such a hybrid formalism. Although many research efforts have concentrated on the automation of specific temporal abstractions, much research needs to be done in understanding and developing provably optimal abstractions. We provide an initial framework for studying this problem in a manner that is independent of the particular problem domain and knowledge representation, and suggest several research challenges that appear worth pursuing.

Artificial Intelligence↗
PubMed1996

Accuracy of pedicle screw placement with the assistance of lateral plain radiography.

To determine the accuracy of pedicle screw placement with the assistance of lateral plain radiography, a prospective study was performed between June 1991 and March 1994 on patients who had undergone pedicle screw fixation of their thoracolumbar spine for degenerative and traumatic conditions. Sixty-five of 72 patients had the appropriate imaging studies, including an intraoperative lateral plain radiograph and a post-operative computed tomography scan to evaluate pedicle screw placement. A total of 238 screws were inserted from the T11 to L5 vertebral levels. Twenty-four screws penetrated the pedicle wall (18 medial and 6 lateral) and two screws penetrated the anterior vertebral body cortex, for an overall 89.1% success rate. Only two patients had neurologic complications consistent with canal intrusion of a pedicle screw, corresponding to a 0.84% neurologic complication rate. Imaging techniques such as fluoroscopy and anteroposterior plain radiographs, which may increase the incidence of infection from prolonged operative time, are unnecessary in uncomplicated cases. Pedicle screw insertion in the thoracolumbar spine with the use of lateral plain radiography alone is safe and effective, and it minimizes operative time and expense.

Bone Screws↗
PubMed1975

Abnormal left ventricular wall motion at mid-ejection in patients with coronary heart disease.

The degree of inward motion at mid-ejection was examined for seven segments on the silhouettes of left ventriculograms taken in the 30 degrees RAO projection in patients with normal coronary arteries. The pattern of wall motion described in these patients was used to distinguish abnormalities in mid-systolic wall motion. One or more abnormally contracting segments were found at mid-ejection of 27 of 42 patients with obstructive coronary artery disease and normal end-systolic wall motion. Of the 57 segments found in these patients, 41 or 72% corresponded to sites of significant coronary artery obstruction. Seven patients had electrocardiographic evidence of prior infarction. Following coronary graft surgery in eight patients improved motion was found in association with graft patency in seven priviously delayed segments and two new areas of delayed wall motion associated with nonpatent grafts and electrocardiographic changes of infarction appeared. We postulate that some of the myocardial fibers in late contracting segments have been injured or infarcted and are able to contract effectively only during the latter half of ejection when ventricular wall tension is reduced.

Cineangiography↗
PubMed1963

USE OF POROUS CELLULOSE ESTER MEMBRANES IN THE PRIMARY ISOLATION AND SIZE DETERMINATION OF PLEUROPNEUMONIA-LIKE ORGANISMS.

Morowitz, Harold J. (Yale University, New Haven, Conn.), Mark E. Tourtellotte, and Mary E. Pollack. Use of porous cellulose ester membranes in the primary isolation and size determination of pleuropneumonia-like organisms. J. Bacteriol. 85:134-136. 1963.-Millipore filters were used in the primary isolation and sizing of a number of strains of pleuropneumonia-like organisms (PPLO). Maximal pore diameters were checked by filtration of viruses of known sizes. All the PPLO strains studied produced cells capable of passing through a 0.22-mu filter. A number of strains produced forms which could be titered after filtration through a 0.1-mu filter. A number of primary isolations were made from filtrates.

Journal Article↗