Biomedical subjects

M Feltes

Publications and source records attributed to M Feltes.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1996

Cancer screening in primary care: strategies for your office. A program of the Connecticut Division of the American Cancer Society.

Primary-care physicians' compliance with cancer screening guidelines has been in general unsatisfactory. Mailings have not had the desired effect upon these busy physicians who are preoccupied with many other issues. The Ohio Division of the American Cancer Society developed a program of in-office cancer screening education of primary-care physicians which resulted in a significant improvement in compliance to cancer screening guidelines. The Connecticut Division of the American Cancer Society has pursued this concept with their own program of visits targeted at physicians and their office staffs. A description of this program, which is still in its initial phases, is presented. The impact will be evaluated in due time, however additional volunteers to conduct these visits are needed.

Connecticut↗

PubMed1994

Case managers and physicians: communication and perceived problems.

OBJECTIVE: To describe case managers' perceptions of the physician-case manager relationship. DESIGN: A qualitative field study using in-depth open-ended interviews was used to elicit case managers' experiences and practices. A multidisciplinary team analyzed transcripts using an adaptation of the "grounded theory" approach of Glaser and Strauss. PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Case managers were selected for interview using a maximum variation sampling strategy within an established state-wide case management agency. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Transcript analysis allowed for the organization of observations into themes, which were merged across interviews to generate theses. RESULTS: Case managers report that: (1) The case manager role is poorly understood by physicians. (2) Physicians lack insight into the social and environmental aspects of home-bound elderly people. (3) Access to physician services is often difficult to obtain. (4) Power struggles occasionally surface in care planning. (5) Decisions by physicians and case managers regarding the care of frail elderly are often made from different agenda. CONCLUSIONS: From the perspective of case managers, gaps in interprofessional communication may hinder the optimal care of frail elderly individuals.

Aged↗

PubMed1993

The effect of advanced age on the efficacy of radiation therapy for early breast cancer, local prostate cancer and grade III-IV gliomas.

PURPOSE: This study was undertaken to determine the effect of advanced age on radiation therapy outcomes for early breast cancer, local prostate cancer and Grade 3-4 gliomas of the brain. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Radiation therapy outcomes for three malignancies (N = 1,401) were determined for a geriatric cancer population defined as 70 years of age or older and compared to a non-geriatric cancer population defined as less than 70 years of age. The three patient groups studied were: (a) primary breast cancer patients with clinical Stage I or II disease treated with lumpectomy and radiation therapy (N = 994), (b) local prostate cancer patients with Stage A2, B, or C disease treated with radical radiation therapy (N = 294), and (c) patients with Grade 3-4 gliomas of the brain treated with high dose radiation therapy (N = 113). RESULTS: For Stage I and II breast cancer, there was no statistically significant difference in the overall 10-year survival rates (63% vs. 73%), 10-year cause-specific disease-free survival rates (70% vs. 63%), and 10-year local breast recurrence free survival rates (76% vs. 79%) comparing the geriatric cancer population to the non-geriatric cancer population. For local prostate cancer, there was no statistically significant difference in the 10-year survival rates (38% vs. 41%) or in the 10-year cause-specific disease-free survival rates (58% vs. 52%) in the geriatric population compared with the non-geriatric population. On the other hand, the use of high dose radiation therapy for malignant gliomas resulted in statistically significant inferior 1-year (18% vs. 38%) and 2-year (0% vs. 10%) survival rates for the geriatric population versus the non-geriatric population. CONCLUSION: This study strongly supports the use of standard radiation therapy programs for early breast and prostate cancer patients age 70 years or more. However, our study raises questions about the efficacy of radiation therapy in patients over the age of 70 years with Grade 3-4 gliomas.

Age Factors↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Needle placement of myelography.

Proper placement of the entire bevel of the spinal needle within the subarachnoid space at myelography is necessary to prevent partial extra-arachnoid deposition of the contrast medium. A Cuatico aspiration cannula passed through the spinal needle at the time of spinal puncture serves to indicate the depth of the needle tip within the subarachnoid space.

Humans↗