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Biomedical subjects

M G Sheldon

Publications and source records attributed to M G Sheldon.

26 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Self-audit of prescribing habits and clinical care in general practice.

General practitioners' prescribing habits were studied using encounter forms during a period of three years. Analysis of the first year's forms revealed examples of inappropriate prescribing, so an audit was undertaken on the treatment of fungal skin infections and coughs and colds in children. Data collection was continued for a further year to measure any changes in prescribing. Analysis after audit showed that more appropriate prescribing had reduced the number of drugs prescribed as well as the number of repeat consultations needed before resolution of the problem. These findings suggest that the continuous use of encounter forms can accurately reveal the prescribing habits of general practitioners. Self-audit can then be performed on a continuing basis with little disruption of the general practitioner's normal routine.

Adolescent↗

A trial of Fortagesic and Paramol 118 in osteoarthritis.

Fortagesic was compared with Paramol 118 in a fourteen day single-blind crossover study in patients with moderate pain due to osteoarthritis. Both preparations were shown to be similarly effective. More side-effects were seen with Paramol 118 than with Fortagesic and more patients preferred Fortagesic. These differences were not statistically significant, but it is concluded that Fortagesic is a useful effective analgesic for standard use in moderate pain.

Acetaminophen↗

The clinical significance of systolic murmurs in the elderly.

A group of 278 patients, over the age of 60 years, and representative of geriatric and general medical admissions to the District General Hospital in Banbury, Oxforshire, was studied to correlate the prevalence of systolic murmurs to age, sex, cardiac failure, ischaemic heart disease, dysrrhythmias, hypertension, peripherial vascular disease and anaemia. The object was to establish the clinical significance of these murmurs and test a postulate that they could not be dismissed as benign. Seventy-five per cent of the murmurs were judged to be aortic and 12 per cent mitral in origin. The prevalence of systolic murmurs increased with age from 32 per cent at 60-64 years to 57 per cent over 85 years, and was greater in females (44 per cent) than in males (34 per cent). The presence of systolic murmurs was related to the presence of cardiac failure, ischaemic heart disease, dysrrhythmias, hypertension, peripheral vascular disease and anemia. Only 8 per cent of patients with systolic murmurs had none of the above-mentioned six cardiovascular abnormalities compared with 36 per cent of patients without such a murmur, while multiple cardiovascular abnormalities were also commoner in the former group. The mortality rate in hospital was similar for patients with or without a systolic murmur.

Age Factors↗

An A4 size registration sheet for general practice.

A registration sheet has been designed and tested for use with A4 sized medical records in general practice. Duplicate copies provide both practice and age-sex registers with no further clerical work. A method of using it for temporary residents is also suggested.

Family Practice↗