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Biomedical subjects

M Labrecque

Publications and source records attributed to M Labrecque.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Homeopathic treatment of plantar warts.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy of a homeopathic treatment of plantar warts. DESIGN: Randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial. SETTING: Hospital-based family medicine unit. PATIENTS: Patients were recruited from the unit, through advertisements in the local media and through personal contacts with colleagues. Of the 853 people screened between December 1987 and January 1989, 174 met the eligibility criteria (age 6 to 59 years and presence of one or more plantar warts untreated during the previous 3 months) and agreed to participate; 162 (93%) completed the 18-week follow-up. INTERVENTIONS: The 6-week homeopathic treatment consisted of thuya 30 "centésimal hahnemannien" (CH) (one tube containing 200 pellets weekly), antimonium crudum 7 CH (5 pellets daily) and nitricum acidum 7 CH (one tube containing 200 pellets daily). The placebo pellets were identical to the treatment pellets in appearance and taste. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The proportion of healed patients; a patient was considered healed if all of the warts had disappeared. MAIN RESULTS: The rates of healing at 6, 12 and 18 weeks were 4.8%, 13.4% and 20.0% respectively in the homeopathic treatment group and 4.6%, 13.1% and 24.4% in the placebo treatment group. CONCLUSION: The homeopathic treatment was no more effective than the placebo treatment of plantar warts.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1989

Validity of the Bioself 110 fertility indicator.

The Bioself 110 (Bioself Canada, Inc., Montréal, Québec, Canada) is an electronic computerized thermometer designed to identify the fertile and infertile phases of the menstrual cycle. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity of the device by comparing it with a reference method, the Ovustick (Monoclonal Antibodies, Inc., Mountain View, CA) luteinizing hormone (LH) surge detection kit. The Bioself 110 identified the 6-day fertile period in 86.4% of 220 cycles studied and 5 fertile days in 93.2%. The Bioself 110 correctly identified the postovulatory infertile phase in 93.3% of 178 cycles. On average, the device identified 10.9 fertile days and 10.6 postovulatory "safe" days per cycle. It was concluded the device would be a useful aid to couples trying to conceive or prevent pregnancy.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

Feeding and urine cotinine values in babies whose mothers smoke.

In Canada, 8% to 20% of infants are breast-fed by mothers who smoke. To determine whether breast-feeding increases infants' exposure to tobacco smoke products, urinary cotinine excretion was measured in 172 babies, 33 of whom were breast-fed. A milk sample was taken from the mothers who were breast-feeding, and cotinine was measured with gas chromatography. The breast-fed babies had a median cotinine to creatinine ratio of 433 ng/mg, whereas the bottle-fed babies' median was 200 ng/mg (P less than 10(-4)). Similar differences were observed after adjustment for the number of cigarettes smoked by the mother and by other smokers in the home in the previous 24 hours. The correlation coefficient between the number of cigarettes smoked by the mother and the breast milk cotinine concentration was significant (r = .69, P = 2 X 10(-4)). Moreover, urine cotinine values from the breast-fed babies increased with higher concentrations of cotinine in the mother's milk (r = .56, P = .02). These results provide evidence that breast-feeding increases exposure to tobacco smoke components in infants whose mothers smoke. This is yet another argument for strongly encouraging women who smoke to stop smoking during pregnancy and lactation.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

[Estimation of birth weight by measuring the height of the uterus in the parturient women in the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoro Islands].

This study aims at evaluating the measurement of fundal height in labor as a mean of estimating birth weight in singleton pregnancies. The delivery records of the 1983 Grande Comore Island, Indian Ocean, maternal health care centers were reviewed (n = 730). Weight and fundal height were found in 412 delivery records. The mean weight is 3,108 +/- 533 g. The linear correlation coefficient is 0.59 and the square of the correlation coefficient is 0.35. The best cut-off point of fundal height for the detection of a low birth weight newborn (less than 2,500 g) is 31 cm, which correspond to the 19th percentile. The linear regression model is not strong enough to predict birth weight. As a diagnostic test, fundal height can be usefull on an individual basis. For a mass screening utilisation, this procedure would have to be integrated to a complete program of maternal and child health care.

Birth Weight↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Interobserver agreement in the diagnosis and management of foot warts].

The interobserver agreement in diagnosing the presence or the disappearance of plantar wart was assessed among ten Family Physicians from the Family Medicine Unit (FMU) of the Centre hospitalier de l'Université Laval (CHUL). Physicians were trained to recognize predetermined clinical criteria for the presence (microthrombi, interruption of skin folds and hyperkeratosis) and disappearance (return of skin folds) of plantar warts. Sixty (60) untreated plantar lesions in 43 patients were examined independently by two to five available physicians. Twenty-two (22) patients who came for one to six follow-up visits generated 77 post treatment assessments of plantar warts. The observed agreement was 82% for diagnosis (49/60) and for cure (63/77). The agreement corrected for chance as measured by the Kappa coefficient was 0.60 for diagnosis and 0.61 for cure. A good degree of agreement on diagnosis and disappearance of plantar wart was achieved among the FMU physicians.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Association between maternal smoking and breast feeding].

Many factors influence the decision to initiate and continue to breastfeed. Our study evaluates the relation between maternal cigarette smoking and prevalence of breastfeeding. A telephone questionnaire was administered by nurses to mothers of 879 newborns from the Quebec City area approximately two weeks after delivery. Among the 666 babies whose mothers did not smoke, 62.6% were breastfed. This proportion declined to 37.5%, 17.7% and 14.6% among babies whose mothers smoked 1 to 10, 11 to 20 and more than 20 cigarettes per day, respectively. The dose-effect association between the prevalence of breastfeeding and the number of cigarettes smoked daily by the mother persisted after adjustment in a binomial regression model for maternal age, education and home district area. Pregnant women who smoke should be strongly encouraged to quit smoking and to breastfeed their babies.

Breast Feeding↗