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Biomedical subjects

N Christopher

Publications and source records attributed to N Christopher.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Hospital admissions of children from the emergency department: are decisions regarding children on public assistance different?

OBJECTIVE: To better understand the variables that influence the physician's decision to admit children from the emergency department (ED) for nonmedical problems. METHODS: A multicenter prospective questionnaire survey over a three-month study period. For all admitted children, the emergency physician completed a survey which recorded demographic data, insurance status, primary care provider (PCP), admitting diagnoses, and reason for admission. The reason for admission was noted as strictly medical or nonmedical (either an illness that could have been managed on an ambulatory care basis or a "psychosocial" admission). Group differences were analyzed by t test, chi 2, or logistic regression analysis where appropriate. RESULTS: There were 4318 ED admissions at five institutions of which 185 (4%) were judged to be nonmedical. No age or gender differences were found between the medical and nonmedical admission populations. Using logistic regression, adjusted odds ratios for nonmedical admissions were as follows: Medicaid insurance (2.34, 95% CI = 1.61-3.41), clinic-based primary care provider (1.54, 95% CI = 1.06-2.23), no or unknown primary care provider (2.40, 95% CI = 1.52-3.78), and after hours [eg, 5 PM to 8 AM] admissions (1.86, 95% CI = 1.31-2.63). CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that children with lower socioeconomic status and limited primary care resources are more likely to be admitted from the ED for nonmedical reasons than children with commercial insurance resources or a private physician.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Urinary bladder function and drug development.

Disorders of the bladder are extremely common and are becoming more so in an ageing population. Recently, our understanding of lower urinary tract physiology and pathology has also increased. Here, Douglas Ferguson and Nim Christopher summarize this new knowledge of lower urinary tract function, the changes in innervation that occur with age and the common disease states, and discuss how it is being used to develop new drug treatments for bladder disorders.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Comparative assessment of phase contrast microscopy and Coulter counter measurements in localising the site of haematuria.

Haematuria is a common diagnostic problem in clinical practice and is seen in a large number of renal, urological and systemic disorders. The routine use of dipstick methods has increased the frequency of detection of microscopic haematuria. It is desirable to develop a simple, non-invasive, easily reproducible, quantitative technique that would help to determine the site of bleeding and thereby direct the patient either to the nephrologist or to the urologist. This study compares the accuracy of phase contrast microscopy with Coulter counter measurement of red cell distribution volumes as a means of distinguishing glomerular haematuria from non-glomerular haematuria. Of 20 patients with biopsy-proven glomerulonephritis, 13 (65%) were correctly identified by phase contrast microscopy and 19 (95%) by the Coulter counter method. In 18 patients with pathological conditions affecting the lower urinary tract phase contrast microscopy was correct in 6 (33%) and Coulter counter measurement in 17 (94%). Coulter counter measurement is the simpler and more accurate method of screening for the source of haematuria, but is inaccurate when the red cell count in the urine is less than 0.02 x 10(12).

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Then and now: one nurse's view.

Nursing is a profession rich in history and tradition. Old fashioned virtues of caring and service are only a part of the role of the 90's nurse. One nurse from The Children's Hospital of Alabama describes the evolution of the new decade nurse who has emerged with high-tech skills, is corporate-minded and research-oriented.

Alabama↗