PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Faulkner

Publications and source records attributed to R Faulkner.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Meeting the support and information needs of women with advanced breast cancer: a randomised controlled trial.

Addressing psychosocial and quality of life needs is central to provision of excellent care for people with advanced cancer. This study tested a brief nurse-delivered intervention to address the needs of urban women with advanced breast cancer. This study was conducted at four large urban hospitals in Australia. One hundred and five women with advanced breast cancer were recruited and randomised to receive the intervention or usual care, then asked to complete the European Organisation of Research and Treatment of Quality of life Q-C30 version (2.0) (EORTC Q-C30) (version 2) and Supportive Care Needs Survey (SCNS) at 1 month and 3 months postrecruitment. No significant differences were detected between intervention and usual care groups in the SCNS or the EORTC Q-C30 subscale scores. However, when the groups were divided into high needs (score of above 50) and low baseline needs (score of 50 or below) for each SCNS subscale, a significant difference between intervention and usual care groups was found in the psychological/emotional subscale among women with high baseline needs. In conclusions, this study demonstrated that a face-to-face session and follow-up phone call with a breast care nurse significantly reduced the psychological and emotional needs of those with high initial needs. There was no evidence of the intervention influencing the quality of life; or perceived needs of women with low initial psychological/emotional needs or perceived needs in other domains. Possibly, the intervention was not sufficiently intense to achieve an effect.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Mapping the quality of life and unmet needs of urban women with metastatic breast cancer.

Enhancing quality of life and reducing the unmet needs of women are central to the successful management of advanced breast cancer. The objective of this study was to investigate the quality of life and support and information needs of urban women with advanced breast cancer. This study was conducted at four large urban hospitals in Melbourne, Australia. A consecutive sample of 105 women with advanced breast cancer completed a questionnaire that contained the European Organization of Research and Treatment of Cancer Quality of Life Q-C30 and the Supportive Care Needs Survey. Between one quarter and a third of the women reported difficulties with their physical, role and social functioning, and a little over a quarter of the women reported poor global health status. Fatigue was a problem for most women. The highest unmet needs were in the psychological and health information domains. Almost no differences in unmet needs were detected when comparing different demographic and disease characteristics of women. Health care providers should routinely monitor the quality of life and needs of women with advanced breast cancer to ensure that appropriate treatment, information or supportive services are made available.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed2001

The role of human papillomavirus vaccines in cervical neoplasia.

Cervical cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related death in women, in some developing countries accounting for the highest cancer mortality. The evidence for the association of high-risk human papillomavirus types with the aetiology of cervical neoplasia is firmly established, human papillomavirus being detected in virtually all cervical cancers. The risk of progression of precursor cervical intra-epithelial neoplasia lesions is associated with persistence of human papillomavirus infection. One strategy for the management of cervical neoplasia worldwide could be the development of prophylactic and/or therapeutic human papillomavirus vaccines. This chapter will discuss the natural history of human papillomavirus infection, viral immunity and the clinical course of resultant disease as the background to the effective design and use of human papillomavirus vaccines for protection or therapy. The progress of ongoing phase I and II clinical trials for several different vaccine preparations and the challenges for establishing their future use will be discussed.

Female↗
PubMed1995

Evaluation of recombinant human factor IX: pharmacokinetic studies in the rat and the dog.

The pharmacokinetics of intravenously administered recombinant human factor IX (rhFIX) were studied in Sprague-Dawley rats and Beagle dogs. Rats received rhFIX (50 IU/kg once daily) for 28 days, and the plasma half-life was 5 h. Anti-Human Factor IX serum antibody levels were found in only 1 of 12 rats. The pharmacokinetic profiles of rhFIX or Mononine, a purified human plasma-derived factor IX, after single 100 IU/kg i.v. doses in dogs, were similar. Peak plasma concentrations of rhFIX and Mononine were 4-5 micrograms/ml. The mean plasma half-lives were 13.2 +/- 1.6 h for rhFIX and 13.3 +/- 1.6 h for Mononine. Dogs also received rhFIX (40 IU/kg i.v., daily) for 28 days or Mononine (40 IU/kg i.v. daily) for 14 days. Anti-human Factor IX serum antibody levels were determined for each compound. Pharmacokinetic half-lives decreased in these treated dogs which developed antihuman Factor IX antibodies. The antibody responses in 28 day rhFIX (40 IU/kg) dogs were similar to 14 day Mononine (40 IU/kg) dogs.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

The effect of testing anxiety on blood pressure.

The effect of stress on blood pressure is under debate. Of concern, with the trend toward fitness, is whether anxiety about one's body image may also raise blood pressure. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of testing anxiety on the blood pressure of persons taking a lifestyle and fitness evaluation test. First year nursing students had their blood pressures measured by fitness program technicians as part of a fitness test. Students then had their blood pressures measured by the same technicians in a non-testing situation. Students also completed a social physique anxiety scale to separate those with high and low physique anxiety. Analysis of variance revealed that there was a significant difference in diastolic blood pressure between the evaluative (during the fitness test) and the non-evaluative situations (p = 0.0001). There was no significant difference in blood pressure in those students with high versus low social physique anxiety but those with high anxiety had higher diastolic blood pressures during the non-evaluative situation than did those with low anxiety. These findings indicate that, while the evaluative situation appears to be a more important factor in the evaluation of diastolic blood pressure than anxiety regarding one's physique or body image, there is an interaction effect that should be further examined.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1992

Single-dose pharmacokinetics of piperacillin and tazobactam in patients with renal disease.

Tazobactam is an irreversible inhibitor of many beta-lactamases. In combination with piperacillin, tazobactam exhibits synergy against many beta-lactamase-producing bacteria. The pharmacokinetics of piperacillin and tazobactam were evaluated in eight normal volunteers and in 52 patients with renal dysfunction. Plasma and urine were obtained for up to 30 hours after an infusion of piperacillin and tazobactam (3 and 0.375 gm, respectively). Dialysate samples were collected from patients undergoing dialysis. Piperacillin and tazobactam concentrations were determined by high-performance liquid chromatography. Noncompartmental methods were used for pharmacokinetic analysis. Piperacillin and tazobactam total body clearance, area under the curve, and terminal elimination rate correlated with renal function. Hemodialysis removed 31% and 39% of piperacillin and tazobactam, respectively. During continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis, 5.5% of the piperacillin and 10.7% of the tazobactam was recovered in the dialysate over 28 hours. Peak plasma concentrations of both drugs increased minimally with decreasing creatinine clearance. Dosage alterations for creatinine clearance values less than 40 ml/min are recommended.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

The role of phospholipid in the multiple functional forms of brain monoamine oxidase.

The nature of phospholipid requirement and lipid-protein interactions for the multiple functional forms of monoamine oxidase was investigated by rebinding the purified phospholipid to a lipid-depleted brain mitochondrial preparation. It was found that phosphatidylinositol uniquely stimulated the monoamine oxidase A activity to 80% over that in the original intact mitochondria. Other negatively charged phospholipids, although not as potent, could fully or partially reactivate the A or the B activity. Phosphatidylserine was relatively more effective in restoring the B activity. Phosphatidylcholine, a zwitterionic phospholipid, reconstituted 70% of the A activity but did not influence the B. More importantly, efficiency-gradient analyses indicated a distinct nature in the mechanism of lipid-protein interactions for the negatively charged and the zwitterionic phospholipids. The potency of the negatively charged phospholipid decreased sharply with increasing lipid molecules. No further stimulation could be detected when the lipid to protein ratio reached about 30 molecules of the negatively charged phospholipid for 100,000 daltons of membrane protein. The negatively charged phospholipid appeared to bind directly to the monoamine oxidase protein boundary with a high affinity. Phosphatidylcholine might reassociate as the membrane fluid bilayer, which in turn modulated the monoamine oxidase A activity.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Provisional implant-supported fixed restorations.

Implant-supported provisional restorations serve several valuable functions. In the anterior region, they are beneficial in determining the best restorative design, ultimately allowing for the most appropriate definitive prosthesis. They also provide a template around which soft tissue contours may be evaluated and manipulated. In areas where bone quality is compromised and implant success is suspect, whether it be anteriorly or more likely posteriorly, implant-supported provisional restorations may be used to "test" the osseointegration prior to fabricating and placing the definitive restorations.

Dental Abutments↗