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Biomedical subjects

R M Murdoch

Publications and source records attributed to R M Murdoch.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1993

Occupational physicians and their work: prospects for audit.

An anonymous postal questionnaire was sent to 200 occupational physicians in the UK to determine their activities, the nature of the organizations within which they work and their attitudes and practices with respect to audit. One hundred and sixty-six physicians responded to the questionnaire, of whom 119 (72 per cent) were currently practising occupational medicine. Fifty-seven (48 per cent) of these 119 were engaged in some form of audit but only 21 (18 per cent) were engaged in an audit of structure, process and outcome. Assessment of continuing fitness for work or sickness absence ranked first overall with respect to the proportion of the physician's time engaged. The study revealed a wide diversity in the organization of the practice of occupational medicine, in the qualifications of occupational physicians and in their participation in audit. Needs for the development and wider implementation of methods of audit in occupational medicine have been identified by the study.

Humans↗
PubMed1982

Does the order of second-line treatment in rheumatoid arthritis matter?

In a prospective study 88 patients, with rheumatoid arthritis who had stopped taking gold, penicillamine, or levamisole were randomly allocated to one of the alternative drugs and followed up for a minimum of one year. Concurrent studies of the effects of gold, penicillamine, and levamisole prescribed in 123 patients as the first second-line drug were used for comparison. No difference in toxicity or efficacy between primary and secondary use of gold or penicillamine was identified. Variation in the toxicity of levamisole could in part be accounted for by changes in the dose regimen over the four years of study. The length of the treatment-free interval between drugs did not influence subsequent development of toxicity. These results suggest that an adverse reaction to one of the three second-line drugs studied should not prejudice the selection of another.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Patient compliance: a novel method of testing non-steroidal antiinflammatory analgesics in rheumatoid arthritis.

Patient compliance has been used as a measure of efficacy of non-steroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAID) in the treatment of patients with rheumatoid arthritis. A series of studies on various cohorts of patients using different drugs and different prescribing methods has been conducted. The studies have confirmed the absence of long-term placebo response. Indomethacin emerges as the most effective drug regardless of the mode of prescription, but it is clear from the results that the level of compliance varies with the mode of prescription.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Hypothesis: that rheumatoid arthritis will disappear.

The first unequivocally clear description of rheumatoid arthritis occurred in 1800. It is possible, however, that the disease existed in earlier times and that Emperor Constantine IX Monomachus (circa 980-1055) was a sufferer. The disease is common today in all races throughout the world. The features of rheumatoid arthritis are consistent with its being an infection, perhaps a slow-virus infection. On the basis of behaviour of other bacterial and viral infections, it is possible that we may now expect the current pandemic to disappear. Perhaps by the end of the next century it will be mild and rare or even non-existent.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Levamisole - a possible alternative to gold and penicillamine in the longterm treatment of rheumatoid arthritis?

One hundred and twenty-three patients with rheumatoid arthritis were studied to compare different dose regimens of levamisole with gold and penicillamine. In the first study, in 75 patients, 450 mg of levamisole weekly was found to be as effective as gold or penicillamine, but considerably more toxic. In the second study, in 48 patients, 150 mg of levamisole weekly was found to be less toxic than 450 mg, but when compared with gold, no significant benefit could be demonstrated after 6 months of therapy.

Adult↗