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Biomedical subjects

R Rothenberg

Publications and source records attributed to R Rothenberg.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Prepubertal infections with Neisseria gonorrhoeae: clinical and epidemiologic significance.

The family constellations and epidemiologic circumstances of three prepubertal girls with vulvovaginitis due to Neisseria gonorrhoeae are reported. In each instance, an infected asymptomatic man, himself a contact to a woman with pelvic inflammatory disease, could be implicated as the potential source of infection. In one instance, asymptomatic infection in a child was uncovered through epidemiologic investigation. Prepubertal gonococcal vaginitis is important not only as a potential indicator of child abuse, but also as a possible link to important transmitters of gonococcal infection. The need for meticulous epidemiologic investigation of these cases is stressed.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Gonorrhea in street prostitutes: epidemiologic and legal implications.

Sociodemographic characteristics of a group of street prostitutes in Colorado Springs, Colorado, were determined through retrospective chart review and compared with those of a group of nonprostitute women seen at a venereal disease clinic. Initially, the risk that prostitutes would contract gonorrhea was substantially higher than the risk for other women (31% vs. 21%) but the risks for both groups decreased over the two-year period during which control measures were applied. These measures included use of legal orders, based on the constitutional requirement of "least restrictive alternative." Prostitutes in this setting may well constitute a "core group" of transmitters.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The clinical diagnosis of urethral discharge.

When a standard method for grading urethral discharge that is based on quantity (profuse, moderate, or scant) and quality (purulent, cloudy, or clear) is used, the optimal performance of the clinical diagnosis of gonorrhea is 73%. This performance (true positives over true plus false positives) is dependent not only on the sensitivity, specificity, and prevalence of gonorrhea but also on the components of that prevalence, i.e., the specific mix of patients who attend a clinical service. Optimal performance, as determined through use of a relative operating characteristics curve, will vary from setting to setting depending upon certain patient variables, such as race and sexual preference. Clinics with full diagnostic service would not employ clinical diagnosis as a screening tool directly, but rather as an epidemiologic device for helping to characterize patient populations at risk. Areas with less developed clinic facilities might apply these observations for clinical decision making in the absence of laboratory support.

Black or African American↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Epidemiologic aspects of control of penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae.

Although first identified in 1976, penicillinase-producing Neisseria gonorrhoeae (PPNG) began to have significant epidemiologic impact in the United States only after 1980. The epidemic curve has been marked by a series of successive sigmoidal increases, the result of staggered epidemic activity in Los Angeles, California, New York, New York, and Miami. The most recent increase and current plateau has led to a provisional total of 16,608 cases for 1986, with the proportion of PPNG isolates as high as 30% in some communities. The intensity of PPNG transmission appears to parallel that of gonorrhea in general, with high attack rates in central city areas (i.e., among core groups) and with a dimmishing gradient outward from the center. The endemicity of PPNG is related in a general way to the size of the inoculum. A county experiencing seven cases in a month at the time of introduction, for example, has less than a 50% probability of reverting to zero cases during the next 12 months. It would appear that the inoculation of PPNG organisms into a community leads to a "take" when high-level transmitters of gonorrhea are affected. Though current projections suggest as many as 35,000-40,000 cases of PPNG infections by 1991, control programs that focus resources on core-group transmitters of gonorrhea may alter that course.

Disease Outbreaks↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The relevance of social network concepts to sexually transmitted disease control.

Many of the concepts of social network analysis have been tacit assumptions of sexually transmitted disease control efforts for decades. With the advent of AIDS in the 1980s, an overt rapprochement between these two fields--previously separated by culture, context, and language--was made. Social network constructs have immediate appeal to disease control workers, who view many diseases as following the conduits of social interactions. STDs and HIV, in turn, provide network analysts and those who model disease transmission with substantial sets of empirical data that test and illuminate theory. Disease control efforts can be enhanced by incorporating network concepts overtly into current practices. Such concepts offer a path to better delineation of groups at risk, to a better understanding of the interaction of personal risk taking and the social context, and to evaluation of control mechanisms.

Female↗
PubMedDate not supplied

The health of young children in American cities.

Societal problems, including drug use, poverty, and violence, are the basis of many severe health problems of urban children. This article addresses the health problems and care needs of young children in American cities and summarizes the nursing knowledge and skills needed for urban nursing practice.

Child↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Role of spirituality in patients with sickle cell disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with sickle cell disease cope with their disease in various ways, such as psychological counseling, hypnosis, medication, and prayer. Spirituality is a coping mechanism in a variety of diseases. This study evaluates the role of spirituality in patients coping with the pain of sickle cell disease. METHODS: Seventy-one patients from the Georgia Sickle Cell Clinic completed a questionnaire addressing their ability to cope with the pain of sickle cell disease and their degree of spirituality. A descriptive cross-sectional design was used. Correlation and multiple regression analyses were calculated for the relation between coping with the pain of sickle cell disease and spirituality. RESULTS: The questionnaire provided several scales with high internal consistency for measuring spiritual well-being and its two components, existential well-being and religious well-being, that show a correlation between high levels of spirituality and life control. The study population exhibited high levels of spirituality and religiosity, but the influence of these feelings on coping with sickle cell disease was variable. Spiritual well-being was correlated with life-control but not with perceived pain severity. CONCLUSIONS: Existential well-being was associated with general coping ability. Spiritual well-being is important for some patients who must cope with the pain of sickle cell disease.

Adaptation, Psychological↗