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Biomedical subjects

R Stout

Publications and source records attributed to R Stout.

70 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Validation of a problem-focused nomenclature.

To test the value of a problem-focused nomenclature, problems were compared with DSM-II diagnoses as predictors of treatment and outcome. Patient problems, diagnoses, and treatment plans were coded from the medical records of 779 psychiatric inpatients. Problems were found to predict treatment plans better than did diagnoses. The combination of problems and diagnoses, however, was the best predictor of treatment with psychotropic medications. Problems of over 300 patients were compared with diagnoses as predictors of patient outcomes in overall functioning, subjective well-being, family functioning and mental status. At two months, problems and diagnoses predicted outcome equally well while the two in combination afforded the best prediction. At one year, however, the variance in outcomes explained by diagnosis was one third less than that explained by problems.

Hospitalization↗

Falsely high serum creatinine concentration associated with severe methanol intoxication.

A case of severe methanol intoxication (1300 mg/L) was associated with markedly increased serum creatinine (490 mg/L) despite normal urea values and the absence of any other signs of renal disease. These values declined progressively to normal, and the patient recovered with no visual impairment. Additional laboratory experimentation suggested that the high creatinine value was probably ascribable to some unknown foreign material(s) in the patient's blood that reacted with the alkaline picrate used in the measurement of creatinine. One of the presumed metabolites of methanol, formaldehyde, reacts with creatinine but the product does not react with picrate. We believe that the foreign material was derived from either commercial preparations of methanol or contaminants in the patient's drinking water.

Alcoholic Intoxication↗

The paradoxical underutilization of partial hospitalization.

Partial hospitalization continues to be underutilized even though its clinical effectiveness for a variety of psychiatric patients has been demonstrated. The authors investigated the potential economic advantage of partial hospitalization by comparing matched groups of day hospital patients and inpatients who had comparable symptoms and prognoses on admission. They present one-year follow-up data documenting the comparability of the study groups on clinical outcome measures and the cost advantages favorable the partial hospitalization group. They discuss possible causes of the paradoxical underutilization of the clinically effective and lower-cost partial hospitalization, which include institutional factors, patients' clinical characteristics, family resistance, and clinician bias.

Adolescent↗

PTSD substance abuse comorbidity and treatment utilization.

The present study investigates the prevalence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among a sample of treatment-seeking substance abusers and examines the relationship between PTSD comorbidity and rates of inpatient substance abuse treatment. Eighty-four patients (48 male and 36 female) admitted for detoxification at a private hospital were administered self-report measures of lifetime stressor events, PTSD symptomatology, and prior treatment history. Approximately one quarter of the sample was found to present with significant PTSD symptomatology. Women were more likely than men to have been physically and sexually abused, and women reported experiencing a greater number of traumatic events. Consequently, more women than men were classified as having possible PTSD. With respect to inpatient substance abuse treatment admission rates, the PTSD group reported a greater number of hospitalizations than their non-PTSD counterparts. Implications of these findings for routine trauma screening and more effective treatment for substance abusers with concomitant PTSD are highlighted.

Adult↗

Predictors of neuropsychological impairment in alcoholics: antisocial versus nonantisocial subtypes.

The role of demographic, perinatal/developmental, and acquired subject characteristics in determining neuropsychological (NP) performance was investigated in 22 alcoholics with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) and 84 non-ASPD alcoholics. Results of stepwise multiple regression analyses revealed that in ASPD subjects, poor NP performance was predicted by less education, childhood symptoms of Conduct Disorder, drinks per drinking day, and history of head injury, accounting for 80% of the explained variance (p < .0001). In non-ASPD subjects, NP performance was predicted by self-reported history of diagnosed Attention Deficit Disorder, Verbal Learning Disability, and symptoms of Nonverbal Learning Disability, accounting for 24% of the explained variance (p < .0001). These results suggest the presence of potentially different lifelong paths to NP impairment among ASPD and non-ASPD alcoholics. Further exploration of the multivariate predictors of neuropsychological performance in subgroups of alcoholics is warranted.

Adult↗

Inhibition of thromboxane A2 production does not improve post-ischemic brain hypoperfusion in the dog.

In a canine model of global brain ischemia, six dogs received a selective thromboxane A2 synthetase inhibitor, UK 38,485 (dazmagrel) before the ischemic event; six received a saline placebo. Cerebral blood flow (CBF), systolic and diastolic arterial pressure, cardiac output, pH, PaCO2, PaO2, and arterial and jugular-vein thromboxane B2 (a stable metabolite of thromboxane A2) and 6-keto PGF1 alpha (a stable metabolite of prostacyclin) were measured at baseline, after release of aortic and venae caval occlusion and at intervals up to 120 min thereafter. Treated animals showed nearly complete post-ischemic inhibition of thromboxane B2 production; control animals showed increases in jugular venous thromboxane B2. Arterial and jugular venous levels of 6-keto PGF1 alpha were significantly higher in treated animals at most post-ischemic intervals. CBF in both groups was similar to baseline values at time 0, then declined similarly in both groups by 30 min to approximately equal to 35% of baseline values where it remained thereafter. There were no significant differences in other variables at any interval. We conclude that inhibition of thromboxane A2 production does not alter post-ischemic brain hypoperfusion.

Animals↗