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Biomedical subjects

S Packer

Publications and source records attributed to S Packer.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Radioactive waste discharge quantities for patients undergoing radioactive iodine therapy for thyroid carcinoma.

There is a need to provide realistic estimates of the activity discharged to the drains by patients undergoing procedures involving unsealed radionuclides. These estimates are essential for record keeping purposes, to demonstrate compliance with limits set in waste disposal authorizations and for planning new installations. In this study, we report the discharge of activity for 174 patients (202 treatments) undergoing treatment of thyroid carcinoma with radioactive iodine. We have found that approximately 55% of administered activity is excreted in the first 24 h and that 85% of administered activity is discharged to the sewer over a typical inpatient stay of 5 days. There was no significant difference in levels of discharge between those patients undergoing inaugural ablation therapy and those having further treatments with radioactive iodine.

Iodine Radioisotopes↗
PubMed2001

Direct-to-consumer drug marketing: public service or disservice?

Pharmaceutical industry spending on direct-to-consumer advertising has been increasing rapidly. While the primary goal of direct-to-consumer advertising is to sell drugs, supposed secondary goals include patient education and improved health. However, these benefits of direct-to-consumer advertising are unproved. Moreover, such advertising may create unnecessary tension between the patient and the patient's physician and insurer, and may divert physicians' efforts away from important patient concerns, and toward marketing-generated discussions. On the other hand, direct-to-consumer advertising may lead to patient-doctor encounters that would not have occurred otherwise. Direct-to-consumer advertising should be modified to unambiguously benefit the health-care interests of consumers and patients.

Advertising↗
PubMed1999

Prevalence and persistence of amoxycillin-resistant bacteria in the dental plaques of adults.

The prevalence and persistence of amoxycillin-resistant organisms (ARO) in the dental plaque of adults was determined. Plaque samples from ten adults, who had not taken antibiotics during the previous 6 months, were screened for ARO on three occasions at intervals of 3 months. The ARO were tested for their susceptibility to amoxycillin and to amoxycillin plus clavulanic acid as well as their ability to produce beta-lactamases. The ARO were found in all subjects on at least one sampling occasion and in 87% of the 30 samples examined. Of the 36 ARO isolated, 33% were yeasts, 19% were staphylococci, 19% Actinomycetes spp. and 14% lactobacilli, whilst seventeen of the isolates produced a beta-lactamase and seven of these were sensitive to coamoxiclav. The proportion of ARO in an individual fluctuated widely over the study period. It is suggested that the ARO are frequently, though transiently, present in low numbers in the plaque of individuals who have not recently received antibiotics.

Actinomyces↗
PubMed1998

Jewish mystical movements and the European ergot epidemics.

Chronic intake of ergot, a chemical present in bread blighted by ergot-producing fungi, results in a wide variety of neuropsychiatric and vascular symptoms. The symptomatology and epidemiology of outbreaks of ergot poisoning are traced, and are shown to coincide with the emergence of Jewish mystical movements, such as the early Pietist movement in Germany, Sabbateanism and Chasidism, thus suggesting that environmental ergotism contributed to these mystical movements. The interaction between ergotism and other nutritional, neuropsychiatric, social, psychological and historical influences is considered.

Disease Outbreaks↗
PubMed1997

Breast cancer surgery in New Zealand: consensus or variation?

AIMS: To explore how patients with early breast cancer are managed surgically in New Zealand. METHODS: A questionnaire was mailed to 195 surgeons registered as general surgeons. RESULTS: Replies were received from 112 of the 186 currently working surgeons (60%), of whom 76 indicated that they treated patients with breast disease. Six per cent indicated that they treated > 50 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients in 1994. A minority, 29%, had formal protocols documented for the surgical management of breast cancer patients in their unit. One-third would make the decision about treatment themselves, two-thirds would involve other specialties. Almost all would offer the patient a choice of treatment when this was appropriate. Only 9% would recommend mastectomy for a T1/2NO tumour located in the upper outer breast quadrant. There were no significant differences between surgeons when divided by regional health authority, type of hospital and numbers of patients treated annually. CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be agreement amongst surgeons regarding the preferred form of surgical treatment of patients with stage I or II disease. The results indicate that the surgical treatment of early stage disease is consistent with published guidelines.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Psychopathology and quality of life in schizophrenia.

This study was conducted to evaluate the relationship between psychopathology and quality of life in individuals with schizophrenia. The findings indicate that psychopathology, as determined by total Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score, correlates negatively with global life satisfaction and subjective quality of life subscales, but not with objective ones. When positive and negative symptom clusters were examined, negative symptoms appeared to have a greater impact on subjective measures of quality of life.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Psychiatric residents' attitudes toward patients with chronic mental illness.

OBJECTIVE: The study examined psychiatric residents' attitudes toward, knowledge about, and training in the care of patients with chronic mental illness. METHODS: The authors constructed a 41-item Residents' Attitude Toward the Chronically Mentally Ill Scale to obtain a systematic assessment of attitudes. The scale's validity was enhanced by input from 12 psychiatrists who were knowledgeable about work with and attitudes toward such patients, and a test showed the scale to have high reliability. The scale was administered to 85 psychiatric residents, along with questionnaires focused on training and knowledge and the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale assessing defensiveness and self-deception. RESULTS: No correlation was found between residents' attitudes and years of residency training or between attitudes and knowledge about patients with chronic mental illness. Residents reported many negative attitudes toward this patient population. However, significant positive correlations were found between the residents' attitudes and their training in settings where patients were considered to receive high-quality care and supervisors were good role models. CONCLUSIONS: Constructive training experiences during residency can have a positive influence on residents' attitudes toward patients with chronic mental illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Analysis of the syndrome of unilateral neglect.

Using a variety of clinical measures of unilateral neglect 40 right hemisphere lesioned stroke subjects were compared in terms of neuropsychological deficit. The results of the study encourage the view that unilateral neglect is a complex syndrome and subjects who indicate the disorder may vary in systematic dimensions. There are at least two factors contributing to the neglect syndrome--a scanning factor of external stimuli and a disrupted internal representation of space factor. Both the obtained factors were correlated with functional independence at 6 months post-stroke in a further group of 27 right hemisphere lesioned stroke patients. It is probable that most commonly these factors co-exist and form the classical neglect syndrome but theoretically they may occur separately and this leads to implications for management.

Attention↗