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Biomedical subjects

W C Mathews

Publications and source records attributed to W C Mathews.

27 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1992

Primary cutaneous aspergillosis near central venous catheters in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

BACKGROUND: Aspergillosis in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is unusual, and the clinicopathologic features of primary cutaneous aspergillosis in this setting are undefined. Our findings show that the manifestations can differ from those of primary cutaneous aspergillosis in other immunocompromised patients. OBSERVATIONS: Two men with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome developed foci of primary cutaneous aspergillosis beneath adhesive tape near central venous catheter sites. Typical lesions were flesh-colored to pink, umbilicated papules that clinically resembled molluscum contagiosum. Biopsy specimens showed variably ruptured follicles that contained collections of fungal hyphae typical of Aspergillus species. Cultures in one case identified Aspergillus fumigatus. The use of nonocclusive dressings and local wound care resulted in involution of several lesions. CONCLUSIONS: Primary cutaneous aspergillosis begins as saprophytic involvement of hair follicles secondary to the altered microenvironment beneath adhesive tape. Systemic antifungal therapy is prudent, but in the absence of neutropenia or other traditional risk factors for dissemination, it appears that Aspergillus in patients with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome can produce relatively indolent cutaneous lesions with a tendency to resolve once precipitating factors are removed.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1991

A health status questionnaire using 30 items from the Medical Outcomes Study. Preliminary validation in persons with early HIV infection.

Many current health status instruments either are too long to use in many acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) clinical trials or omit important concepts. In this study, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-relevant items developed for the Medical Outcomes Study (MOS) from subscales for cognitive function, energy/fatigue, health distress, and a single quality of life item were added to a portion of the MOS Short-form General Health Survey. The resulting 30-item questionnaire reliably and distinctly measured ten aspects of health and took less than 5 minutes to complete. To test its validity, this modified measure was used to compare the health of 73 subjects with asymptomatic HIV infection and 44 with early AIDS-related complex (ARC). Compared with ARC subjects, asymptomatic individuals reported superior overall health, less pain, and better physical function, role function, cognitive function, and quality of life (rank-sum, P less than 0.02). Asymptomatic subjects' scores were higher on most subscales than the age-adjusted scores of MOS outpatients with hypertension, diabetes, recent myocardial infarction, or depression; ARC patients scored closest to hypertensive patients. This instrument, containing a subset of the MOS measures of health-related quality of life, may be a useful outcome measure for AIDS clinical trials.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1990

Longitudinal study of cytomegalovirus retinitis in acquired immune deficiency syndrome.

The authors prospectively evaluated 67 consecutive patients with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis during a 33-month period to assess the clinical patterns of retinal infection, efficacy of treatment, long-term survival, and relationship of retinitis to immune function. Immediately sight-threatening retinitis presented in six patients (9%) with peripapillary disease; primary foveal infection was not observed. Eighty-seven percent of patients were treated with ganciclovir. Thirty-nine patients (58%) presented with unilateral disease and contralateral infection developed in 15% of those while on ganciclovir. Smoldering (incompletely responsive) retinitis was seen in 33% of the 21 patients whose retinitis progressed while receiving ganciclovir. Progression of treated retinitis was associated with a lower lymphocyte count (P = 0.04). Median survival after diagnosis of CMV retinitis was 8 months. This represents the largest reported prospective study of CMV retinitis and indicates that (1) CMV infrequently poses an immediate threat to vision on presentation, (2) response to therapy may be related to immune function, and (3) smoldering retinitis should be recognized as an important clinical entity associated with treatment failure.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1990

Quality of life in a placebo-controlled trial of zidovudine in patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex.

We measured quality of life using the Karnofsky Performance Status and Quality of Well-Being scale (QWB) for 31 patients with AIDS and AIDS-related complex in a placebo-controlled trial of zidovudine. Sixteen patients were randomized to zidovudine and 15 to placebo. We recorded nine scores for each patient during 1 year. During the blinded trial, 3 patients receiving placebo died; at 1 year, one had died in the zidovudine group and 10 in the placebo group. Repeated-measures analysis of variance demonstrated that mean scores declined less for the zidovudine group than for the placebo group during the blinded trial (p less than 0.03) and during 1 year (p less than 0.002). However, because the QWB incorporates death into its score, these results largely reflected differences in mortality. When data from those who died were excluded, Karnofsky scores were higher for the zidovudine group at the end of the blinded trial (p less than 0.02), but at 1 year no significant differences were observed between groups. The QWB and other quality-of-life measures may contribute to more comprehensive evaluation of AIDS treatments, and may detect treatment effects earlier. Whether existing measures can detect real differences among survivors will require testing in patients with less advanced disease.

AIDS-Related Complex↗
PubMed1989

Evaluating institutional performance in AIDS-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia: a risk adjustment approach.

Mortality during hospital care of AIDS-associated Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia (PCP) varies as much as 3-fold among reporting institutions. Prognostic factors for death during an episode of PCP have been identified that may be useful risk adjustors for quality-of-care studies. We illustrate a risk adjustment approach to evaluating institutional performance for PCP using a pilot data set from two Southern California hospitals differing widely in crude PCP death rates (61 vs 27%). Using admission AaDO2, hemoglobin and age in a logistic prediction model for hospital death, we found that outcomes in 90% of cases could be accurately classified. Nearly all of the "excess" mortality of the poor outcome hospital could be explained by greater pulmonary severity on admission. We discuss four conceptual issues in design of AIDS quality-of-care studies: confounding by therapeutic intention, defining relevant treatment components, determining the range of co-morbidity, and truncation of the episode of care.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

The Quality of Well-being Scale. Applications in AIDS, cystic fibrosis, and arthritis.

The Quality of Well-being (QWB) Scale combines preference-weighted measures of symptoms and functioning to provide a numerical point in-time expression of well-being that ranges from zero (0) for death to 1.0 for asymptomatic optimum functioning. The QWB includes three scales of function: mobility, physical activity, and social activity. Each step of these scales is associated with preference weights. Preference adjustments for symptoms are also included. This paper describes how this general system was used to evaluate outcomes in three different clinical conditions: acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), cystic fibrosis, and arthritis. In one study, the QWB was administered to 31 patients participating in evaluation of azidothymidine (AZT) treatment for AIDS. The QWB system demonstrated substantial benefits of AZT treatment in comparison to placebo. In a second study, the QWB and a series of pulmonary function measures were administered to 44 patients with cystic fibrosis. The QWB was demonstrated to be significantly correlated with measures of pulmonary function, including FEV1 and maximal midexpiratory flow rate (MMEFR). In addition, there were significant associations between the QWB and measures of exercise tolerance. In the third study, the QWB and an arthritis-specific measure were administered to 83 arthritis patients before and after their treatment. The QWB was at least as capable of detecting clinical change in this population as was the disease-specific measure. For all three conditions, the QWB considered side effects and benefits of treatment in a common unit. Clinical trial data are cited to suggest that the QWB is a valuable outcome measure in arthritis treatment evaluation. We conclude that the QWB has substantial validity as a general health outcome measure and that the system can be used with different populations.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Recent sexual behaviors among homosexual men seeking primary medical care.

We studied the sociodemographic characteristics, knowledge, and beliefs about acquired immunodeficiency syndrome transmission and sexual practices of 823 gay or bisexual men seeking primary care. During the previous 2 months, 64% had engaged in at least one sexual behavior considered unsafe. These patients compared with those having safer sex, were younger, of lower socioeconomic status, and from a racial minority, especially Latino. The unsafe group also had more sexual partners, engaged in sexual acts more often, felt less in control over their sexual behavior, used recreational drugs more frequently, and were less likely to talk about safe sex with partners. The unsafe group had less adequate knowledge about human immunodeficiency virus transmission but felt safer from the risk of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome even when engaging in unsafe sex. Educational programs dealing more directly with belief systems and the potential addiction to recreational drugs and sexual behaviors need to be developed for primary care settings.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

AIDS prevention in primary care clinics: testing the market.

To assess attitudes toward educational programs about AIDS, 540 patients and 36 of their medical providers in primary care clinics were systematically sampled to ascertain what age groups should be exposed to a pamphlet entitled "Am I at Risk for AIDS?", as well as what was acceptable content for posters and pamphlets placed in clinic waiting rooms. Although fewer than 10% of patients and providers opposed asking both teenagers and adults to read a pamphlet listing risk groups and practices, 24% of patients and 51% of providers opposed exposing children to the pamphlets. Only 6% of patients and none of the providers opposed all posters about AIDS, but 30% of patients and 44% of providers opposed posters listing risk groups, and opposition was even greater to posters describing "safe sex." Regarding pamphlets acceptable for clinic waiting rooms, resistance among patients and providers was common (greater than 25%) only when sexual practices were specifically mentioned. Although 89% of patients stated they had never been asked about their sexual orientations by a doctor or nurse, 34% of providers stated that they "always" or "often" so inquire. In the primary care clinics surveyed, a wide variety of educational interventions about AIDS could be implemented with little opposition.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗