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Short-term memory and verbal learning with auditory phonological coding defect: a neuropsychological case study.

A patient is described with a rarely reported linguistic syndrome: he could repeat words but not nonwords. The patient produced semantic paraphasias in repetition and could read both words and nonwords flawlessly. His basic difficulties were localized in auditory phonological coding, identifying a clinical picture called "phonemic deafness." Short-term memory and verbal learning results suggested that a standard, selective short-term memory defect can be induced by auditory phonological coding deficits as well as by "pure" short-term memory capacity limitation and other phonological deficits. Findings also provided evidence that lexical-semantic code can allow normal verbal learning.

Adult

Morbidity coding in general practice.

If research is to be of any use the phenomena being studied must be clearly defined. Almost 30 years ago the difficulty of classifying primary care problems using the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-8) was demonstrated. This led to the development of the International Classification of Health Problems in Primary Care-2-Defined which is based on ICD-9. Despite the work that has gone into the development of ICHPPC-2-Defined, relatively little work has been undertaken to assess the validity and reliability of its use. This paper describes the results of such a study conducted as a preliminary to the use of ICHPPC-2-Defined in a study of consulting patterns in general practice. The participating general practitioners were trained in the use of ICHPPC-2-Defined and then coded problems which they identified in a set of clinical vignettes. Following the coding exercise, a review session was held in which difficulties and errors in the use of ICHPPC-2-Defined were discussed. Subsequently, the general practitioners were required to code two more sets of vignettes, which included some problems repeated from the preceding sets. Comparisons were then made of changes in the validity and reliability of coding from one round to the next. The results of the study suggest that the reliability and validity of morbidity data collected using ICHPPC-2-Defined can be increased by training sessions for the coders which focus on the main sources of error in the use of ICHPPC-2-Defined.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Australia

Accuracy in clinically evaluating pigmented lesions.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the ability of three doctors experienced in managing melanocytic lesions to diagnose correctly melanoma, dysplastic naevi, and various benign pigmented lesions. DESIGN: Independent clinical evaluation and histopathological assessment. SETTING: Pigmented lesion clinic, which patients attend without an appointment for early diagnosis of melanoma. PATIENTS: 86 Patients with lesions that were judged to be benign by at least one of the three doctors. INTERVENTIONS: The lesions were excised under local anaesthesia and sent for histopathological examination in coded bottles without clinical details. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Comparison of clinical with histopathological diagnosis for each lesion. RESULTS: A total of 120 lesions were evaluated by at least two of the three doctors. The histopathological diagnoses were made by the same pathologist. The overall sensitivity (diagnostic accuracy) for the three doctors for all types of lesion was 50%. Of the 39 dysplastic naevi, only 19 were identified correctly by all observers, and a further 24 banal lesions were wrongly diagnosed as dysplastic by at least one doctor. Particular difficulty was experienced with small (less than 5 mm), flat lesions, which can be banal or potentially malignant. CONCLUSIONS: Critical diagnosis and management decisions concerning pigmented lesions should always be based on a combination of clinical and histopathological assessments and the history of the patient.

Diagnosis, Differential

Physician practices in the management of venous thromboembolism: a community-wide survey.

Although there is a broad consensus on the optimum approach to the management of venous thromboembolism, there are few data from which to assess the extent of compliance with these recommendations. A community-wide study was therefore conducted in 16 short-stay hospitals in central Massachusetts to assess the clinical management of venous thromboembolism. Based on validated discharge diagnostic codes, there were 1231 clinically recognized cases of venous thromboembolism, 0.8% of 148,730 discharges in the 18-month period from July 1, 1988, to December 31, 1989. Eighty-one percent of study patients were admitted with signs or symptoms of acute venous thromboembolism. Ninety-seven percent of patients were treated with either heparin, warfarin, or inferior vena caval filter. Intravenous heparin was given to 89% of patients (mean bolus 6674 IU; mean duration 6.6 days). After heparin administration, there was a mean delay of 2.3 days in starting warfarin. Assuming a corresponding decrease in the length of hospital stay, appreciable cost savings could have been realized by earlier start of oral anticoagulation. An inferior vena cava filter was placed in 14% of patients. There was a clinically recognized in-hospital recurrence of venous thromboembolism during treatment in 2% of patients. Despite a slightly lower rate of compliance with recommended treatment regimens in nonteaching hospitals, and despite less frequent use of the inferior vena cava filter, there was no significant difference in the rate of in-hospital recurrence of clinically recognized venous thromboembolism in 10 nonteaching hospitals compared with six teaching hospitals.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Aged

Use of bar code labels on collection tubes for specimen management in the clinical laboratory.

A new generation in specimen handling has arrived with the introduction of bar code readers on medical laboratory equipment. The incorporation of this technology into laboratory information systems offers a streamlining of specimen workflow never before achievable in a laboratory environment. The use of evacuated collection tubes as the primary sampling container on a random-access chemistry analyzer interfaced to a laboratory information system creates a very simplified sampling/analysis system with tremendous advantages. There are significant labor savings, superior service to clinicians, and reduced chances for clerical error.

Computers

Recombinant fusion protein identified by lepromatous sera mimics native Mycobacterium leprae in T-cell responses across the leprosy spectrum.

Pooled polyvalent sera from lepromatous leprosy patients were used to screen a lambda gt11 recombinant DNA expression library of Mycobacterium leprae in order to identify the relevant antigens recognized by the human immune response. Of the 300,000 phages screened, 4 clones were identified that coded for fusion proteins of the same molecular mass. The fusion protein from clone LSR2 was tested for immunoreactivity in assays using peripheral blood cells and sera from 11 laboratory personnel and 105 patients across the leprosy spectrum. LSR2 protein appears to be predominantly a T-cell antigen. It evokes similar lymphoproliferative responses as the native bacillus both at the individual level and in the leprosy spectrum as a whole. Though only 50% of patient sera with anti-M. leprae antibodies reacted with the fusion protein, the pattern of reactivity in the antibody responses was also similar for the various clinical types. The coding regions of clones LSR1 and LSR2 are identical. They show no homology with sequences stored in data banks and encode a protein of 89 amino acids with a calculated molecular mass of approximately 10 kDa.

Amino Acid Sequence

Immunoreactivity of tissue plasminogen activator and of its inhibitor complexes. Biochemical and multicenter validation of a two site immunosorbent assay.

An enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) based on goat polyclonal antibodies against human tissue plasminogen activator (tPA) was evaluated. The relative immunoreactivity of tPA in free form and tPA in complex with inhibitors was estimated by ELISA and found to be 100, 74, 94, 92 and 81% for free tPA and tPA in complex with PAI-1, PAI-2, alpha 2-antiplasmin and C1-inhibitor, respectively. Addition of tPA to PAI-1 rich plasma resulted in rapid and total loss of tPA activity without detectable loss of ELISA response, indicating an immunoreactivity of tPA in tPA/PAI-1 complex of about 100%. Three different treatments of citrated plasma samples (acidification/reneutralization, addition of 5 mM EDTA or of 0.5 M lysine) prior to determination by ELISA all resulted in increased tPA levels. The fact that the increase was equally large in all three cases along with good analytical recovery of tPA added to plasma, supported the notion that all tPA antigen present in plasma samples is measured by the ELISA. Analysis by ELISA of fractions obtained by gel filtration of plasma from a patient undergoing tPA treatment identified tPA/inhibitor complexes and free tPA but no low molecular weight degradation products of tPA. Determinations of tPA antigen were made at seven French clinical laboratories on coded and randomized plasma samples with known tPA antigen content. For undiluted samples there was no significant difference between the tPA levels found and those known to be present. The between-assay coefficient of variation was 7 to 10%. In conclusion, the ELISA appeared suited for determination of total tPA antigen in human plasma samples.

Antigen-Antibody Reactions

[Imaging of penile vascular anastomoses using color-coded Doppler ultrasound: comparison with CW Doppler ultrasound and clinical aspects].

In fourteen patients undergoing surgical revascularization (11 with Hauri's, three with Virag's anastomosis) because of erectile dysfunction, the patency of vascular anastomosis was evaluated and visualized by color-coded-Doppler sonography (CCDS). Results were compared with continuous-wave Doppler (CWD) and clinical data. CCDS proved to be superior to CWD with regard to assessment of flow in the penile vessels and to applicability. Strength and direction of flow can be judged visually. Therefore, the nature of the imaged vessel (artery or vein, deep or dorsal artery) can be differentiated. There is a good correlation of CCDS and CWD in their evaluation of the patency of the anastomosis. CCDS showed higher accuracy in detecting deep cavernosal arteries.

Adult

Pneumococcal vaccine. Efficacy and associated cost savings.

We evaluated the efficacy and cost savings of the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine in a retrospective cohort study of 762 vaccinated and 1161 randomly selected unvaccinated age-sex matched persons in Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Minnesota using medical and pharmaceutical claims. The pneumonia incidence and the ratio of incidence in the postvaccination to prevaccination periods (rate ratio) were examined in the vaccine group by sex and risk factors. Vaccination significantly reduced pneumonia incidence, with overall efficacy of 69% and higher efficacy in women (86%) than in men (33%). We assigned persons to risk categories based on disease conditions as recorded in the claims by the ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification) diagnostic codes. In the risk categories, efficacy varied from 50% to 75% and was confounded by sex. Immunocompromised and immunocompetent women had high efficacy (83% to 88%), while immunocompetent and immunocompromised men had lower efficacy (33%). Persons with a precondition of pneumonia exhibited similar vaccine efficacy to the overall cohort relative to the comparison group. Projected costs of pneumonia cases are 3.6 times the observed costs of vaccination and postvaccination pneumonia costs. We conclude that the pneumococcal pneumonia vaccine is efficacious in persons having had pneumonia, persons "at risk" of developing pneumonia, or persons over 50 years of age, and it corresponds to overall savings of $141 per person.

Aged

Nonverbal behavior and client state changes during psychotherapy.

In an intensive videotape analysis of 10 psychotherapy sessions, the body positions and gesticulation patterns of the client were examined in relation to changes in her verbal behavior. Verbal ratings were obtained on the Experiencing Scale (Klein, Mathieu, Gendlin, & Kiesler, 1970), and nonverbal ratings were obtained on the Davis Nonverbal States Scales (Davis, 1986). Results revealed that the position "accessibility" ratings were related significantly to levels of self-disclosure and involvement as determined by the verbal ratings. The client's gesticulation ratings were not related significantly to the Experiencing Scale ratings, but clinically interesting relationships between gesticulation patterns and verbal content were noted. While body movement long has been recognized as an important source of clinical information, replicable coding of complex patterns of position and gesture has been very difficult to develop. This study presents data that support a promising, replicable method for coding nonverbal behavior in psychotherapy process research.

Adult

Evaluation of a monoclonal antibody typing system for herpes simplex virus.

This study compared conventional viral isolation (VI) in cell cultures with a commercial product--Virgo antigen detection system--for the identification and typing of herpes simplex virus (HSV). The system is designed to identify and type HSV from direct lesion smears (DS) and from cell culture smears (CS) infected with a swab from the patient's lesion by means of an indirect fluorescence assay (IFA) using HSV type-common and HSV-2 type-specific monoclonal antibodies. A total of 71 coded specimens manifesting clinical characteristics consistent with HSV were included in this evaluation from which DS, CS, and VI were performed. Specimens were taken from a variety of intraoral and extraoral sites, from both recurrent and primary lesions, and at various stages of lesion progression. The results showed that HSV was not detected in 22 of the 71 specimens by either DS, CS, or VI. Forty-nine specimens were positive by both CS and VI; 47 of these were typed as HSV-1 and 2 were typed as HSV-2. Thirty-eight of the 49 positive CS and VI specimens also were positive by DS. The remaining 11 DS slides did not have sufficient cells for analysis. It was concluded that the success of a valid DS test depended on the stage of the lesion and the sampling technique. The sensitivity and specificity of CS and DS were 100% and 82%, respectively, for detection of virus when compared with VI. When done properly with an adequate number of cells from the lesion, the DS proved to be an accurate and rapid (2 hours) procedure.

Adolescent

Composite resident work week.

During a 4-week period, all residents in the Wright State University School of Medicine Department of Surgery residency program were required to keep a log of their daily activities. Times were collected for the following resident activities: patient rounds, work-ups, laboratory data review, consults, meetings with attending physicians or patient families, phone calls, teaching conferences, medical student teaching, library time, clinics, attendance at codes, emergency department visits, on-call time, medical records committee meetings, and time scrubbed. The composite average weekly hours by resident year were 83.4 hours [postgraduate year (PGY)-1], 78.4 hours (PGY-2), 60.2 hours (PGY-3), 79.6 hours (PGY-4), and 80.9 hours (PGY-5). More than 50% of the resident work week cards were for less than 80 hours. Three activities (patient rounds, time scrubbed, and on-call) accounted for the majority of the residents' hours, but the average week, deleting educational and administrative hours, was less than 80 hours for all residents.

General Surgery

The difficult adolescents who are referred to a psychiatric unit--I. Classification.

The first 206 cases referred to an adolescent psychiatry unit were coded on a clinical inventory. This inventory proved to have acceptable inter-rater and test retest reliability, as well as quite a high degree of validity. Cluster analysis using Yule's similarity coefficient produced a series of near neighbours which, when combined with relevant history details produced four diagnostic groupings which seem to have clinical relevance to referrals to an adolescent psychiatric clinic. The importance of correct diagnosis in this age group is emphasized because of the part it plays in the search for more effective treatments of adolescent disorders.

Adolescent

[Arteriovenous fistula of the blood vessels of the neck--a rare differential diagnosis of venous hum in childhood].

In a case report it is shown that in rare circumstances there might be an extracardial organic cause for heart murmurs sounding accidentally. In a child with the finding of a venous hum an arterio-venous fistula between the right common carotid artery and the right internal jugular vein could be demonstrated by colour-coded echocardiography. The clinical relevance of this finding is discussed.

Arteriovenous Malformations

[The automated diagnosis of different forms of ischemic heart disease in the practice of a telecardiology diagnostic center].

The data of the authors' work based on the experience gained with 36,500 telecardiological consultations provided within the framework of the counselling center point to the importance of taking into consideration, in addition to the ECG readings, of the clinical data on the patient to formulate the final diagnosis. In order to obtain formalized clinical information, a coding chart including 19 signs with regard to the gradation in the monotonously increasing extent of derangements has been elaborated. The mathematic maintenance of the work using algorithms of image recognition made it possible to derive a linear formula for computing the magnitude of the total diagnostic index. According to its magnitude the patient's pathology can be attributed to one of the three classes: 0--no coronary heart disease. I--steady angina pectoris, II--acute coronary heart disease. Judging from the examination sequence the percentage of errors does not exceed 8.3% with a tendency towards overdiagnosis of coronary heart disease.

Adult

Therapeutic risk-assessment model for identifying patients with adverse drug reactions.

The association between factors that place patients at risk for adverse drug reactions (ADRs) and the occurrence of ADRs was examined, and a therapeutic risk-assessment model was developed. Theoretical risk factors for ADRs to digoxin and theophylline were identified through the literature by researchers at a private tertiary-care hospital. Data were then collected from two groups of 67 patient charts each during a 15-month period. One group of charts represented patients who had experienced an ADR to digoxin or theophylline. The other group represented matched control patients who had not experienced an ADR to either drug. ICD-9-CM (International Classification of Diseases, 9th Revision, Clinical Modifications) ADR codes were assigned by medical records department personnel, and the ADRs were verified by using the Naranjo algorithm. Seven risk factors for each drug were found to be significantly associated with ADRs. A serum digoxin concentration greater than 2.5 ng/mL and elevated blood urea nitrogen were the two best predictors of an ADR to digoxin. The probability of experiencing an ADR to digoxin was 94.1% for a patient with both of these risk factors. A serum theophylline concentration greater than 25 micrograms/mL was the greatest predictor of an ADR to theophylline; the probability of experiencing an ADR to theophylline was 85.2% if a patient had that risk factor. The sensitivity and specificity of the therapeutic risk-assessment model were 92.9% and 61.8%, respectively, for digoxin and 95.8% and 84.0%, respectively, for theophylline. Several laboratory-based screening criteria demonstrated an ability to predict ADRs to digoxin and theophylline.

Digoxin