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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Psychotropic medication efficacy graphs: an application of applied behavior analysis.

Boswell Center Psychotropic Medication Efficacy Graphs were developed to monitor the longitudinal effects of psychotropic medication on individuals with mental retardation. Levels of maladaptive and prosocial behaviors, medication side-effects, and psychotropic medication were considered simultaneously via the graphing system. The system provides data-based feedback to prescribing physicians and reduces reliance on anecdotal recollections.

Data Collection

Observations on the medical efficacy of computed tomography of the chest and abdomen.

In a retrospective study of 687 computed tomographic (CT) examinations of the chest and abdomen performed over a 1 year period, 16% of the examinations produced information not otherwise available which altered patient diagnosis, prognosis, or therapy. Sixteen thoracotomies and 18 laparotomies were avoided as a result of information available only from CT examinations. CT was of particular value in the evaluation of mediastinal masses, in the assessment of suspected or proven lung cancer, and in the evaluation of pleural and extrapleural masses. It was of notable clinical value in evaluating patients with intraabdominal abscesses, pancreatic disease, staging of malignancies for radiation therapy and surgery, and excluding the presence of suspected masses.

Abdomen

Efficacy of medical treatment of schistosomal obstructive uropathy as determined by 131I-Hippuran renography.

Ten male patients with obstructive uropathy secondary to Schistosoma haematobium and with associated bacteriuria were evaluated with serial urograms, renograms and renal function tests (endogenous creatinine clearance, maximal urinary concentration and total hydrogen ion excretion) before and after medical treatment. The mean duration of follow-up was 4.2 months. Significant improvement was observed in the renograms and the renal function tests while the degree of obstructive uropathy as determined by urography remained essentially unchanged. Thus the renogram can be a more sensitive test for evaluating the efficacy of treatment in patients with schistosomal obstructive uropathy.

Adolescent

[Pharmacological studies of ketoprofen (19583RP) III. Anti-inflammatory, analgesic and antipyretic actions in subcutaneous administration (author's transl)].

It has been already reported that ketoprofen (KP) has a potent anti-inflammatory action comparable to indomethacin, but with oral administration, gastric mucous membrane disturbances occur. In the present work, we administered the Na salt of KP (KP-Na) subcutaneously and found that the anti-inflammatory action was more potent in subacute and chronic inflammations than in the acute one. As an acidic compound, KP-Na had a relatively potent analgesic-antipyretic action and a medical efficacy comparable to the usual non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs given orally. The efficacy in case of subcutaneous administration was 2 to 3 times stronger over both acute and chronic inflammations than in case of oral administration. On the other hand, the gastric mucous membrane disturbance was decreased to about 1/3 in case of subcutaneous administration, thus the gastric disturbance could be abated and the medical efficacy can be increased when KP-Na is given subcutaneously. As KP-Na was less irritative at the injection site, the compound could be used clinically for a subcutaneous administration.

Animals

[Permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia in children and adolescents. Efficacy of medical treatment].

Between 1969 and 1991, 11 patients were followed up for permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia. The average age at diagnosis was 2 years and 4 months (1 day to 14 years). The tachycardia was diagnosed at routine examination in 5 cases and following an episode of cardiac failure in the other 6. Digitalis was prescribed in all patients with 4 good results, 5 average and 2 poor results. One patient, who remained in mild cardiac failure with digitalis therapy, died suddenly at the age of 9 years. In more recent cases, amiodarone was used from the onset or secondarily with good results in all patients. In 2 patients, in whom amiodarone was withdrawn after 3 months and 3 years' treatment, there was a recurrence of the tachycardia. No side effects of amiodarone therapy were observed in this series. Three patients were prescribed flecainide with 1 good and 2 average results. Propranolol, used in 2 cases, was associated with 1 average and 1 poor result. Disopyramide and Verapamil were ineffective. These results suggest that amiodarone is the drug to choose in permanent junctional reciprocating tachycardia but it must be given long term. The persistence of cardiac failure, poor control of the tachycardia or secondary effects of drug therapy should lead to consideration of non-medical management of the tachycardia.

Adolescent

[Questionnaire method in conducting prophylactic oncological examinations of the population of a rural locality].

The authors describe the method of conducting mass prophylactic oncological examinations by means of questionnaires at the first stage, which was developed at the N. N. Petrov Research Institute of Oncology of the USSR Ministry of Health. Questionnaires were aimed at the recognition of somatic pretumor and tumor lesions of the main localizations and the increase of oncological vigilance of general practitioners. The method has been tested on 11386 inhabitants of rural district of Leningrad and Novgorod Provinces. As a result of mass prophylactic oncological examinations 738 different pathologies were revealed (in 6.6% of all questionnaires), pretumor lesions making 2.05% malignant neoplasms--0.06%. The use of the questionnaire method in conducting prophylactic examinations made it possible: to enhance their medical efficacy, to reduce the number of individuals subject to medical control, to employ instrumental-laboratory tests on more proper grounds, and on the basis of a questionnaire to make a registry of the primary account of persons undergoing prophylactic examinations.

Epidemiologic Methods

[Iridodiagnosis in the system of the follow-up of the health status of the population living in an area contaminated by radioactive substances].

The authors substantiate the practical employment of the iridodiagnosis screening-test using a system of archiving and visualization of the iris at the first stage of prophylactic medical examination and management. The economical and medical efficacy of the method has been established. Use of iridodiagnosis improved the detectability of pathologic conditions as compared with complex medical examination. Many specialists were freed from mass medical screening. The expenses for prophylactic medical examination became ten times less.

Adult

Comparison of intranasal cromolyn sodium, 4%, and oral terfenadine for allergic rhinitis: symptoms, nasal cytology, nasal ciliary clearance, and rhinomanometry.

Topical intranasal cromolyn sodium, 4% solution, and oral terfenadine, 60 mg tablets, both relieve symptoms of allergic rhinitis with few or no adverse effects, but no comparison of their relative efficacy has been reported. In this double-blind, double-dummy study, 79 patients, ages 12-56 years with symptoms of allergic rhinitis, were randomized to receive either active cromolyn sodium, 1 spray in each nostril QID, or active terfenadine BID along with the appropriate placebo spray or tablet for 4 weeks following a 1-week baseline qualification period. Patients' daily symptom scores were reviewed weekly and constituted the primary efficacy measures. Changes in nasal cytology, nasal ciliary clearance, and rhinomanometry were also assessed. The presence of adverse effects and the overall score of medication efficacy at the end of each week was recorded. The cromolyn sodium and terfenadine groups had comparable baseline scores for severity of allergic rhinitis symptoms and both treatments resulted in significant improvement (P less than .0001) with no statistical difference between them for total symptom scores at the end of 4 weeks. Eosinophils in nasal samples were decreased significantly in the cromolyn treated group with no significant change in the terfenadine-treated group. There were no significant differences between treatment groups in ciliary clearance or rhinomanometry. Adverse effects were uncommon and mild. We conclude that cromolyn sodium and terfenadine are comparably effective and well-accepted treatments for allergic rhinitis.

Administration, Intranasal

Order, analogy, and efficacy in Ethiopian medical divination.

An important source of the efficacy of techniques for managing sickness is their capacity for symbolically ordering the disordered states associated with disease. (The ability to give empirical proofs is another source.) This article describes the symbolic ordering wirked by a method of divination that is practiced by the Amhara of Ethiopia. Emphasis is given to indicating how order is accomplished through linking disease with phenomenological domains that are remote from the biophysical locus of sickness. The point is made that ordering and linking depend on processes of analogy.

Attitude to Health

[The severely injured patient in the emergency center--new diagnostic, therapeutic and organizational concepts].

Recent advances in clinical intensive care medicine and legal aspects of quality assurance require new concepts and methods in preclinical emergency medicine. Different new methods of emergency medicine are presented and evaluated as to their economy, practicability, and medical efficacy, points which have to be considered in order to make general recommendations.

Cost-Benefit Analysis

Long-term weight control study. IV (weeks 156 to 190). The second double-blind phase.

To assess continued efficacy of anorexiants after 3 years of use, 52 participants (43% of those starting) entered a second double-blind trial to compare 60 mg sustained-release fenfluramine plus 15 mg phentermine resin versus placebo added to behavior modification, caloric restriction, and exercise. Although participants in both the active medication and placebo groups gained weight, participants receiving fenfluramine plus phentermine (n = 27) gained significantly (p less than 0.01) less (4.4 +/- 0.5 kg or 5.3% +/- 0.5% of initial weight) than participants receiving placebo (n = 24) (6.9 +/- 0.8 kg or 8.5% +/- 1.1% of initial weight). At week 190, both groups were still below their initial weight (fenfluramine plus phentermine group, 5.0 +/- 1.4 kg; placebo group, 2.1 +/- 1.2 kg; p less than 0.01). Overall, 12 participants (23.5% of those still in the study) were greater than or equal to 10% below initial weight. One participant dropped out during this phase because of personal reasons and loss of medication efficacy. During the 30 weeks, participants receiving fenfluramine plus phentermine had 26 moderate or severe complaints versus eight participants receiving placebo. Fenfluramine plus phentermine provided better appetite control and only slightly more bother. Analysis of participant response in this phase by treatment assignment in the first double-blind phase (weeks 6 to 34) indicated that initial receipt of medication did not have negative learning effects. Eleven participants receiving active medication between weeks 6 and 34 and receiving placebo between weeks 160 to 190 gained 5.1 +/- 1.0 kg. In contrast, 13 participants originally taking placebo gained 8.3 +/- 9 kg in this second double-blind phase.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adult

Amitriptyline-perphenazine interaction in ambulatory schizophrenic patients. A controled study of drug interaction.

In a double-blind placebo, controlled clinical study, lasting 12 weeks, 48 male and 48 female ambulatory schizophrenic patients were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: placebo; amitriptyline hydrochloride, 125 mg/day; perphenazine, 20 mg/day; or amitriptyline-perphenazine, 20 mg/day. Treatment groups contained an equal number of male and female patients. Perphenazine alone or in combination was substantially more effective in reducing psychopathological disorder than was the placebo, but there was no evidence to indicate the superiority of the amitriptyline-perphenazine combination over perphenazine alone. Amitriptyline alone was not substantially better than placebo and could not be considered an efficacious medication for the maintenance treatment of these patients. Less response to treatment was made by patients with longer-term records of prior hospitalization.

Adult

Effects and noneffects of methylphenidate in children with mental retardation and ADHD.

Stimulant medication efficacy was evaluated in 14 children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and IQs of 48 to 74 in a double-blind crossover study of two methylphenidate doses and placebo. Dependent measures included behavioral ratings, work output, measures of learning, attention and impulsivity, and direct observation of peer social interactions. Nine children (64%) were methylphenidate-responders, based upon the Conners Hyperactivity Index. Significant gains in on-task behavior and attentional skills were noted with methylphenidate in comparison to placebo. No improvement on measures of learning or social interactions were observed. Results extend and replicate previous research conducted by the authors.

Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity

Treatment principles for the use of opioids in pain of nonmalignant origin.

Inadequately treated acute and chronic pain remains a major cause of suffering, in spite of enormous advances in pharmacology and technology. Opioids provide a powerful, versatile, widely available means of managing this pain, but their use is too often restrained by ignorance and mistaken fears of addiction. The management of postoperative pain (perhaps the most common form of acute pain) is traditionally attempted with fixed dosages of analgesics by relatively unpredictable routes (e.g. oral, rectal and intramuscular). Intravenous opioid infusions (an improvement) risk respiratory depression and require close monitoring and titration. Patient-controlled analgesia (PCA), by contrast, permits the most efficacious medication (pure opioid agonist) by the optimal route (intravenous) under direct control of the patient, and provides high levels of satisfaction and safety. Ideally, any opioid use should be integrated with a wide spectrum of other analgesic modalities in an anaesthesiology-based 'acute pain service'. The use of opioids for chronic pain of nonmalignant origin remains controversial. There is a perceived conflict between patients' interests and those of society. However, problems (such as tolerance, physical dependence, addiction and chronic toxicity), anticipated from experience with animal experiments and pain-free abusers, seldom cause difficulties when opioids are used appropriately to treat pain (so-called 'dual pharmacology'). With sensible guidelines, and in the context of a multidisciplinary pain clinic, opioids may provide the only hope of relief to many sufferers of chronic pain.

Drug Administration Routes