Study objective: We examine whether a specific educational effort reduces emergency department violence in the short term and quantify the amount of violence in the ED. Methods: Cross-sectional prospective surveys wer...
详细信息
Study objective: We examine whether a specific educational effort reduces emergency department violence in the short term and quantify the amount of violence in the ED. Methods: Cross-sectional prospective surveys were conducted at a tertiary referral center at baseline (1998) and at 3 and 6 months (1999) after the Prevention and Management of Aggressive Behavior Program (PMABP). ED staff on all shifts for 7 alternate days in a 2-week period were surveyed. We measured the total and mean number of physical and violent events per survey. A generalized estimating equation Poisson regression model examined the effect of the program on the numbers of physically and verbally violent events per shift per employee, after adjusting for other covariates. Odds ratios (ORs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were calculated. Results: Physical violence events per survey at baseline, 3 months posttraining, and 6 months posttraining were 0.27, 0.10, and 0.21, respectively. The number of reported violent interactions at the same intervals were 49, 19, and 46 (adjusted OR 1.0, 0.35 [95% CI 0.15 to 0.84], and 0.79 [95% Cl 0.48 to 1.40]), respectively. Verbal violence events per survey at baseline, 3 months posttraining, and 6 months posttraining were 0.85, 0.31, and 0.51, respectively. The number of reported interactions involving verbal violence at the same intervals were 154, 58, and 69 (adjusted OR 1.0, 0,31 [95% CI 0.21 to 0.46], and 0.47 [95% Cl 0.33 to 0.66]), respectively. Conclusion: Violent events are frequent in the ED. Education programs may reduce the number of events at least temporarily but do not clearly reduce violence in the long term.
Background: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in North American women, Because smoking-related changes in the bronchial epithelium and in lung function have not been studied in detail in women, we u...
详细信息
Background: Lung cancer is the most common cause of cancer death in North American women, Because smoking-related changes in the bronchial epithelium and in lung function have not been studied in detail in women, we used fluorescence bronchoscopy-directed biopsy to determine the prevalence of high-grade preinvasive lesions in former and current smokers of both sexes. Methods: Spirometry, white-light bronchoscopy, and fluorescence bronchoscopy were performed in 189 women and 212 men older than 40 years of age who had smoked 20 pack-years or more (pack-years number of packs of cigarettes smoked per day x number of years of smoking). Results: Carcinoma in situ was found in 1.8% of the subjects, severe dysplasia was found in 6.5%, and moderate dysplasia was found in 14% (all preinvasive lesions). Compared with men, women had a lower prevalence of high-grade preinvasive lesions in the observed airways (14% versus 31%;odds ratio = 0.18;95% confidence interval = 0.04-0.88), and women with preinvasive lesions had fewer such lesions (two-sided P = .048), The prevalence of preinvasive lesions did not change substantially for more than 10 years after cessation of smoking. Lung function was associated with the prevalence of preinvasive lesions, but the association was weaker in women than in men, If the presence of airflow obstruction was defined by an FEV1/FVC (forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity) value of 70% or less, only 56% of the men and 44% of the women with preinvasive lesions had abnormal lung function. Conclusion: In developing strategies for chemoprevention or early detection of lung cancer in high-risk populations, it is important to consider the effect of sex and arbitrarily chosen lung function values on the prevalence of preinvasive airway lesions.
Objective: An institutional review of sharps injuries was conducted to assist in establishing priorities for resource allocation in a sharps prevention program. Design: A retrospective review of 221 sharps injuries oc...
详细信息
Objective: An institutional review of sharps injuries was conducted to assist in establishing priorities for resource allocation in a sharps prevention program. Design: A retrospective review of 221 sharps injuries occurring during a 1-year period was conducted by a 4-member multidisciplinary team. Each injury was categorized as either moderate/high, low, or unknown risk for acquisition of bloodborne diseases by using modified provincial definitions of occupational risk for exposure to bloodborne pathogens. Results: A total of 119 injuries were considered to be moderate/high risk, and 93 were at low risk for acquisition of bloodborne disease. Nine injuries could not be categorized. In 59% of high-risk injuries, education or changes in technique were identified as the primary preventive intervention. Passive devices such as needleless intravenous administration sets could theoretically address prevention of the majority of low-risk injuries. Known available safety devices could have prevented 33 (28%) high-risk injuries. Conclusion: Disposition of resources must take into consideration the risk of bloodborne disease acquisition and the efficiency and expense of the preventable methods employed. Institutional review of injuries combined with a cost analysis revealed that resources were best allocated to protective devices at source (eg, safety syringes) and on a comprehensive, multidisciplinary, and sustained educational program. Needleless intravenous infusion sets would mainly prevent low-risk injuries at significant cost.
Background. Oral Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) may represent the initial clinical manifestation of immunosuppression in human immunodeficiency virus disease. This article reviews the treatment provided to these patients a...
详细信息
Background. Oral Kaposi's sarcoma (KS) may represent the initial clinical manifestation of immunosuppression in human immunodeficiency virus disease. This article reviews the treatment provided to these patients and the outcome of the disease and provides the opportunity to assess the impact of improvements in the medical therapy of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome on disease outcome. Methods. A tumor registry was examined to identify patients in whom oral KS was the first neoplastic diagnosis. Results and conclusions. Thirty-seven cases of oral KS representing 1.9% of all cases of KS were identified as the first malignant diagnosis in patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. Patients with oral KS have limited survival;the cause of death is either infection or malignancy. In our study, the palate was the most common sire of primary involvement in the oral cavity. Recently diagnosed patients remained alive longer than those diagnosed earlier, and the patients with the most recently diagnosed cases were alive at the completion of the study, suggesting that medical management of human immunodefciency virus has improved with new therapies.
Naturally contaminated alfalfa seeds, epidemiologically linked to foodborne disease outbreaks in Oregon and British Columbia, were tested for the presence of Salmonella. Ten sample units from the suspected lot were sp...
详细信息
Naturally contaminated alfalfa seeds, epidemiologically linked to foodborne disease outbreaks in Oregon and British Columbia, were tested for the presence of Salmonella. Ten sample units from the suspected lot were sprouted and grown for 4 days. After enrichment of the grown sprouts, an enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and culture method (modified procedure of the Food and Drug Administration Bacteriological Analytical Manual) were used for the detection and isolation of Salmonella. Four of the 10 sample units were positive with the ELA;however, 5 of the 10 sample units were culture positive (four were positive for Salmonella serotype Newport and a fifth was positive for Salmonella serotype Albany and serotype Schwarzengrund). The positive alfalfa seed sample units were further tested after shredding, soaking, and washing before culturing. Results suggest that sprouting and shredding methods may yield greater detection and recovery rates of Salmonella, but more research with a larger sample size is warranted.
暂无评论