Academic Medical Centre (academic + medical_centre)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Dental enamel defects in children with coeliac disease

INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PAEDIATRIC DENTISTRY, Issue 3 2007
CLAAR D. WIERINK
Objective., The aim of this study was to investigate whether Dutch children with proven coeliac disease show specific dental enamel defects, and to asses whether children with the same gastrointestinal complaints, but proved no-coeliac disease, lack these specific dental enamel defects. Materials and methods., Eighty-one children (53 coeliac patients and 28 control subjects) were examined during the period 2003,2004 in the Oral Surgery Outpatient Clinic of the Academic Medical Centre in Amsterdam. Result., Twenty-nine (55%) coeliac patients had enamel defects against 5 (18%) control subjects. In the coeliac disease group, the enamel defects were diagnosed as specific in 20 (38%) children, compared with 1 (4%) in the control group. Statistical analysis showed significantly more specific enamel defects in children with coeliac disease than in children in the control group (,2 = 12.62, d.f. = 2, P = 0.002). Conclusion., This study showed significantly more specific enamel defects in Dutch children with coeliac disease as compared with children in the control group. Dentists could play an important role in recognizing patients with coeliac disease. [source]


Patients' perceptions of nursing care in the hospital setting

JOURNAL OF ADVANCED NURSING, Issue 4 2003
Lee A. Schmidt PhD RN
Background., Patient satisfaction and patient satisfaction with nursing care data are routinely collected as an indicator of the quality of services delivered. Despite the widespread collection and reporting of these data, the theoretical basis of patient satisfaction and patient satisfaction with nursing care remains unclear. Without a clear theoretical base, interpretation of patient satisfaction findings is hampered and the entire line of patient satisfaction research is of questionable validity. It has been suggested that, to understand patient satisfaction, patient perceptions of their care must first be understood. Aim., The aim of this study was to discover patients' perceptions of the nursing care they receive in the hospital setting. Method., Grounded theory method was used in this study of eight medical,surgical patients recently discharged from an academic medical centre in the south-eastern United States of America (USA). Participants were interviewed and the verbatim transcripts analysed using the constant comparative method. Findings., Four categories of patient perceptions of their nursing care emerged from the data. ,Seeing the individual patient' captures the unique nature of the nursing care experience for each patient. ,Explaining' represents the informal explanations given by nursing staff as they provide care. ,Responding' refers to both the character and timeliness of nursing staff's responses to patient requests or symptoms. ,Watching over' represents the surveillance activities of nursing staff. Conclusions., The categories identified in this study may be used in efforts to further develop a formal theory of patient satisfaction with nursing care. These categories should also be tested with patients possessing a wider range of characteristics, to assess the transferability of the findings. [source]


A comparison study of career satisfaction and emotional states between primary care and speciality residents

MEDICAL EDUCATION, Issue 1 2006
Donald E Girard
Objective, To evaluate career satisfaction, emotional states and positive and negative experiences among residents in primary care and speciality programmes in 1 academic medical centre prior to the implementation of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education's (ACGME) duty hour requirements. Design, Cross-sectional survey. Measurements, All 581 residents in the academic health centre were asked to participate voluntarily in a confidential survey; 327(56%) completed the survey. Results, Compared to their primary care colleagues, speciality residents had higher levels of satisfaction with career choice, feelings of competence and excitement, lower levels of inferiority and fatigue and different perceptions of positive and negative training experiences. However, 77% of all respondents were consistently or generally pleased with their career choices. The most positive residents' experiences related to interpersonal relationships and their educational value; the most negative experiences related to interpersonal relationships and issues perceived to be outside of residents' control. Age and training level, but not gender also influenced career satisfaction, emotional states and positive and negative opinions about residency. Conclusions, Less satisfaction with career choice and more negative emotional states for primary care residents compared to speciality residents probably relate to the training experience and may influence medical students' selections of careers. The primary care residents, compared to speciality residents, appear to have difficulty in fulfilling their ideals of professionalism in an environment where they have no control. These data provide baseline information with which to compare these same factors after the implementation of the ACGME duty hours' and competency requirements. [source]


RISKS AND CONSEQUENCES OF INCIDENTAL PARATHYROIDECTOMY DURING THYROID RESECTION

ANZ JOURNAL OF SURGERY, Issue 1-2 2007
Rebecca S. Sippel
Background: Inadvertent removal of the parathyroid glands during elective thyroid surgery occurs more frequently in certain high-risk patients and can lead to symptomatic hypocalcaemia. Methods: A case,control study was carried out at a tertiary referral, academic medical centre between May 1994 and August 2001. Five hundred and thirteen patients underwent thyroid resection. Pathology reports were reviewed to identify patients who had the inadvertent removal of a parathyroid gland during their thyroid surgery. Thirty-three (6.4%) patients had inadvertent resection of a parathyroid gland. The outcomes of these 33 patients (INCIDENTAL) were compared with the other 480 patients who did not have resection of parathyroid tissue (NO INCIDENTAL). Results: Risk factors for inadvertent parathyroid resection included younger age (P = 0.003), bilateral thyroid resection (P = 0.001) and malignant pathology (P = 0.002). Factors that did not increase the risk of incidental parathyroidectomy included gland weight, sex, presence of a goitre, previous neck exploration and concurrent lymph node dissection. In the INCIDENTAL group 24% had a postoperative calcium levels less than 7.0 mg/dL (P = 0.001). Symptomatic hypocalcaemia developed in 12% of INCIDENTAL patients, compared to 4% in the NO INCIDENTAL group (P = 0.06). Conclusion: Incidental removal of parathyroid tissue occurred in 6.4% of thyroid resections. Younger patients undergoing a total or subtotal thyroidectomy for malignancy were at the highest risk. These patients had lower postoperative calcium levels, but the majority (88%) experienced no clinical consequences. [source]