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Longer Treatment Times (longer + treatment_time)
Selected AbstractsEfficacy of treatment for convergence insufficiency using vision therapyOPHTHALMIC AND PHYSIOLOGICAL OPTICS, Issue 6 2002Paul Adler Abstract Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine if vision therapy (VT), as practised within the constraints of UK optometric practice, employing graded routine eye exercises, is as an effective method for treatment of convergence insufficiency (CI) as previously published data suggest. The study also evaluates the associated symptoms before and after therapy. Methods: As many optometrists diagnose CI solely on the basis of near point of convergence (NPC) and treat only when symptoms are present (Letourneau et al., 1979; Rouse et al., 1997), in this study CI was defined as NPC of 10 cm or greater (either with or without the presence of asthenopic symptoms for near work) accompanied by exophoria greater at near than at distance. The effect of treatment by optometric vision therapy (OVT) on the NPC and number of symptoms was investigated for 92 patients by retrospectively reviewing the clinical records. Success was defined as the restoration of NPC to normal values and significant reduction in the presenting symptoms. Results: The effect of treatment on the NPC was shown to be highly significant (t = 14.61, p < 0.001). Although treatment times were slightly longer, the success rates were higher than reported by other authors. Post-treatment values for NPC were: <10 cm (98.9%), <8.5 cm (95.7%) and <6.5 cm (80.4%). Longer treatment times were noted for patients who complained that the text appeared to move (,2, p = 0.007). Conclusion: Vision therapy is an effective method for treatment of CI. [source] Genetic association between TNF-, ,308 G>A polymorphism and longitudinal weight change during clozapine treatmentHUMAN PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY: CLINICAL AND EXPERIMENTAL, Issue 4 2010Ying-Chieh Wang Abstract Objective The aim of the study was to investigate the association between genetic variation in the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-,) gene and longitudinal weight change during long-term clozapine treatment. Methods Fifty-five patients with refractory schizophrenia treated with clozapine for 8 years were recruited. Gender, age, treatment response to clozapine in the first 14 months, baseline BMI, clozapine dose, concomitant use of mood stabilizers and other antipsychotics, and ,308 G,>,A polymorphism in the human TNF-, gene were analyzed using generalized estimating equations. Results In addition to having a lower baseline BMI (p,=,0.0013) and a longer treatment time (p,=,0.050), the ,308 GG carriers gained significantly more weight than the ,308 A allele carriers (p,=,0.0084) during 8 years of clozapine treatment, after controlling for other non-genetic factors. Conclusions The ,308 G,>,A genetic variant of the TNF-, gene is associated with longitudinal weight change during clozapine treatment. Follow-up duration is an important factor to consider when performing pharmacogenetic study of clozapine-induced weight gain. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Influence of acid treatment on the surface activity and mass transfer inhibition of a splittable surfactantJOURNAL OF CHEMICAL TECHNOLOGY & BIOTECHNOLOGY, Issue 7 2004Yuh-Lang Lee Abstract A splittable surfactant, Triton SP-190, was used to evaluate the effects of acid treatment on the mass transfer rate of an extraction process and on the interfacial tension-lowering activity of a system containing this surfactant. Equilibrium and dynamic interfacial tensions at the interface of CCl4 and the aqueous phase containing surfactant were measured by using pendent drop tensiometry enhanced by video digitization. A single-drop extraction apparatus was used to obtain the extraction percentage of acetic acid from the dispersed CCl4 droplets to the aqueous phase. The results indicate that the inorganic acid treatment can inhibit the dynamic and equilibrium interfacial tension-lowering activity of Triton SP-190. The mass transfer resistance induced by the addition of Triton SP-190 can also be reduced by the pre-treatment of acid. The effectiveness of acid treatment on both properties was greater at low pH values, lower surfactant concentrations, and longer treatment times. With HCl treatment, the equilibrium interfacial tension was not able to increase to the value of a surfactant-free system, but approached a maximum value which was independent of the pH value, but dependent on surfactant concentration. On the contrary, the extraction percentage, which has decreased due to the presence of surfactant, can be recovered completely to that of a surfactant-free system by acid treatment. The acid-treatment time required to achieve a significant recovery of mass transfer rate was much longer than that required to recover the interfacial tension. The present results also demonstrate that the constituents contained in an acid-treatment system had different effectiveness in affecting the interfacial tension and mass transfer rate due to the different mechanisms involved. Copyright © 2004 Society of Chemical Industry [source] Characterizing Waiting Room Time, Treatment Time, and Boarding Time in the Emergency Department Using Quantile RegressionACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 8 2010Ru Ding MS ACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE 2010; 17:813,823 © 2010 by the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine Abstract Objectives:, The objective was to characterize service completion times by patient, clinical, temporal, and crowding factors for different phases of emergency care using quantile regression (QR). Methods:, A retrospective cohort study was conducted on 1-year visit data from four academic emergency departments (EDs; N = 48,896,58,316). From each ED's clinical information system, the authors extracted electronic service information (date and time of registration; bed placement, initial contact with physician, disposition decision, ED discharge, and disposition status; inpatient medicine bed occupancy rate); patient demographics (age, sex, insurance status, and mode of arrival); and clinical characteristics (acuity level and chief complaint) and then used the service information to calculate patients' waiting room time, treatment time, and boarding time, as well as the ED occupancy rate. The 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles of each phase of care were estimated as a function of patient, clinical, temporal, and crowding factors using multivariate QR. Accuracy of models was assessed by comparing observed and predicted service completion times and the proportion of observations that fell below the predicted 10th, 50th, and 90th percentiles. Results:, At the 90th percentile, patients experienced long waiting room times (105,222 minutes), treatment times (393,616 minutes), and boarding times (381,1,228 minutes) across the EDs. We observed a strong interaction effect between acuity level and temporal factors (i.e., time of day and day of week) on waiting room time at all four sites. Acuity level 3 patients waited the longest across the four sites, and their waiting room times were most influenced by temporal factors compared to other acuity level patients. Acuity level and chief complaint were important predictors of all phases of care, and there was a significant interaction effect between acuity and chief complaint. Patients with a psychiatric problem experienced the longest treatment times, regardless of acuity level. Patients who presented with an injury did not wait as long for an ED or inpatient bed. Temporal factors were strong predictors of service completion time, particularly waiting room time. Mode of arrival was the only patient characteristic that substantially affected waiting room time and treatment time. Patients who arrived by ambulance had shorter wait times but longer treatment times compared to those who did not arrive by ambulance. There was close agreement between observed and predicted service completion times at the 10th, 50th, and 90th percentile distributions across the four EDs. Conclusions:, Service completion times varied significantly across the four academic EDs. QR proved to be a useful method for estimating the service completion experience of not only typical ED patients, but also the experience of those who waited much shorter or longer. Building accurate models of ED service completion times is a critical first step needed to identify barriers to patient flow, begin the process of reengineering the system to reduce variability, and improve the timeliness of care provided. [source] | ||||||||||