'I'm cured but....': perceptions of illness following treatment.

The current qualitative research studied representations of illness posttreatment from a heart transplant group, a panic disorder group, and a tic disorder group. All three groups were preoccupied with perceptions about the impact of the illness, perception of self and the perception of how others view the ill person. The heart transplant group seem to adopt an active style of coping compared to the panic disorder group who presented a more passive, anticipatory mode of coping, and the tic group who were preoccupied with control over the perceptions of others. This qualitative information could help optimize adaptation strategies.

Pain of terminal cancer patients.

The belief that cancer inevitably leads to a painful death is widespread. This may contribute to society's "cancerophobia" with subsequent frequent delays in seeking medical attention for suspected malignant neoplasms. We evaluated the degree of pain experienced by dying patients, with and without cancer, at a large medical center. Patterns of analgesic administration and physician and nurse progress notes demonstrated that patients dying with cancer had significantly higher preterminal daily pain ratings and significantly fewer pain-free days than patients dying without cancer (P less than .01). Nevertheless, approximately one quarter of cancer patients died without any pain or analgesic administration. A painful death from cancer is thus not inevitable.

2,3-Dimercaptosuccinic acid as an antidote for lead intoxication.

2,3-Dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA) is an orally effective drug more specific and with a wider therapeutic index than currently available drugs for lead intoxication. Eighteen men with elevated blood lead (BPb) concentrations received either 30, 20, or 10 mg/kg DMSA for 5 days in three divided daily doses. The mean BPb level decreased 72.5%, 58.3%, and 35.5% of the pretreatment values, with a simultaneous elevation in urinary Pb excretion. Clinical symptoms and biochemical indices of lead toxicity also improved. Red blood cell d-aminolevulinic acid dehydratase activity increased, while urinary excretion of d-aminolevulinic acid and coproporphyrin fell. DMSA was well tolerated; the only observed adverse drug reaction was a mild, transient elevation of serum SGPT levels in two subjects. DMSA appears promising and may greatly simplify the treatment of lead intoxication.

Statistical properties of some clinical measures of gingivitis and periodontitis.

Various statistical properties of the plaque index, the gingival index, and the whole-mouth averages of pocket depth and attachment level measurements were examined using data from a 4-year randomized trial of 80 patients with a history of treated periodontal disease. Departures from normality were assessed by the median of the standardized distribution, by the coefficients of skewness and kurtosis, and by the Kolmogorov goodness-of-fit test. The relative precisions of probing pocket depth and of attachment level were measured, as were correlations between repeated measurements over time for the four clinical measures. The distribution of the plaque index was far from normal, but the distribution of its logarithm was more nearly normal. The distributions of the other clinical measures were effectively normal to varying degrees of approximation. With only rare exceptions, correlations between repeated measurements on the same clinical variable remained relatively constant no matter how far apart in time the measurements were made, at least up to 4 years. The whole-mouth mean of the attachment level measurements seemed to be relatively more precise than the whole-mouth mean of the pocket depth measurements.

Clinical features in panic disorder with agoraphobia: a comparison of men and women.

This study compared 96 women and 58 men suffering from panic disorder with agoraphobia. Participants completed questionnaires assessing various clinical features associated with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA), general adjustment, and drug/alcohol use. Results showed that PDA is a more severe condition in women. Women reported more severe agoraphobic avoidance when facing situations or places alone, more catastrophic thoughts, more body sensations, and higher scores on the Fear Survey Schedule. Also, women more often had a comorbid social phobia or posttraumatic stress disorder. The lower agoraphobic avoidance of men was associated with their alcohol use. However, there were no differences between genders in other dimensions, including depression, situational and trait anxiety, stressful life events, social self-esteem, marital adjustment, and drug use.

Temporal linkages between wives' pursuit and husbands' withdrawal during marital conflict.

This study examined the association between wives' pursuit and husbands' withdrawal during marital conflict discussions, and the affects associated with these behaviors. Ten distressed and 10 nondistressed couples completed a videotaped interaction in which the wives requested changes in husbands' behaviors. Results showed sequential dependencies between wives' pursuit and husbands' withdrawal, but distressed couples, as compared to nondistressed couples, did not engage in stronger pursuit/withdrawal patterns. Distressed husbands showed the highest proportions of anxious affects. The findings are discussed with reference to the affective context of the pursuit/withdrawal pattern.

Longitudinal study of parotid saliva in HIV-1 infection.

Parotid flow rate and chemistry of 78 HIV + gay/bisexual men and 27 HIV-gay/bisexual controls were compared on a longitudinal basis at 4-month intervals over a 1 yr period for changes indicative of inflammatory or autoimmune diseases of the salivary glands, or reduced protective capacity toward oral opportunistic infection. Parotid saliva was examined for concentrations of sodium, chloride, phosphate, total protein, lysozyme, lactoferrin, secretory IgA, salivary peroxidase, histatin and albumin. Chloride, lysozyme and peroxidase were significantly higher in HIV + at all 3 examinations and increased in concentration over time. Although mean values for stimulated flow rate were not significantly different in the two groups over the year, there was a significant increase in the number of HIV + with reduced flow over time. In 6% of HIV + there was a marked reduction in flow rate and Sjögren's syndrome-like elevations in parotid chemistry but no enlargement. At all examinations low flow rate was significantly related to oral candidiasis; T4 levels were inversely related to oral candidiasis, but not to concentration of salivary components or flow rate; nor was AZT use. As a group the HIV + patients maintained normal flow rate and secreted normal or elevated concentrations of protective proteins. A subgroup, however, exhibited diminished flow over time and an increasing tendency to oral candidiasis and a diminution in output of histatins.

Effect of hydroxyzine on morphine analgesia for the treatment of postoperative pain.

In a double-blind, single-dose study hydroxyzine combined with morphine was administered intramuscularly to postoperative patients to determine the efficacy of this combination in the relief of postoperative pain, and to compare its effect to that produced by morphine alone. Eighty-two patients received morphine (5 or 10 mg) with or without hydroxyzine (100 mg). Analgesia was measured by a method quantifying the subjective responses of patients when questioned about pain. Analgesia obtained when 10 mg of morphine was combined with 100 mg of hydroxyzine was significantly superior to that obtained with morphine alone. Drowsiness was significantly more frequent when 10 mg of morphine was combined with 100 mg of hydroxyzine than with morphine alone.

Recollections of parent-child relationships in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and panic disorder with agoraphobia.

OBJECTIVE: In previous studies, patients with different psychiatric conditions, as compared with matched controls, have reported that their parents were more protective and less caring towards them when they were children. However, studies investigating associations between parental behaviours and anxiety disorders have yielded inconsistent results. The aim of this study was to compare recalled parental behaviours in out-patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), in out-patients with panic disorder with agoraphobia (PDA), and in non-anxious controls. METHOD: The sample included 43 out-patients with OCD, 38 with PDA, and 120 controls. Participants completed the Parental Bonding Instrument and the Egna Minnen Beträffande Uppfostran or Own Memories of Parental Rearing Experiences in Childhood. RESULTS: No differences were found between the two anxious groups. However, compared with the control group, anxious patients recalled their parents as more protective. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that child rearing practices such as overprotection may be a risk factor in the development of anxiety disorders.

HIV-associated oral lesions; immunologic, virologic and salivary parameters.

There are numerous reports of oral lesions in HIV-infected individuals. However, few correlate the oral lesions with laboratory parameters. This study examined oral candidiasis and hairy leukoplakia, the two most common HIV-associated oral lesions, in relation to T-cell counts, p24 core antigen levels and salivary flow rates. Oral mucosal examinations, immunologic and virologic studies and stimulated whole and parotid saliva flow rates were conducted on 135 (HIV+ = 102, HIV- = 33) homosexual or bisexual men. Results indicate that, among HIV-infected subjects, the odds of having oral candidiasis is 6 times (95% CI = 0.6-56.6) greater for subjects with T4 counts between 200-399 per mm3, and 23 times (95% CI = 2.8-193.0) greater for subjects with T4 counts less than 200/mm3 compared to subjects with T4 counts of 400/mm3 or greater. Subjects had an equal likelihood of having hairy leukoplakia at different levels of immunocompetence. The prevalence of oral candidiasis and hairy leukoplakia was higher among subjects with infectious virus in their serum, but was only statistically significant for hairy leukoplakia (p = 0.01).