Prevalence of childhood physical abuse in adult male veteran alcoholics.

Although past research has identified psychological and behavioral consequences for adults who were abused as children, few studies have examined the incidence and consequences of childhood physical abuse among adult alcoholics. The purpose of this study was to assess the prevalence of a childhood history of physical abuse in adult male alcoholics and to determine what differences may exist in the psychological profile and patterns of alcohol abuse in abused and nonabused alcoholics. The study sample was comprised of 100 male alcoholic inpatients from the alcoholism treatment unit at a metropolitan Veterans Administration hospital. Subjects were administered a self-report devised by the authors to assess a history of childhood physical abuse, the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ), and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Findings indicated that approximately one-third of the alcoholics were physically abused as children. Abused alcoholics reported having more severe psychological symptoms and distress than their nonabused counterparts, although they did not differ on the onset, severity, or treatment history for alcohol dependency.

The effect of immediate constrained digital motion on the strength of flexor tendon repairs in chickens.

Profundus tendon lacerations were repaired in the central toes of 216 chickens, and the digits were either immobilized in a cast or allowed immediate constrained motion in a tethering splint. The effect of digital motion on the early phases of tendon healing was investigated by comparing the rupture strengths of the two groups during the first 40 days after repair. The repairs in immobilized digits showed marked decreases in strength during the first 20 days, while the tendons in mobilized digits showed immediate and progressive gains in strength through the time intervals studied. By 5 days, the difference in strength between the two groups was significant (p less than 0.05), and the magnitude of this difference increased with time. The model developed in this study demonstrates that an initial loss of flexor tendon repair strength is not inevitable. Immediate constrained digital mobilization allows progressive tendon healing without an intervening phase of tendon softening.

Severity of alcohol dependence and its relationship to additional psychiatric symptoms in male alcoholic inpatients.

Many alcoholics suffer from distress associated with psychiatric symptoms in addition to alcoholism. Although there may be many such symptoms reported by the alcoholic, there may not be enough in any one category to meet DSM III criteria for an additional psychiatric diagnosis, and consequently these symptoms may not be considered in treatment planning. In addition, the prevalence and severity of psychiatric symptoms may be dependent on the progression of alcoholism. The purpose of this study was to examine whether a relationship exists between patterns of psychiatric symptomatology and the level of severity of alcohol dependence in an inpatient male alcoholic sample, and to describe how this information can be utilized to differentiate large groups of alcoholics into clinical meaningful categories. The study sample was comprised of 100 male alcoholic inpatients from the Alcoholism Treatment Unit at a metropolitan Veterans Administration Hospital. Subjects were administered The Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (MAST), the Severity of Alcohol Dependence Questionnaire (SADQ), and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised (SCL-90-R). Correlational analysis of the data supported the hypothesis that a positive relationship exists between the severity of alcohol dependence and the prevalence of additional psychiatric symptom patterns. Partial correlational analysis indicated that the length of the alcoholic's illness and the number of inpatient treatments for alcoholism enhanced the relationship between the severity of alcoholism and most of the symptom scales. The utility of assessing concurrent psychiatric symptomatology as it relates to the severity of alcohol dependence is discussed in relation to treatment planning and prognostic assessment of the patient.

Measuring gait-related blind mobility performance.

The gait characteristics of blind travelers can provide information about their mobility skills. Previous attempts at measuring these characteristics have suffered because they either do not provide continuous monitoring or allow usage outside a laboratory setting. A new instrument has been developed to overcome these problems. The instrument allows continuous monitoring of interankle distance during walking. Records of interankle distance were analyzed to determine maximum interankle distance/step, step time, and cadence. With this system, gait parameters revealed differences between two groups of travelers (blind and blindfolded) and changes over a series of four trials on turns, straightaways, and over the whole route. This suggests the system is useful as an assessment device both for research and for rehabilitation training.

Femoral neck fractures in the geriatric population: the influence of perioperative health upon the selection of surgical treatment.

The use of a primary prosthetic replacement such as an Austin-Moore hemi-arthroplasty in patients sustaining fractures of the femoral neck has been associated with increased post-operative medical morbidity and mortality. A retrospective review was performed using the medical records of patients greater than 59 years of age who sustained femoral neck fractures and were treated with either internal fixation or primary hemi-arthroplastic replacement at Loyola University Medical Center between 1969 and 1979. Peri-operative data were reviewed and evaluated using computer-aided statistical analysis. Comparing the two forms of surgical treatment, statistically significant factors associated with primary hemi-arthroplastic replacement included: pre-injury nursing home residence, pre-injury ambulation requiring assistance, age greater than 79 years, slight elevation in serum creatinine values, abnormal electrocardiograms in patients over 77 years of age, time from injury to surgery of four or more days, and the use of spinal anesthesia (P less than 0.05). Factors associated with internal fixation were: patient age of 79 years or less, independent ambulation, non-nursing home residence, normal lab values, normal EKGs, less than four days from injury to surgery, and the use of general anesthesia. Within the limits imposed by a retrospective review in this specific patient population, there appears to be a tendency for older, less healthy patients to have been treated with primary hemi-arthroplasty. Possibly the previously reported increased post-operative medical morbidity and mortality associated with this procedure, as compared with internal fixation, may be a result of biased patient selection, and not a fault of the procedure.