Effect of counseling on attendance rate of household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis patients in Qaliub chest clinic

This is a interventional study aiming to study the effect of counseling on attendance rate of household contacts of pulmonary TB cases in Qaliub chest clinic. All newly diagnosed pulmonary TB patietns attending to the clinic during the period of the study [1[st] January -30[th] June 2005] were subjected to a counseling session [25 patients]. The results were compared retrospectively with the data recorded in the period from the 1[st] of January to 31[st] December 2004. There was significant improvement in the attendance rate of household contacts as it changed from 52% before counseling [one year prior to the intervention] to 87.4% after counseling. This study recommends generalization of counseling as non-classical health education method, in all T.B control units for health education of pulmonary T.B patients

Applying a new strategy in investigating household contacts of pulmonary tuberculosis [Qaliub chest clinic, MOHP]

This study applies a new strategy for examination of household contacts of pulmonary TB cases attending to Qaliub chest clinic during the period of the study aiming at improving contact tracing. All household contacts were tuberculin skin tested [83 subjects], Chest radiography was done for tuberculin positive individuals and sputum culture if the x-ray picture was suspecting T.B. The results were compared with the data recorded during the year prior to the study in the period from 1[st] January to 31[st] December 2004. The results revealed that 74.7% had negative tuberculin skin test. Two primary T.B cases were detected among the investigated household contacts compared to none in the year prior to the study. This study recommends a new strategy for investigating household contacts for better case detection among them as well as protection of susceptibles

Prognostic markers after exacerbated chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. A new computerized multivariate algorithm

This study aimed to verify whether baseline clinical and laboratory parameters could predict the outcome for patients hospitalized due to acutely exacerbated COPD. To define the clinical and laboratory variables predictive of early mortality in patients with COPD, 50 consecutive admissions were studied, including 34 males and 16 female, with a mean age of 56 + 11 years. In all patients, demographic data, admission hemodynamics and arterial blood gases, mechanical ventilation, worst expressed as P02 <50 mun Hg PC02 /<30 or >/55 mum Hg and evident shunt P02/F102 /<200 were measured. The system for prognostication in patients with exacerbated COPD was based on a multivariate approach with staged trials using demographic data, admission hemodynamics and arterial blood gases. The study concluded that to allow prognostication in patients with COPD, a reasonable objective system was suggested for assessment, with a predictive accuracy reaching 96%. This system is characterized by being user-friendly, comprehensive and highly predictive

Statistical study of the refractive errors in 500 phakic Egyptian subjects using the 6500 auto-refractometer

The authors present a randomized study of the refractive errors in 500 phakic Egyptian subjects attending the outpatient clinic at the 6th of October hospital. The data obtained from each subject included the age, sex interpupillary distance, and visual acuity before and after correction. A statistical study of the refractive errors in the 500 subjects was done including the type of error of refraction, type and degree of astigmatism as well as a correlation between the objective and subjective corrections in both low and high errors