A multiple baseline analysis of the effect of peer tutoring on the academic performance of a second grade child with learning disabilities.

A multiple baseline, single-subject design was employed in the analysis of the academic performance of a second grade girl labeled "learning disabled." Peer tutoring combined with praise led to a significant improvement in solving mathematics problems requiring regrouping, word recognition, and ability to locate specific text pages.

Infantile meningitis in England and Wales: a two year study.

A two year prospective study identified 1922 cases of meningitis in children under 1 year of age. A further 201 cases were identified from other sources. The annual incidence of meningitis during the first year of life was 1.6/1000; during the first 28 days of life it was 0.32/1000, and among postneonatal infants it was 1.22/1000. The male:female ratio was 1.4:1. The overall case fatality rate was 19.8% for neonates and 5.4% for postneonatal infants. Two thirds of deaths identified in the study, 50% of all deaths, were not attributed to meningitis by the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys. Group B beta haemolytic streptococci (28%), Escherichia coli (18%), and Listeria monocytogenes (5%) were most frequently isolated from neonates and Neisseria meningitidis (31%), Haemophilus influenzae (30%), and Streptococcus pneumoniae (10%) from postneonatal infants. At 2-6 months of age N meningitidis meningitis was most common, and at 7-12 months H influenzae predominated. Meningitis caused by group B beta haemolytic streptococci occurred up to 6 months of age and had a consistent mortality of 25%. Neonatal meningitis due to Gram negative enteric rods had a mortality of 32%. Low birth weight was a significant predisposing factor for both neonates and postneonatal infants. In both groups mortality was significantly higher among children admitted in coma. There was no seasonal variation in incidence in either group. Neonates were treated with either group. Neonates were treated with either chloramphenicol (50%) or gentamicin (48%) usually in combination with a penicillin; 40% received a third generation cephalosporin. Of the 1472 postneonatal infants treated 84% received chloramphenicol with a penicillin and 10% received a third generation cephalosporin. Relapse occurred in 49 patients and three died. Eighteen babies coned as a result of raised intracranial pressure, including four neonates, and four died. Mortality among the 133 (7%) children who received steroids was significantly higher than in the rest of the study group.

Development of functional use of oral language in a child with Down syndrome.

A single-subject design was applied to study increase in functional use of language by a 14-yr.-old Down Syndrome girl from a mean length of utterance of 1.3 words to 4.4 in a classroom, 5.1 in the restaurant, and 4.7 during transportation.

Acquisition and generalization of social skills in elementary-aged children with learning disabilities.

The generalization of specific social skills to new environments/situations by elementary-aged students with learning disabilities was the primary focus of this study. During the spring semester of 1985, training in the learning disabilities resource room, including a discussion and verbal rehearsal of appropriate skill use and positive consequences of using the specific social skill appropriately, was initiated. Once the subject became proficient in the skill of interest, attempts to establish the skill outside the resource room were initiated (training sufficient exemplars). Reinforcement in the form of systematic attention was delivered in the new environments by teachers and parents. During the fall semester of 1985 each of the subjects was again observed with respect to the behaviors of interest. All subjects manifested generalization of the social skills to the new environments.

Drug newsletters and quality assurance of drug usage.

The use of a drug newsletter publishing results of drug usage review studies, as a quality assurance measure aimed at improving drug prescribing in an Australian acute care hospital, is described. Drug usage review studies focus primarily on newly registered drugs, drugs with potential for misuse or adverse reactions, and expensive drugs. Data are collected on comprehensive data sheets by clinical pharmacists. Information is supplemented from relevant sources, including laboratory test results. Feedback to prescribers, through the hospital's drug newsletter, presents review results, evaluated by comparison with predetermined standards for appropriateness, together with recommendations for improvement, where indicated. The reviews have highlighted areas in which prescribing could be improved. Studies have shown that the drug newsletter has a significant, but possibly transient, impact on modifying prescribing patterns. Newsletter messages are therefore reinforced by personalized clinical pharmacist interaction with prescribers.

Varying preschool arrangements and self-concepts of educable mentally retarded children in grade 1.

Differences in measured self-concept among educable mentally retarded children in Grade 1 were examined. Subjects included 90 children randomly selected from larger populations with varying preschool experiences. An initial positive influence of preschool experience on self-concept in Grade 1 appeared to be more pronounced among those subjects exposed to nonhandicapped peers.

Impact of pharmacist intervention on oral theophylline therapy in adult inpatients.

The impact of clinical pharmacy services on the utilization of oral theophylline therapy was evaluated in a ten-week study involving 138 adult inpatients. The study initially involved an independent prospective five-week audit of theophylline use, in which clinical pharmacists monitored theophylline therapy and any interventions were designed so as not to influence future actions taken by medical officers with regard to oral theophylline therapy. The second part of the study involved active intervention by clinical pharmacists and a concurrent five-week audit of theophylline use. The study has demonstrated that clinical pharmacist intervention significantly increased the number of patients receiving a theophylline assay when indicated, from 43 to 83 percent; the number of assays appropriately sampled, from 58 to 85 percent; the number of appropriate dosage adjustments, from 63 to 86 percent; and the number of patients with a measured serum theophylline concentration in the therapeutic range, from 17 to 47 percent. These results show that clinical pharmacists can have a significant impact on patient care by efficient monitoring and individualizing theophylline therapy.