The Mount Sinai journal of medicine, New York
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Comparative Study
Personal emergency response systems: factors associated with use among older persons.
A descriptive survey was conducted to determine factors associated with the use of personal emergency response systems among older community-residing subscribers in the New York City metropolitan area. Subscribers who wore the portable help button when alone in the home were defined as being "compliant." The average length of time the 106 respondents (average age 83 +/- 9) had the system in their possession was 26 +/- 18 months. ⋯ Compliance was less common in users who had obtained the system at the request of a family member. The data suggest that disuse is a common problem that clinicians should assess regularly to assure the benefit of this intervention.
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Translumbar amputation, known also as hemicorporectomy, was first described by Kredel but was not performed until 10 years later in 1960. It appears that 44 such operations have been reported but probably several others remain unpublished. ⋯ This case is remarkable in that, despite a rapidly advancing cancer of the bladder, the patient lived for over 28 years. It is gratifying to see that other surgeons and patients have not abandoned this most radical of all operations when no other therapy can preserve life.
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Comparative Study
Prostate cancer screening practices: differences between clinic and private patients.
How often prostate cancer screening tests are conducted in general practice is unknown. It is known that at the primary care level, health care delivered to uninsured and Medicaid patients and to privately insured patients differs. We investigated the frequency of digital rectal examination and prostate-specific antigen testing in a clinic (an internal medicine clinic) and a faculty private practice population at The Mount Sinai Hospital over a period of one year. ⋯ Private patients were six times more likely than clinic patients to have had prostate-specific antigen screening and seven times more likely to receive both of the recommended prostate screening tests within the past year. Results also showed that 25% of all patients were not screened for cancer by digital rectal examination. Study of a larger population is recommended to further corroborate these findings.