Prognostic significance of serum cholesterol in nursing home men

Serum cholesterol was measured in 129 men (average age 70.6; range 41-96) of a Veterans Administration Nursing Home, and was correlated with other items in an extensive clinical data base. Serum cholesterol was less than 150 mg/dl in 13% of the subjects, and was less than 160 mg/dl in 18%. Cholesterol greater than 280 mg/dl occurred in 8%. Serum cholesterol varied directly (p less than 0.02) with: body weight, serum albumin, serum total protein, serum sodium, ability to walk, and ability to feed oneself; and indirectly (p less than 0.02) with death rate, degree of functional dependence, and serum SGOT and LDH. Nursing home men with cholesterol less than 150 mg/dl had a death rate of 63% during the 14 months after the cholesterol analysis, compared to a death rate of 9% in men with cholesterol greater than 150 mg/dl (p less than 0.05). Death rate during the year after the analysis was 52% if cholesterol was below 160 mg/dl, compared to 7% if it was above this threshold (p less than 0.05).     

A preferred provider organization (PPO) case study for mental health and substance abuse.

The Preferred Provider Organization concept is quickly becoming more popular because of its relative cost-effectiveness and recent successes. Managed care through means of this mental health and substance abuse PPO may well serve as the prototype for the general health care cost containment efforts of the future for the self-insured insurance plans for Alabama state employees and teachers. The first year also revealed several problems in the original proposal especially with respect to the unintended attractiveness of inpatient/residential care. Consequently, copayment plans were added to dissuade unnecessary lengthy stays (see Table 2). Second, a new quality assurance mechanism has been added to further evaluate the need for admissions to facilities, as well as for the need for continued inpatient treatment. The Alabama Quality Assurance Foundation (AQAF) began on January 1, 1988, conducting the preadmission certification on all admissions based upon criteria established jointly by AQAF and the PPO providers. In addition, AQAF will conduct continuing stay reviews at predetermined time periods to ensure that continued treatment in an inpatient setting is indeed necessary.     

The development and evaluation of a mu-capture ELISA detecting Chlamydia-specific IgM

A mu-capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) for detecting chlamydia-specific IgM was developed by use of the heat stable, lipopolysaccharide group-specific antigen and an alkaline phosphatase-labelled anti-chlamydia group-specific monoclonal antibody conjugate. The test was used to study the serological response in chlamydial respiratory tract infection among patients with acute respiratory tract symptoms in Cambridgeshire during the past 7 years. Results were compared with those of the complement fixation test (CFT) in routine use as well as those of a whole inclusion indirect immunofluorescence (WIF) test for IgM. Correlation between results of the mu-capture ELISA and those of the WIF test was 87.5%. The percentage of patients in whom specific IgM was found fell with increasing age. This may be due to lack of recall of IgM as a response to reinfection. Chlamydia-specific IgM was more likely to be detected when the CFT titre was greater than or equal to 64 and was rarely detected more than 6 months after the onset of symptoms. However, several patients less than 20 years of age were found to have specific IgM with CF antibody titres less than 64. We have found the mu-capture ELISA a useful test for the diagnosis of respiratory tract chlamydial infections, particularly in younger patients.