Perception and use of the results of patient satisfaction surveys by care providers in a French teaching hospital.

OBJECTIVE: . The aim of this study was to assess clinical staff's opinions on the results of in-patient satisfaction surveys and their use within the quality improvement process. SETTING: The institution is a 2200-bed teaching hospital of tertiary health care employing 8000 professionals. Patient satisfaction surveys are carried out each year using a validated questionnaire mailed to a random sample of patients. The specific results of each department are sent to the medical and paramedical managers. METHODS: We conducted a questionnaire survey on 500 care providers randomly selected in every medical and surgical department. RESULTS: A total of 261 questionnaires were returned and analysed. Overall, 94% of responders had a favourable opinion of the patient satisfaction surveys. They considered that the patient was able to judge hospital service quality, especially in its relational, organizational, and environmental dimensions. The specific results for the department were less well known than the overall hospital results (60 versus 76%). These results were formally discussed in the department according to 40% of responders; 40% declared that these data resulted in improvement actions and considered that they led to modifications in their behaviour with patients. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a declared interest in satisfaction surveys, the results remain underused by hospital staff and insufficiently discussed within teams.     

Psychological distress among female spouses of male at-risk drinkers.

The consequences of alcoholism on the mental health of spouses of lifetime at-risk drinkers are only known from studies on alcoholics already in treatment. A retrospective analysis was conducted using data from a Quebec community health survey. The purpose of this study was twofold. First, our goal was to ascertain the mental health of female spouses living with a male lifetime at-risk drinker. Secondly, we wanted to examine the relationship between male lifetime at-risk drinkers (aged 30-54 years) and the psychological distress of their nondrinking female spouses. Lifetime at-risk drinking, for the purposes of this study, was defined as having at least two positive answers to the CAGE questionnaire. Couples wherein both spouses were deemed not at-risk for problem drinking by the CAGE instrument (0 or 1 positive answer) formed the control group. Psychological distress was measured using the Indice de Détresse Psychologique de l'Enquête Santé Québec (Préville, M., Boyer, R., Potvin, L., Perreault, C., & Légaré, G. (1992). La détresse psychologique: détermination de la fiabilité et de la validité de la mesure utilisée dans l'enquête Santé Québec. Cahier de recherches #7, Montréal, Santé Québec.). It measures symptoms of anxiety, depression, aggressivity, and cognitive impairments. Scores of >or=22 (out of 100) were indicative of a high level of psychological distress. This study confirmed higher levels of psychological distress in female spouses of male lifetime at-risk drinkers in the general population. An exploratory study examined the association between the psychological distress of female spouses and each of the following nine independent variables: male partner lifetime at-risk drinker, stressful life events, job situation, socioeconomic status, perceived health status, presence of children less than 15 years, length of the marital relationship, presence of a confidant, and availability of social support. Lifetime at-risk drinking is a risk factor for the spouse's psychological distress. An examination of the demographic characteristics related to alcohol intake in male lifetime at-risk drinkers is also described in this study.     

Minorities and AIDS: knowledge, attitudes, and misconceptions among black and Latino adolescents.

White adolescents in San Francisco high schools were more knowledgeable than Black adolescents about the cause, transmission, and prevention of AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome), and Black adolescents were more knowledgeable than their Latino peers. Black and Latino adolescents were approximately twice as likely as White adolescents to have misconceptions about the casual transmission of AIDS. Less knowledge about AIDS and prevalent misconceptions were associated with greater levels of perceived risk of contracting AIDS.     

Induction of HLA-specific CTL to nonimmunogenic, heat-inactivated lymphocytes by interleukin 2

Human lymphocytes that have been heat-inactivated (1 hr, 45 degrees C) were used as stimulator cells in a model system to study the requirements of allogeneic T cell activation in vitro. Cytotoxic T lymphocytes were not generated in either primary or secondary mixed lymphocyte cultures after exposure to heated stimulator cells. Successful reconstitution of cytolytic activity in primary cultures was achieved by the addition of rIL-2. Further, cytotoxic T cell lines could be maintained in culture for several weeks by stimulation with heated allogeneic cells and periodic addition of exogenous IL-2. The cytotoxic T cells generated in primary cultures or in the T cell lines were specific for the HLA class I antigens of the stimulating cells. Thus, the combination of heated cells and IL-2 stimulated antigen-specific cytotoxic cells, and not merely lymphokine-activated killers. Although IL-2 production appeared to be a crucial missing component of MLCs with heated lymphocytes, the addition of IL-1, a factor known to act as a second signal for stimulating IL-2 production, did not reconstitute cytolytic activity. These results indicate that (1) heat treatment does not appreciably affect class I structure; (2) HLA class I/T cell receptor interactions are intact, resulting in responsiveness to IL-2 but not IL-1; and (3) heating creates a defect that has a minimal effect on CTL precursor activation but does disrupt a T helper cell/stimulator cell interaction critical for IL-2 production.     

Iotrol versus metrizamide in lumbar myelography: a double-blind study

In a prospective, randomized, double-blind study, 49 patients underwent lumbar myelography using iotrol (24 patients) or metrizamide (25 patients). The diagnostic imaging adequacy of iotrol was comparable with that of metrizamide. After iotrol myelography, adverse reactions were fewer, less severe, and of shorter duration than were those following metrizamide myelography. Thirteen of 24 patients (54%) receiving iotrol reported some adverse reactions compared with 24 of 25 patients (96%) receiving metrizamide. Five moderate and one severe adverse reaction occurred in the group receiving iotrol. Fourteen moderate and eight severe adverse reactions occurred in the group receiving metrizamide. Thirty-eight patients underwent electroencephalography both before and after myelography (19 iotrol and 19 metrizamide). None of the EEGs obtained after iotrol myelography changed from baseline, while seven of the EEGs obtained after metrizamide myelography showed changes from baseline. Iotrol was judged superior to metrizamide as a contrast medium in this patient population.     

A double-blind comparison of fluoxetine, imipramine and placebo in outpatients with major depression

Fluoxetine is the first selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressant to be marketed in the U.S. In this double-blind trial fluoxetine was compared with imipramine and placebo among 198 outpatients with DSM-III major depression, of whom 145 completed at least 2 weeks of active treatment and were evaluated for efficacy. Significantly fewer patients in each active drug group terminated early due to lack of efficacy compared to placebo. Both imipramine and fluoxetine were significantly superior to placebo on most measures. There were no consistently significant differences between the two active drugs although a trend favored imipramine on a number of measures. Fluoxetine was generally well tolerated. Significantly more imipramine than placebo patients terminated early due to side-effects while the fluoxetine-placebo difference was not significant. The results support previous studies which suggest fluoxetine's superior side-effect profile and the approximate antidepressant equivalence of fluoxetine and TCAs.