Medline Search Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Medline Search - Essay Example The ‘Medline’ database was studied with directed and pointed queries in the main search box for terms related with the clinical question. The first query was made using a rather obvious sentence ‘improving functional status in adult asthmatics’ but it yielded no results. The search was repeated using a more targeted collection of terms ‘asthma control in adults’ which yielded some very good results. The primary papers shortlisted in this search which were somewhat relevant with the clinical question included papers on medical adherence amongst adult asthmatics residing in two inner city clinics, the beliefs of patients as well as physicians about asthma control and risks involved. Another search was conducted on the same website using ‘asthma self care’ as the key words. This yielded a number of hits and two papers talked about the impact of education on asthma patients, adults as well as children. Out of these, one was found to be highly relevant to the clinical question and is summarized below. Yet another search with the key words ‘asthma medication’ yielded quite good results and another paper was selected for discussion and summarization. In total 10 relevant studies were obtained in this search. The two selected studies had high relevance with the clinical question due to their focus on the impact of education on patient adherence with medication for asthma and are therefore summarized below: 1. A descriptive and correlative study tried to examine the impact of education, knowledge and patient characteristics on emergency visits to the hospital which can yield some fair knowledge about the clinical question (Emtner et al, 2009). In a year long study, 84 asthma patients and 52 COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) patients were interviewed on phone 4 to 6 weeks after an emergency room (ER) visit and followed up for one year to study the impact

Hepatitis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Hepatitis - Essay Example To better understand the viral infection, it would be necessary to examine both acute infections and chronic infections of the virus. Chronic Hepatitis is the less common of the two but it can stay with a person for years. Often the symptoms are quite mild and the person may attribute them to other causes since the liver is not suddenly and significantly damaged (Ryder and Beckingham, 2001). In certainly cases, the liver damage progresses to a stage where cirrhosis may occur followed by liver failure or liver cancer. The cause for Chronic Hepatitis is most often the presence of the Hepatitis C virus since more than 75% of acute Hepatitis C patients develop Chronic Hepatitis. Hepatitis B and D variants of the virus can also cause Chronic Hepatitis but Hepatitis A and E variants do not (Merck, 2003). The causes for Chronic Hepatitis are many and complex even so that some medicines such as Methyldopa, Nitrofurantoin and even Tylenol can lead to chronic hepatitis. The risks are quite strong when these medicines are taken for a prolonged period of time. Similarly, Wilson’s disease which is a hereditary disease can also cause chronic hepatitis in children (Merck, 2003). The problem of detection for Chronic Hepatitis is compounded by the difficulty in marking the symptoms of the disease. For example, the symptoms include a feeling of sickness, poor appetite and a loss of energy (Ryder and Beckingham, 2001). Additionally, a person suffering from Chronic Hepatitis may have a low grade fever and abdominal pains. S/he may also develop signs of jaundice, have an enlarged spleen, retain fluid or blood vessels in the skin that look like spiders. When a doctor suspects a case of Chronic Hepatitis, a liver biopsy may be recommended as a diagnostic test for the liver. The biopsy can reveal the underlying causes of the disease and may be needed more than