Southern Medical Journal 

About: Southern Medical Journal is an academic journal published by Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Population & Medicine. It has an ISSN identifier of 0038-4348. Over the lifetime, 19796 publications have been published receiving 213585 citations. The journal is also known as: South Med J. & South. Med. J..

Limb amputation and limb deficiency: epidemiology and recent trends in the United States.

Abstract: Background.The purpose of this study was to provide a comprehensive perspective on the epidemiology and time trends in the incidence of limb amputations and limb deficiency in the United States.Methods.Data from the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project from 1988 through 1996 were used to

Male pattern baldness: classification and incidence.

Abstract: The need for a widely accepted, accurate, and reproducible standard of classification for male pattern baldness has increased with the advent and increasing popularity of hair transplant surgery. This report establishes such a classification, and reports its use in determining the incidence of male pattern baldness at various ages in 1,000 white adult male subjects. The action of testosterone as an incitant in male pattern baldness is well known, but this study points out the continued effect of time, even in later years. Since most hair transplant surgery is peformed on subjects with male pattern baldness, and because the success of hair transplant surgery is largely dependent on proper patient selection, a complete understanding of male pattern baldness is essential for consistently good results with hair transplantation.

Positive therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer in a coronary care unit population.

Abstract: The therapeutic effects of intercessory prayer (IP) to the Judeo-Christian God, one of the oldest forms of therapy, has had little attention in the medical literature. To evaluate the effects of IP in a coronary care unit (CCU) population, a prospective randomized double-blind protocol was followed. Over ten months, 393 patients admitted to the CCU were randomized, after signing informed consent, to an intercessory prayer group (192 patients) or to a control group (201 patients). While hospitalized, the first group received IP by participating Christians praying outside the hospital; the control group did not. At entry, chi-square and stepwise logistic analysis revealed no statistical difference between the groups. After entry, all patients had follow-up for the remainder of the admission. The IP group subsequently had a significantly lower severity score based on the hospital course after entry (P less than .01). Multivariant analysis separated the groups on the basis of the outcome variables (P less than .0001). The control patients required ventilatory assistance, antibiotics, and diuretics more frequently than patients in the IP group. These data suggest that intercessory prayer to the Judeo-Christian God has a beneficial therapeutic effect in patients admitted to a CCU.

Religion, spirituality, and medicine: research findings and implications for clinical practice.

Abstract: A growing body of scientific research suggests connections between religion, spirituality, and both mental and physical health. The findings are particularly strong in patients with severe or chronic illnesses who are having stressful psychologic and social changes, as well as existential struggles related to meaning and purpose. Recent studies indicate that religious beliefs influence medical decisions, such as the use of chemotherapy and other life-saving treatments, and at times may conflict with medical care. This article addresses the ways physicians can use such information. Spirituality is an area that makes many physicians uncomfortable, since training in medical schools and continuing medical education programs are limited. Not only do most physicians lack the necessary training, they worry about spending additional time with patients and overstepping ethical boundaries. While these concerns are valid, each can be addressed in a sensible way. Taking a spiritual history, supporting the patient's beliefs, and orchestrating the fulfillment of spiritual needs are among the topics this article will address. The goal is to help physicians provide medical care that is sensitive to the way many patients understand and cope with medical illness.

Long-term medical consequences of incest rape and molestation.

Abstract: One hundred thirty-one patients who gave a history of childhood sexual abuse were seen in a general medical practice decades after the event and were compared with a control group. The subject patients were found to be distinct for chronic depression, morbid obesity, marital instability, high utilization of medical care, and certain psychosomatic symptoms, particularly chronic gastrointestinal distress and recurrent headaches. It is clear that these remote events can underlie difficult chronic medical problems. Questions about childhood sexual abuse must become part of the practitioner's review of systems in these difficult cases, if not routinely.