Patients are at great risk for dropping out of treatment as this method repeatedly exposes the patient to the fear. Modeling—This method includes the clinician approaching the feared stimuli while the patient observes and tries to repeat the approach themselves.Exposures that are imaginal are less effective.Specifically for acrophobia, in-vivo exposure (exposure to real-world height-scenarios while maintaining anxiety at controlled levels) has been shown to significantly improve measures of anxiety in the short-term, but this effect decreased over a longer term. Likewise, virtual reality exposure was statistically significant in some measures of anxiety reduction, but not others. Pharmacotherapeutics
As of late 2020, there is limited evidence for the use of pharmacotherapy in the treatment of specific phobia. Pharmacological treatments are typically used in combination with behaviorally-focused psychotherapy, as introducing pharmacological interventions independently may result in relapsing of symptoms. Different treatments are better suited for certain types of specific phobia. For instance, beta blockers are useful in those with performance anxiety. The selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs), paroxetine and escitalopram, have shown preliminary efficacy in small randomized controlled clinical trials. However, these trials were too small to show any definitive benefits of anxiolytic medication alone in treating phobia. Benzodiazepines are occasionally used for acute symptom relief, but have not been shown to be effective for long-term treatment. There are some findings suggesting that adjuvant use of the NMDA receptor partial agonist, d-cycloserine, with virtual reality exposure therapy may improve specific phobia symptoms more than virtual reality exposure therapy alone.
: 142 In 1982, Quinton together with Dr Sakharam Mahurkar, a nephrologist at County Cook Hospital in Chicago, developed dual-lumen catheter which became the standard for haemodialysis and apheresis.Sheridan was dubbed the "Catheter King" by Forbes magazine in 1988. He also invented the modern "disposable" plastic endotracheal tube now used routinely in surgery. Materials
Urinary catheters
A range of polymers are used for the construction of catheters, including silicone rubber, nylon, polyurethane, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), latex, and thermoplastic elastomers. Silicone is one of the most common implantable choice because it is inert and unreactive to body fluids and a range of medical fluids with which it might come into contact. On the other hand, the polymer is weak mechanically, and a number of serious fractures have occurred in catheters. For example, silicone is used in Foley catheters where fractures have been reported, often requiring surgery to remove the tip left in the bladder. There are many different types of catheters for bladder problems. A typical modern intermittent catheter is made from polyurethane and comes in different lengths and sizes for men, women and children.Some catheters are packed in a sterile saline solution.