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Biomedical subjects

A W Reid

Publications and source records attributed to A W Reid.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Prevalence of angiographic atherosclerotic renal artery disease and its relationship to the anatomical extent of peripheral vascular atherosclerosis.

BACKGROUND: Recognition of the possible presence of atherosclerotic renal artery disease (ARAD) is important because of its progressive nature, and because of the potential for precipitating an acute deterioration in renal function by administration of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors. The aim of this study was to identify the prevalence of ARAD in patients undergoing peripheral angiography and its relationship to the extent of their peripheral vascular disease (PVD). METHODS: The reports of the 218 patients who underwent peripheral angiography to investigate PVD in one centre in a calendar year, and in whom it was possible to image the renal arteries, were analysed retrospectively. The presence of atherosclerotic disease in the renal, aortic, iliac, femoral and distal areas was recorded for each patient. RESULTS: The prevalence of ARAD was 79/218 (36.2%). The greater the number of atherosclerotic areas of the arterial tree, the higher the prevalence of ARAD. Patients with aortic disease and bilateral iliac, femoral and distal vessel disease had the highest incidence of ARAD 19/38 (50%). The incidence of ARAD in those with femoral artery atherosclerosis was significantly higher than in those without femoral artery atherosclerosis (42.1% compared with 9.7%, P=0.001 chi2). There was no significant difference in those groups with or without iliac and distal disease. None of the 11 patients with normal femoral and iliac arteries had ARAD. CONCLUSIONS: Renal artery atherosclerosis is a common occurrence in patients with PVD. If extensive PVD is recognized during aortography, a high flush should be considered to examine the renal arteries, if they are not included in the main study.

Adult↗

Management of a pregnant patient with airway obstruction secondary to goitre.

A case of airway obstruction in advanced pregnancy is presented. The patient was successfully managed with an awake fibreoptic intubation performed orally followed by a caesarean section and thyroidectomy as a combined procedure. On resection, a thyroid gland weighing 370 g was removed. The patient made an uneventful recovery.

Adult↗

Relationship of muscle strength to potassium concentration in a hypokalaemic infant.

A nine-month infant, weighing 9.8 kg, presented with hypotonia secondary to acute hypokalaemia (1.0 mmol/l). Muscle strength improved as the serum potassium was increased. Muscle strength was assessed by the pressure generated inside a saline-filled endotracheal tube cuff during a grasp reflex. Potassium concentration and hand grip strength were related using a sigmoidal Emax model. Zero effect was assumed when the potassium concentration was zero. The Emax, EC50 and Hill coefficient values were determined by non-linear regression using the MKMODEL program. Parameter estimates (SE) were EC50 1.79 (0.15) mmol/l, Hill coefficient 3.79 (0.92), Emax 114.4 (8.9) mmHg.

Acute Disease↗

The value of light reflection rheography as a screening tool for deep venous thrombosis.

Deep venous thrombosis (DVT) is a common condition in which the clinical diagnosis is notoriously inaccurate. The diagnosis is usually made in the Radiology Department by either Doppler ultrasound or conventional venography. The high clinical suspicion for DVT and the availability of these imaging modalities places an ever increasing burden on radiology departments. Light reflection rheography (LRR) is a non-invasive technique for assessing venous disorders. It is easy and quick and can be performed at the bedside or in the Radiology Department. LRR was prospectively compared with conventional venography in 50 consecutive patients undergoing investigation for possible DVT. LRR was entirely normal in 24 patients and this was confirmed on venography in each case. In practice it was not always possible to differentiate between DVT and venous insufficiency in the 26 abnormal tracings but all 15 cases of venography-proven DVT were within this group. There were no false negative diagnoses of DVT. LRR is a simple and quick method of screening for DVT with significant cost saving implications. A normal tracing reliably excludes the diagnosis, whilst all abnormal tracings should undergo Doppler ultrasound or venography.

False Negative Reactions↗

Response to regional chemotherapy in patients with variant hepatic arterial anatomy.

Regional chemotherapy for colorectal liver metastases is conventionally delivered by a catheter inserted into the gastroduodenal artery. However, up to 40 per cent of patients have 'unconventional' hepatic arterial anatomy. The response rate to regional chemotherapy was examined in 28 patients with normal and in 17 with variant hepatic arterial anatomy. There was no significant difference in response rates between the two groups.

Antimetabolites, Antineoplastic↗

Anatomical basis of intra-arterial chemotherapy for patients with locally advanced breast cancer.

Twenty-eight patients with locally advanced breast cancer received four doses of regional chemotherapy via angiographically placed percutaneous catheters into the internal mammary artery (IMA) and lateral thoracic artery. Patent blue dye was injected to outline the relative contribution to perfusion of each of these vessels. The IMA was found to perfuse 67 (range 20-95) per cent of the breast and the lateral thoracic artery 15 (range 0-35) per cent. In 33 per cent of patients the lateral thoracic artery did not contribute to breast perfusion and a large area of the lateral aspect of the breast was perfused from a further branch of the subclavian or axillary artery. The blood supply to the breast is extremely variable and must be determined in each patient before delivering regional chemotherapy.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Insonation and impedance analysis in graft surveillance.

Seventy consecutive patients with infrainguinal bypass grafts entered a 1-year graft surveillance programme involving colour duplex scanning, direct graft insonation and computer-assisted impedance analysis. Graft patients with a positive duplex scan, high frequencies on graft insonation or an impedance value above 0.50 subsequently underwent arteriography. Sixteen patients were excluded before the initial surveillance visit. The 54 remaining patients with grafts (30 vein, 24 synthetic) underwent a total of 137 surveillance visits, with 21 grafts confirmed to be 'at risk'. The sensitivity of an impedance value above 0.55 in identifying these grafts was 86 per cent, rising to 95 per cent when combined with graft insonation. Duplex scanning did not identify any abnormalities in 11 grafts that were either shown by arteriography to be 'at risk' or occluded before arteriography. Impedance measurement and graft insonation are simple screening techniques with a high sensitivity (when combined), which identify 'at risk' infrainguinal grafts. Positive graft insonation or an impedance value over 0.55 will identify all 'at risk' vein grafts while minimizing the number of unnecessary arteriograms.

Angiography↗

Thrombocytopenia, antithrombin deficiency and extensive thromboembolism in pregnancy: treatment with low-molecular-weight heparin.

Pregnancy limits the therapeutic options for managing thrombocytopenia which occurs in 5% of patients on heparin. We describe a case of extensive thromboembolism associated with antithrombin (AT) deficiency complicated by thrombocytopenia which resolved when low-molecular-weight heparin was instituted. A primigravid woman presented at 11 weeks gestation with bilateral femoral occlusive thrombi extending above the renal veins. Investigations revealed AT deficiency, thrombocytopenia and renal infarction. After low-molecular-weight heparin was substituted for unfractionated heparin, the thrombocytopenia resolved and although the pregnancy was lost, the patient made a full recovery.

Adult↗

Management of thrombosis in peripheral arterial disease.

There is accumulating evidence that thrombosis contributes to peripheral arterial disease, and that antithrombotic therapy should be considered at all symptomatic stages. In claudication, antiplatelet therapy is indicated in addition to lifestyle advice and sometimes surgery or angioplasty; the place of thrombolysis is unproven. In chronic critical limb ischaemia, prophylaxis of venous thromboembolism by low-dose heparin is indicated during hospitalisation, as is long-term antiplatelet therapy; local thrombolysis or systemic prostanoid infusions are increasingly used. In acute critical limb ischaemia, full dose heparinisation is followed by thromboembolectomy, local thrombolysis, angioplasty and surgery as appropriate. Antiplatelet therapy and/or anticoagulation are employed following such procedures, according to risk factors in the individual patient. Collaboration between vascular surgeons, radiologists and physicians is important in comprehensive patient care.

Arm↗

Percutaneous angioplasty, endothelial markers, and fibrin turnover.

PURPOSE: A number of thrombotic mediators have been related to peripheral arterial disease in both epidemiological and pathological studies. METHODS: We measured preoperative levels of fibrinogen, cross-linked fibrin degradation products (FDP), and the endothelial markers, von Willebrand factor (vWF), tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), and plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI), in the venous blood of 43 claudicants undergoing percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). Samples were repeated 4 months later, and changes in the levels of thrombotic mediators were compared with ten controls undergoing angiography alone. Additional perilesional arterial samples were obtained from 11 of the patients. RESULTS: Arterial sampling indicated that successful PTA led to an immediate fall in tPA levels and a rise in arterial vWF (p < 0.05), together with a trend toward a significant rise in cross-linked FDP levels. Only the increase in FDP following successful PTA (36 cases) (p < 0.05) was observed in 4-month postangioplasty venous samples, whereas all variables remained unchanged in cases of restenosis (4 patients) and in controls (all comparisons made by Wilcoxon matched pairs test). CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that successful PTA in patients with intermittent claudication results in acute endothelial disturbance and increased fibrin turnover at the site of angioplasty and in sustained increases in fibrin turnover (as reflected by FDP levels). The observation that this increase in fibrin turnover is absent in cases of restenosis within 4 months of PTA merits further study to determine whether increases in fibrin turnover are necessary to maintain patency following PTA.

Angioplasty, Balloon↗