PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

B MacKenzie

Publications and source records attributed to B MacKenzie.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1999

Storage temperatures of out-of-hospital medications.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether temperatures inside drug boxes used in the out-of-hospital setting are within the U.S. Pharmacopeia recommendations for "controlled room temperature," which is defined as a temperature maintained between 15 degrees C and 30 degrees C with a mean kinetic temperature less than 25 degrees C, and to determine whether time-temperature indicator labels can reliably monitor mean kinetic temperatures. METHODS: Two methods were used to monitor temperatures: miniature electronic temperature recorders and color-changing time-temperature indicator labels. These were placed in drug storage boxes of advanced life support units over three summer months and two winter months. RESULTS: In summer, the electronic recorders logged temperatures exceeding 30 degrees C in all drug storage boxes, ranging from 3% to 29% of the total time. The mean kinetic temperatures by location for the whole period ranged from 21 degrees C to 30 degrees C. In the winter, the electronic recorders logged temperatures exceeding 30 degrees C at one location 2% of the total time. There were significant temperature excursions below 15 degrees C at all locations, ranging from 16% to 90% of the total time. At one location, there were temperature readings below 0 degrees C for 9% of the total time. The mean kinetic temperatures obtained from the electronic recorders and the indicator labels differed by less than 1 degrees C. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that out-of-hospital medications are subject to temperatures both above and below recommended storage temperatures. Time-temperature indicator labels can reliably monitor exposure to elevated temperatures.

Cold Temperature↗
PubMed1995

Biological monitoring of commercial pesticide applicators for urine metabolites of the herbicide alachlor.

Alachlor (2-chloro-2',6'-diethyl-N-[methoxymethyl] acetanilide), the active ingredient in several trade name herbicides, is absorbed through the skin and readily excreted in the urine as conjugated metabolites. This paper presents the results of a study to measure alachlor metabolites in the urine of commercial pesticide applicators who were applying alachlor to corn and soybean crops under normal work conditions. Three spot urine samples, collected at the beginning and end of the work shift and the morning after the exposure survey, were collected from 20 applicators, 7 hauler-mixers, and 8 controls. Each sample was analyzed using both a competitive, solid-phase, enzyme-linked immunoassay (ELISA) and a high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) technique. Although the urine metabolite concentrations measured by ELISA were consistently higher than the respective HPLC measurements, a high correlation (r = 0.90) was observed between the ELISA and HPLC measurements. The controls, with little exposure to alachlor, had metabolite levels below or near the lower limits of detection for each analysis technique. Similar urine metabolite concentrations were observed for the applicators and hauler-mixers, suggesting similar work exposures. The average postexposure urine concentrations were not correlated with the amount of alachlor handled and applied, suggesting that other factors, such as work practices, are greater determinants of absorbed doses of alachlor.

Acetamides↗
PubMed1994

5-Fluorouracil related toxic myocarditis: case reports and pathological confirmation.

This report describes two cases of cardiotoxicity associated with the use of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) in the treatment of neoplastic disease, and reviews the literature to date. The manifestations of cardiac toxicity were significant ventricular dysfunction during continuous infusion of 5-FU, accompanied by symptoms resembling cardiac ischemia in one case and irreversible cardiogenic shock in another. Detailed cardiac investigations and pathological findings provide convincing evidence that the development of acute myocarditis is the likely mechanism of 5-FU cardiotoxicity, rather than coronary insufficiency as has commonly been postulated. Although cardiotoxicity as a complication of 5-FU therapy remains rare, recognition of this entity is important as it may lead to serious hemodynamic compromise and may recur with drug rechallenge.

Acute Disease↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Caring for dying children: nurses' experiences.

Interviews with 25 nurses in this grounded theory study show that when nurses recognized that a child's death was inevitable, they struggled with both grief distress and moral distress. Their distress occurred within the context of the nurse-patient relationship. Nurses employed a range of strategies to manage their distress. Several conditions facilitated or constrained nurses' strategies, and resulted in far-reaching implications both professionally and personally.

Adolescent↗