Biomedical subjects

C Battersby

Publications and source records attributed to C Battersby.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1992

Operative cholangiography: a perspective.

Two hundred and eighty-seven patients having operative cholangiograms were identified from a prospective study of 346 patients undergoing surgery for gallstones. Forty-two patients (14.6%) had filling defects and bile duct (BD) exploration. The false-positive exploration rate was 2.8%. Eight patients (2.8%) had unexpected BD calculi with no abnormality in pre-operative liver function tests or ultrasound. If a policy of selective operative cholangiography is pursued, then failure to detect a small number of duct stones must be expected, although unnecessary duct exploration is likely to be eliminated. The clinical significance of undetected BD calculi remains debatable.

Adult↗

PubMed1992

Quality of life on antihypertensive therapy: a double-blind trial comparing quality of life on pinacidil and nifedipine in combination with a thiazide diuretic. European Pinacidil Study Group.

The quality of life (QL) was evaluated in a 6 month double-blind trial in six European countries. Patients with a sustained supine diastolic blood pressure (SDBP), phase V, of 95 mm Hg or more on bendrofluazide, 5 mg daily (or an equivalent dose of a thiazide diuretic) were randomised to additional pinacidil (n = 127), 25 mg up to 100 mg daily, or nifedipine (n = 130), 20 mg up to 80 mg daily. The treatment groups were similar at entry for QL scores, average DBP of 103 +/- 6 (SD) mm Hg, and average age of 56 +/- 10 (SD) years. Eighteen patients on pinacidil and 12 on nifedipine withdrew due to side effects, such as oedema (both drugs) and flushing (nifedipine). The maximum antihypertensive effect was achieved within 6 weeks and maintained, resulting in a significant fall in SDBP of 13.7 mm Hg on pinacidil and 15.5 mm Hg on nifedipine at the end of the trial. There was no significant difference in the antihypertensive effect. The target SDBP was achieved in 57% of pinacidil-and 63% of nifedipine-treated patients. The average number of symptomatic complaints fell in both groups, with significant decreases in the reporting of blurred vision and headaches on nifedipine. Complaints of growth of body and facial hair increased on pinacidil but there were no significant between-drug comparisons with respect to side effects. In measures of psychological well being, patients on pinacidil showed a significant (p less than 0.05) improvement in total and cognitive function scores compared to nifedipine.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Adolescent↗

PubMed1991

Experience with biliary audit.

Experience with an audit of surgery for gallstones is discussed. Three hundred and forty-six patients were treated in a three and a half year period. There was no mortality. There was a duct exploration rate of 17%, an infection rate of 8.6%, and a re-operation rate for retained bile duct stone of 1.6%. Bile was cultured from 278 gall-bladders and culture was positive in 66 cases (23.7%). The most common organisms grown were coliforms and streptococci. Our antibiotic policy has changed as a result of this study. Audit is becoming increasingly necessary in surgical practice, not only for research purposes, but also to monitor performance. The design can be broad, to identify groups of patients for further study, or narrow, to concentrate on a particular problem. Someone must be responsible for checking the completed forms for accuracy before the data are entered into the computer. It is important that the form be as simple as possible. Forms which are too detailed will be filled in inaccurately or not at all.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

The needle glucose electrode: in vitro performance and optimisation for implantation.

The classical glucose needle electrode based on detection of H2O2 from glucose oxidase has been studied. Dip-coating of a series of outer polyurethane layers of increasing concentration (10-50% W/V) achieved devices with extended linearity (greater than or equal to 30 mM glucose) with greater reliability than a single dip-coat. In vitro performance in unstirred whole blood was acceptable, and all devices were stir-independent. Nevertheless, signal size was affected by a high solution viscosity, and this may have implications for the use of enzyme electrodes in subcutaneous tissue.

Biosensing Techniques↗

PubMed1978

Ruptured choledochal cyst: recognition and management.

A case is described of the rupture of a choledochal cyst in a 21-year-old man involved in a motor vehicle accident. At laparotomy, a haemoperitoneum was traced to a large haematoma in the lesser omentum which extended into the mesocolon and was found to be tinged with bile. Eventually it became apparent that the primary pathological condition was a large choledochal cyst into which opened the gallbladder. This cyst had split longitudinally down its anterior surface from the porta hepatis to the duodenum. Bile leakage was controlled by inserting a Foley catheter into the common hepatic duct, and inflating the balloon. Postoperative cholangiography showed massive cystic dilation of the intrahepatic ducts. Five days after the initial operation, a Roux-en Y cystjejunostomy was performed, and the patient has been well since. Crucial points in the emergency management of this condition appear to be in its recognition, and the provision of an adequate method of primary biliary drainage, if the condition of the patient demands staged management. End-to-end cystjejunostomy provides a satisfactory method of final drainage.

Accidents, Traffic↗

PubMed1978

Mastectomy in a large public hospital.

Thirty women undergoing mastectomy for carcinoma of the breast in a large teaching hospital were interviewed. All indicated a very real need to discuss their experiences, and felt that the interview had been beneficial to them. Most had found the "lump" themselves--but often described it as a "hardness", a "ridge", or a "thickening". More than half felt that the counselling afforded to them had been inadequate--especially in the realm of sexual adjustment--but, if their marriages had been stable before operation, subsequent deterioration was unlikely. The threat of malignancy, rather than that of breast loss, was uppermost in the minds of most patients. It should not be assumed that postmastectomy problems do not exist because patients do not mention them, especially in large busy follow-up clinics, where privacy may be inadequate. If doctors are unable or unwilling to afford this service to their mastectomy patients, it may be necessary to delegate it to other health professionals and mastectomy volunteers.

Adult↗

PubMed1977

An electron microscopic study of the mode of donor cell death in unmodified rejection of pig liver allografts.

The only type of cell death found in pig liver allografts 1 week after technically successful operation was apoptosis. Its extent paralleled the degree of mononuclear cell infiltration of the liver parenchyma, and mononuclear cells were found applied to the surfaces of hepatocytes showing early stages of the process. The results suggest that cellular immune attack induces apoptosis of donor cells, and that the action is a direct one. However, implication of other factors such as vascular damage in the induction of apoptosis in the grafts could not be excluded.

Animals↗

PubMed1977

Acute pancreatitis: the Queensland scene.

One hundred patients suffering from acute pancreatitis and studied in two large teaching hospitals in Brisbane between 1959 and 1973 were reviewed. Gallstones were present in 43 patients (of whom 31 were female), and a history of alcoholic excess were elicited in 23. Sixty-three patients were aged over 50 years. Characteristic clinical features included spreading epigastric pain with radiation to either of the upper quadrants of the abdomen. Left-sided upper abdominal peritonitis associated with severe repetitive vomiting was suggestive of the diagnosis. The serum level in most cases fell below the arbitrary diagnostic level of 500 Somogyi units/100 ml within 72 hours of the onset of the pain. Acute haemorrhagic necrosis of the pancreas was positively diagnosed in 15 patients, six of whom died. The overall mortality rate in the series was 9%.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1977

The dilemma of stage III breast cancer: a study of preoperative radiotherapy.

The results of treatment of 68 patients with Stage III breast cancer treated by preoperative radiotherapy and subsequent mastectomy have been compared with those in 68 patients treated by more conventional methods, matched individually for age, stage, and year of treatment. Preoperative radiotherapy delayed the time of the first local recurrence, but did not improve overall survival. It is concluded that preoperative radiotherapy may be justified in patients with Stage III breast cancer in an attempt to control local disease, but is unlikely to improve control of systemic recurrence.

Breast Neoplasms↗

PubMed1977

What shall we teach our students about breast cancer? A personal view.

The incidence of breast cancer in Australia is as high as in most parts of the world. The usual presentation is with a breast lump. Invasive and preinvasive malignant changes may be identified in both duct and lobular epithelia. There are clinical features of malignancy, but histological proof is necessary. Aspiration of cysts and reexamination of clinically benign lumps are acceptable in certain circumstances, but a tissue diagnosis should be made by needle or open biopsy. Earlier diagnosis is possible by radiological screening of asymptomatic patients, but the cost is high. Total excision of the breast (simple mastectomy) is the minimum treatment advisable for infiltrating cancer; If there is a high chance that the draining lymph nodes will contain tumor, they should be treated by surgical excision or radiotherapy. Early chemotherapy does reduce the incidence of systemic metastases after mastectomy, but its precise place in management is not yet clear. The social impact of mastectomy is considerable and deserves more attention than has been paid to it in the past. Clinical trials of treatment should continue, as they are beginning to answer some fundamental questions.

Australia↗

PubMed1975

Fifteen years on.

Sixty students who graduated from the University of Queensland in 1958 were traced 15 years later. Sixty per cent were in private practice and 40% were in full-time salaried jobs. Those who ultimately became physicians had the best average course performance. After specialization, there appeared to be a tendency for the less academically able students to take on full-time salaried jobs rather than to enter private practice. Seventy per cent of women were still in substantially full-time practice.

Australia↗

PubMed1975

Early jaundice after pig liver transplantation.

Of a series of pigs surviving orthotopic liver allotransplantation with end-to-end anastomosis of the bile duct, 70% were noted to be jaundiced at the end of the first week after transplantation. Seven animals in a subsequent series were investigated biochemically, but operative cholangiography, and by liver biopsy seven days after transplantation, when the jaundice was maximal. There was definite cholangiographic obstruction in only one animal, and this finding was subsequently confirmed at autopsy. This was also the only animal in which bile culture was positive. Jaundiced animals appeared to have more marked histological evidence of rejection than non-jaundiced ones. The jaundice was probably a result of transient rejection and usually resolved spontaneously without immunosuppression.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Breast cancer in Queenland fifteen years after treatment.

The incidence of carcinoma of the breast in this Australian series is as high as in most countries of the world, and remains high with increasing age. The mortality rate from cancer is highest in the first three years after treatment of the primary disease, but, even after 10 years, deaths from cancer are nearly as frequent as those from intercurrent disease. At least 25% of patients had advanced disease at initial presentation. A 25% 15-year survival rate is reported in a series of mixed stage at the time of initial treatment, which was by simple mastectomy and radiotherapy in 75% of cases. Large tumours without evidence of axillary metastasis T3N0M0) often had a surprisingly good prognosis. The site of first reappearance of the tumour was local in 30-6% of cases, systemic in 38-4% of cases, and in the opposite breast in 7-6% of cases. It was not possible to classify the remaining 23-4% either because of incomplete information or, more usually, because of synchronous development of local and systemic recurrence. Of patients who developed local recurrence in this group, 83% showed generalized metastatic disease within 10 years of the appearance of the recurrent disease.

Adult↗