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Biomedical subjects

C F McCarthy

Publications and source records attributed to C F McCarthy.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources

Death following fiberoptic gastroscopy caused by pheochromocytoma.

A 45-year-old woman was admitted to hospital for investigation of weight loss, sciatica and excess sweating. On examination, whe was found to have a tachycardia and the stigmata of von Recklinghausen's disease. Her investigations included a barium meal and gastroscopy. Following the gastroscopy, she developed ventricular tachycardia and died. An autopsy revealed a pheochromocytoma of the left adrenal gland.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

The 15 g D-xylose absorption test: its application to the study of coeliac disease.

The absorption of xylose following an oral load of 15 g D-xylose has been studied by serial blood levels in 17 untreated adult coeliac patients, 21 treated coeliac patients, and 30 non-coeliac patients. A statistically significant difference in xylose blood levels was found between untreated coeliac and non-coeliac patients at all the times studied, but a complete separation between these two groups occurred only at the 75 minute stage. The reproducibility of absorption was assessed by repeating the test in 16 subjects. The 95% confidence limits of the standard error of estimate are narrowest at 75 and 90 minutes.

Adult↗

Mucosal recovery in treated childhood celiac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy).

Follow-up studies on 36 children, in whom celiac disease (gluten-sensitive enteropathy) was established by gluten challenge, were carried out after management on gluten-free diets for a mean of six years. Evaluations included measurement of height and weight, which for the group approximated normal distributions, and histologic examination of the duodenal or jejunal mucosa. Mucosal morphology was regarded as normal in 16, and there were minimal changes in 20. Epithelial cell height was within the normal range in all the children. Interepithelial lymphocytes were within normal range in the majority and lymphoid cells in the lamina propria were not different from those in control subjects. Mucosal lactase was significantly lower in patients than in control subjects in the duodenum and the jejunum, whereas sucrase and alkaline phosphatase values were significantly lower in the jejunum but not in the duodenum. Low content of mucosal lactase and increased numbers of interepithelial lymphocytes may be sensitive indicators of persisting ingestion of gluten in mucosa that is otherwise normal or approximately so in appearance.

Adolescent↗

The endoscopic demonstration of coeliac disease.

The first part of the duodenum has been studied endoscopically in treated and untreated coeliac patients. Biopsies taken from the duodenal cap during endoscopic examination, show villous atrophy similar to that found in the distal duodenum and jejunum. Using the indigocarmine scattering method, severe atrophy of the mucosal surface can be demonstrated throughout the duodenal cap, in vivo, in untreated coeliac disease.

Adult↗

Hepatitis-associated-antigen-positive hepatitis in a tuberculosis unit.

An outbreak of hepatitis-associated-antigen-(HB Ag)-positive hepatitis in a hospital unit for the care of male patients with pulmonary tuberculosis is described. Sixty-four patients were studied of whom 37 were HB Ag positive. Hepatitis developed in at least 20 and was icteric in 11. The illness was mild, without fatality due to hepatitis and persistent jaundice did not occur. A carrier state developed in 15 of 24 HB Ag-positive patients followed up for more than six months and was unrelated to the presence or absence of initial hepatitis. Spread of HB Ag to domestic and medical staff occurred and following the discharge of the patients, household contacts became positive. Five, all wives of patients, developed jaundice. Faeces and sputum were HB Ag negative in seropositive cases. The origin of the outbreak remains undetected. The probability of non-parenteral transmission of HB Ag in this outbreak is discussed. Closure of the unit, isolation of HB Ag-positive cases with separate toilet and kitchen facilities, and discharge of patients when their respiratory condition allowed, resulted in prevention of further spread and eventually all patients were discharged from the unit.

Adolescent↗

Reticulin antibodies in patients with coeliac disease and their relatives.

The sera of 69 index coeliac patients, 121 of their first-degree relatives, and 104 controls were screened for the presence of reticulin antibodies. Among the untreated coeliac patients 75% of adults and 93% of children had reticulin antibody in their serum. Reticulin antibody was not present in any adequately treated coeliac patient. Of the first-degree relatives, 21 were reticulin antibody positive; 17 of these were biopsied and 12 were shown to have coeliac disease. Sixty-five of the coeliac relatives who did not have reticulin antibodies in their sera were biopsied and two had coeliac disease. Of the 68 relatives and 63 controls with normal biopsies, five of the relatives and four of the controls were reticulin antibody positive.

Adolescent↗