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Biomedical subjects

C Perera

Publications and source records attributed to C Perera.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Management of dead bodies as a component of psychosocial interventions after the tsunami: a view from Sri Lanka.

Even if predicted, disasters may not be completely averted due to reasons beyond human control. There is always likely to be a degree of loss, human as well as material. Therefore, the correct strategy is to limit the damage and minimize the harm. Such damage control exercises should be mindful about the psychological costs of the disaster. Identification of dead bodies and the missing, as well as providing a dignified burial, is a crucial part of the overall management of a disaster. It will alleviate the long-term psychological as well as legal consequences. Hence, a comprehensive forensic service including modern genetic capabilities is a must for disaster response. Development of a comprehensive and efficient psychosocial intervention at community level after a disaster should recognise the importance of dead body management as an integral part of it. The guiding principles of psychosocial interventions are: to be multi-sectoral and multi-level; to include immediate, mid-term and long-term interventions; to be socially and culturally sensitive; to recognize the functionality of existing social and healthcare systems; to adopt a public mental health approach; and to be informed by evidence-based planning and implementation proven to be locally effective.

Cadaver↗
PubMed2003

Climate change and reliability of urban water supply.

This paper describes a probability-based method for assessing the potential impact of climate change on urban water supply systems. Specifically, the assessment method uses probability distributions to place a confidence level on the plausible values of response variables. The Benalla water supply system has been used to demonstrate applicability of the proposed assessment method. For the application, impact of the 2030 climate change scenarios on streamflows and system yield has been examined. The preliminary results have demonstrated that the proposed assessment method can provide valuable insights into the impact of climate change on water supply systems, allowing it to be incorporated into planning decisions.

Cities↗
PubMed1998

Spread of Neisseria meningitidis group A clone III-I meningitis epidemic into Zambia.

The epidemic of Neisseria meningitidis group A clone III-I strain began with the 1987 outbreak in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. Intense epidemics in African countries occurred the following year. Clone III-I was first isolated from Africa in 1988 in Chad, followed by epidemics in Ethiopia (1989), Kenya and Tanzania (1989), and The Central African Republic (1992). We report an epidemic of Neisseria meningitidis group A clone III-I afflicting Zambia during a 2-year period (April 1992-May 1994). This extension of the 'meningitis belt' southwards into Central Africa is cause for concern. Active surveillance for this disease should be carried out by all African countries, even those outside the well described sub-Saharan 'meningitis belt'.

Bacterial Typing Techniques↗
PubMed1996

Nonprotein amino acids from seeds of Cycas circinalis and Phaseolus vulgaris.

Our chemical studies on Cycas circinalis seeds from Guam has provided two new nonprotein amino acids, N-(3'-one-5'-methyl)-hexylalanine and leucine betaine. N-methylisoleucine, previously reported as a component of naturally occurring peptides, has been isolated as a free amino acid from the seeds of Phaseolus vulgaris (pinto bean), together with S-methylcysteine, pipecolic acid and a dipeptide, gamma-glutamyl-leucine.

Alanine↗
PubMed1994

Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in central Australian aborigines.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the upper gastrointestinal endoscopic findings in Australian Aborigines in central Australia; to determine if peptic ulceration occurs in this group; and to discover whether this population shares Helicobacter pylori as a risk factor for peptic ulceration. METHODS: A retrospective analysis of the records of all Aboriginal patients undergoing endoscopy at a general hospital over a two-year period. RESULTS: Eighty-five endoscopies were performed in 64 patients. Haematemesis and melaena was the indication for 24 patients (more commonly in men) and a cause was identified in 83% of these patients; varices were the cause in 17%. Pain was an indication for 25 patients (more commonly in females) and abnormalities were detected in 64%. Peptic ulceration was found in nine patients and a further 23 had gastritis or duodenitis. Cases of oesophageal, gastric and duodenal malignancy were seen, as well as late complications of simple diseases, including gastric outlet obstruction, oesophageal stricture and cholecystoduodenal fistula formation. Of 17 gastric biopsies with evidence of inflammation, H. pylori was found in 15 (88%). CONCLUSION: This, the first study of upper gastrointestinal endoscopy in Aborigines, shows its usefulness in the investigation of their gastrointestinal complaints. Oesophageal varices were found to be an important cause of bleeding. Peptic ulceration associated with H. pylori was found to be common.

Abdominal Pain↗
PubMed1993

Fungal skin infections in a paediatric dermatology clinic.

A diagnosis of fungal infection was established in 8.6% of patients who attended the dermatology clinic at the Lady Ridgeway Hospital, Colombo over a one year period. Only 4.3% were confirmed in the laboratory. The agreement between clinical and laboratory diagnosis was 96.6% for patients with typical clinical features, but only 26.4% for patients who did not have the classical appearance. Both direct microscopy and culture are required to determine the causative agent, although the majority (92%) of patients could be diagnosed on microscopy alone. Microsporum gypseum was the commonest fungus isolated from children.

Child↗
PubMed1992

An outbreak of salmonellosis following consumption of monkey meat.

An outbreak of salmonellosis due to consumption of monkey meat is reported among nine patients of whom one died. S. enteritidis phage type 8 was cultured from the stools of four patients. The spread of salmonellosis due to the consumption of monkey meat has not been reported before.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Changing antibiotic sensitivity patterns in shigellosis.

Over five and a half months stool cultures were performed in 154 patients admitted with suspected bacillary dysentery to the Professorial Paediatric Unit of the Teaching Hospital, Galle. Thirty one patients had a positive stool culture; Shigella dysenteriae type 1 was isolated in 23 patients, and S flexneri in 8. In both groups the antibiotic sensitivity pattern was uniform, the only difference being S dysenteriae type 1 being resistant to nalidixic acid while S flexneri was sensitive. This antibiotic sensitivity pattern was different to that reported from Colombo during the same period. Complications were observed in some patients with S flexneri infection.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed1985

Contraction stress test by breast stimulation as part of antepartum monitoring.

Non-stress tests (NSTs) and oxytocin challenge tests (OCTs) are widely used in most prenatal units for the assessment and monitoring of patients with high risk pregnancies. The contraction stress test is considered to be one of the best tests for evaluating fetal wellbeing in indicated cases. For this purpose, the OCT is usually used. It is a time-consuming test. An intravenous i.v. and oxytocin are both required, and it is therefore relatively costly. In this study, a non-invasive technique--breast stimulation--was used to induce uterine contractions for the purpose of contraction stress testing. Sixty-six patients were studied, and a total of 95 breast stimulation tests (BSTs) were done. 91 tests were successful contraction stress tests (95.78%). The high success rate, the fact that this is a non-invasive method, its easy application and the fact that this test is less expensive and much less time consuming make it a good test for the assessment of fetuses at risk.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Plasmin inhibitors in different fibrinolytic treatment patterns.

The variations of different antiplasmins were studied in a group of patients suffering from thromboembolic conditions and receiving three different regimens of thrombolytic treatment with streptokinase and urokinase. The evaluation of the antiproteases was carried out by chromogenic substrate and radial immunodiffusion. The different administration patterns of the fibrinolytic agents were followed by a clear drop in fast antiplasmin and alpha 2-macroglobulin, while alpha 1-antitrypsin was increased. Antithrombin-III activity was reduced while its protein rose in the intermittent treatment with streptokinase. In the conventional treatment with streptokinase, both the activity and the protein of antithrombin-III increased. With urokinase both the protein and the activity of antithrombin-III were slightly reduced. Plasminogen and fibrinogen decreased in the different regimens of thrombolytic treatment, being more evident in continuous administration of streptokinase.

Antithrombin III↗
PubMed1980

[Hypertensive pulmonary vascular disease in children. Post-mortem study of 34 cases (author's transl)].

Report of a post-mortem study in 34 infants having presented pulmonary hypertension. Ages were between 16 days and three years old. One of the patients showed pulmonary lesion because of plexogenic arteriopathy of unknown etiology. The other 33 cases had congenital heart malformations. Macroscopic data as heart weight, thickness of the wall of the right ventricle and circumference of the pulmonary artery trunk were analized. Lesions developed in the pulmonary artery and its branches as well as those of the pulmonary veins are described. Different patterns of the hypertensive vascular disease are refered, emphasizing their evolution with the age of the patients. Some of the cases are particularly analized because of clinical, physiopathological or morphological peculiarities.

Autopsy↗
PubMed1979

[Problems related to tricuspid atresia during the first year of life (author's transl)].

Sixty six per cent of cases need surgical treatment during the first months of life. The high mortality rate (23 to 40%) in those children which need pulmonary banding or sistemic pulmonary shunts authors believe is due to: 1) The existence of coartation of the aorta in 83% of the cases with trasposition of the great arteries and high pulmonary blood flow. 2) The small diameter of pulmonary arteries in cases with low pulmonary blood flow (smaller than those presenting Fallot's Tetralogy). 3) The association, in 25% of the cases with normally related great arteries, with a subaortic myocardiopathy. These findings require before use of surgical methods: a) Practice of aortography in cases with transposition of great arteries. b) Proper evaluation of pulmonary artery branches diameter performing, if needed, a contrast injection in pulmonary vein. c) Angiographic and echocardiographic studies of left ventricle to rule out association with a hypertrophic myocardiopathy.

Diagnosis, Differential↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Axillary temperature in relation to oral temperature in a group of children in Sri Lanka.

The relationship between the oral temperature (OT) and the axillary temperature (AT) is not clearly established. The measurement of the OT could be an unhygienic procedure. Therefore, a study was done to determine the nature of relationship between OT and AT and whether AT could be used in place of OT. The OT and AT were measured in a group of children with OT's ranging from 97 degrees F (36 degrees C) to 105 degrees F (40.5 degrees C). The average difference of OT minus AT was statistically determined to be 0.3 degrees F (0.15 degrees C) throughout the range of temperatures tested. The correlation (r) between OT and AT was 0.99 (p less than 0.001). The AT is recommended as a reliable measure to be used in routine assessment of body temperature.

Axilla↗