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Biomedical subjects

Cory Franklin

Publications and source records attributed to Cory Franklin.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Heroin insufflation as a trigger for patients with life-threatening asthma.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the prevalence of self-reported, heroin-associated asthma symptoms among inner-city patients treated for life-threatening asthma, and to compare the rates of drug use between ICU patients with asthma and ICU control patients with diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). DESIGNS: Study 1 was a sequential case series of patients requiring ICU admission for asthma (January to June 1999). Study 2 was a retrospective, case-control study of drug use among asthma patients and control subjects with DKA requiring ICU care (1997 to 1998). SETTING: Inner-city, public hospital ICU. PATIENTS: Twenty-three patients (26 ICU admissions) with asthma (age range, 16 to 50 years) admitted to the ICU from January to June 1999, and 84 patients (104 ICU admissions) with asthma and 42 patients with DKA (age range, 15 to 50 years) admitted to the ICU during 1997 to 1998. Outcomes studied: Self-reported, heroin-associated exacerbations, history of heroin or cocaine use, and urine drug screen (UDS) results. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: In the sequential ICU admissions, 13 of 23 patients (56%) described asthma exacerbations associated with heroin insufflation. In the case-control study, asthmatics were significantly more likely to report heroin use (41.3% vs 12.5%; p = 0.006) and had a significantly higher prevalence of UDS results positive for opiates (60% vs 7%; p = 0.001) compared to subjects with DKA. The rates of cocaine use by history and UDS results did not differ significantly between the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: At least since 1997, heroin insufflation is a common asthma trigger in this inner-city ICU and should be considered in the care of patients with life-threatening asthma.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2002

High-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the role of statins.

Low levels of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) are currently considered to be a major risk factor for the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). Deficiencies in the HDL metabolic pathway promote atherosclerosis and contribute to CAD. Low HDL-C levels are included in the Framingham 10-year risk assessment for CAD although they are not yet targeted for therapy. Recent clinical trials have shown benefits from raising HDL-C, particularly in patients with lower baseline levels. The statin class of drugs, used primarily to lower the level of low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol, may be able to raise the HDL-C level as well. Statins could potentially affect HDL-C by different modes of action, most importantly by altering reverse cholesterol transport. Among the currently available statins, simvastatin has demonstrated the most consistent ability to raise HDL-C level, but further large-scale studies at an early stage will be needed to prove the antiatherogenic effects of this class of drugs.

Anticholesteremic Agents↗
PubMed1993

Allowing patients to decide.

...allowing physicians to withhold life support and resuscitation because they feel it is futile, no matter how beneficent their intentions, would be an unwarranted step backwards toward the type of paternalism modern American society has turned away from. If we agree that all professional ethics must, in some way, be responsive to the society that profession serves, then in these most critical situations, the final decision must rest with the patient.

Altruism↗