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Biomedical subjects

D A Newton

Publications and source records attributed to D A Newton.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1991

A retrospective study of spinal cord injuries in Cape Province rugby players, 1963-1989. Incidence, mechanisms and prevention.

A retrospective study was undertaken to determine aetiological factors for 117 catastrophic neck injuries in rugby players admitted to the Spinal Cord Unit, Conradie Hospital, Cape Town, between 1963 and 1989. Nineteen of these players were known to be dead; the files of another 10 were missing. Questionnaires were sent to the remaining 88 players and 52 responded (59%). Their data were supplemented with information obtained from the medical records of the patients who did not respond. The annual number of admissions increased dramatically after 1976 with 83% of all injuries occurring after that date. A further increase since 1984 contrasts with a falling incidence of these injuries in Britain, Australia and New Zealand. Increased risk of injury was related to the following factors: 98% of injuries occurred in matches and 81% were incurred by adults; 69% of injuries occurred in age-group A team or senior first team players; and 57% of injuries occurred in the tackle situation and 39% in scrums, rucks and mauls. Hooker, centre and flyhalf were the playing positions at greatest risk. Injuries were more common in early season matches and again after the mid-season break. This study confirmed that spinal cord injuries occur under predictable circumstances and are therefore foreseeable and preventable. The high incidence of these injuries in the Cape Province is as unacceptable today as it was when first reported in 1977.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Papilloedema and optic atrophy in chronic hypercapnia.

Two patients are described with hypercapnia of 10 and 13 years duration. Both patients had papilloedema at different stages of their illness and one patient developed optic atrophy. Whether such changes are due to local retinal vascular changes, general change in cerebral vasculature or the result of raised intracranial pressure is unknown. A combination of all seems likely. Computerized axial tomography brain scan on Case 2 was compatible with cerebral oedema and the development of optic atrophy (Case 1) suggests cerebral oedema and consequent raised intracranial pressure as the major factor in the development of papilloedema in hypercapnic patients. Skull radiographic changes have not previously been reported in hypercapnia. The duration of the papilloedema is critical in the development of atrophy.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Physiotherapy and intermittent positive-pressure ventilation of chronic bronchitis.

Patients aged over 45 admitted to hospital with exacerbations of chronic bronchitis alone or in association with cor pulmonale, pneumonia, or respiratory failure were placed in one of three groups (men with hypoxia, men without hypoxia, and women). Patients within these groups were then randomly allocated to receive either standard drug treatment alone or standard drug treatment plus intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (IPPV). No significant differences occurred between the controls and patients receiving physiotherapy and IPPV in any group. We conclude that when a patient with chronic bronchitis and respiratory failure is deteriorating emphasis should be on correct diagnosis, fluid electrolyte balance, and nutrition together with oxygen treatment when necessary, rather than on additional physiotherapy.

Aged↗
PubMed1978

Effect of physiotherapy on pulmonary function. A laboratory study.

33 patients with acute exacerbations of chronic bronchitis were studied within 4 days of admission to hospital. Physiotherapy produced an acute rise in lung volume and conductance, without altering specific conductance. There was no consistent change in arterial-blood gases.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1978

House dust mite hyposensitization.

A double-blind controlled trial of house dust mite hyposensitization was carried out in 14 patients with asthma, who were hypersensitive on skin testing to the house dust mite alone. Measurements were made, using a Wright's peak flowmeter, during the 15-month trial period. Precautions were taken in the home to reduce the mite population. At the end of the trial, no clinical improvement was noted subjectively or objectively, despite a reduced bronchial sensitivity to allergen in the treated group. The role of the house dust mite as a cause of asthma is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1978

Chronic hypercapnia and radiological changes in the pituitary fossa.

A consecutive series of ten patients with chronic bronchitis and hypercapnia were studied. All seven patients with chronic hypercapnia and one patient with intermittent hypercapnia showed evidence on skull radiographs of raised intracranial pressure. In five male and three female chronic bronchitics matched for age and ventilatory impairment, but without hypercapnia, no such radiological abnormalities were shown. The clinical significance and pathophysiology of this hitherto unreported finding is discussed. It would appear that in some cases the chronicity of hypercapnia may be diagnosed from a radiograph of the pituitary fossa.

Aged↗