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Biomedical subjects

D Alton

Publications and source records attributed to D Alton.

8 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Intussusception in the 1990s: has 25 years made a difference?

To evaluate the current management of the infant and child with intussusception, the medical records of 188 consecutive intussusception patients over 5 years (1985-1990) were reviewed and compared to our series from 25 years ago (1959-1968). The peak months changed from May and June to January and July. Duration of symptoms and signs prior to diagnosis increased by one-third to 35 h with, however, a decrease in the incidence of pain, vomiting, abdominal mass, and rectal blood. Air was the only contrast used for the hydrostatic enema in the present series and was tried in every case with 81% success; this is a major improvement from 45% in the old series. There were three perforations (1.4%) with air-enema attempts compared with 1 (0.2%) 25 years ago. Recently only 19% of patients required operation but 30% needed resection; 55% of the patients in the older series required operation and 20% needed resection. Ten percent of intussusceptions continue to be found spontaneously reduced at operation. There were many less pathologic lead points in the newer series. The recurrences increased from 4% to 7%, but their reduction rate also increased from 31% with barium to 100% with air. There were no deaths in the last 25 years.

Barium Sulfate↗
PubMed1991

Intussusception: barium or air?

At The Hospital For Sick Children, the use of air has recently replaced the use of barium in the reduction of intussusceptions. The purpose of this study was to review the results from 200 consecutive patients with intussusceptions, 100 patients treated with barium enema and 100 patients treated with air enema. The groups were similar with regard to sex, average and median ages, and presenting symptoms and signs. Successful reduction was achieved in 75% of episodes of intussusception treated with barium enema and 76% treated with air enema. Failure of either modality showed a high association with the presence of either a lead point or an ileoileal or ileoileocolic intussusception. Among those cases of unsuccessful reduction, operation was performed in all 59 cases; resection in 30 cases, manual reduction in 19, and spontaneous reduction was found in 10. There were three perforations during attempted reduction with barium and two with air. All perforations were treated by resection and primary anastomosis. There were 18 recurrent intussusceptions following barium enema reduction and nine following air enema reduction. Therefore, with the lower absorption of x-rays by air and the relatively inert nature of air (compared with barium in the event of a perforation), we feel that air enema is the treatment of choice in the initial management of intussusception.

Air↗
PubMed1991

Observer variation in detecting the radiologic features associated with bronchiolitis.

Chest radiographs are commonly obtained to assess children for bronchiolitis, both to corroborate the diagnosis and to exclude other diagnostic possibilities. Their utility in this setting has not previously been examined. Using a blinded, randomized study design, we examined the interobserver and intraobserver variation in the detection of the radiologic features of bronchiolitis from the chest radiograph using "weighted kappa" statistics. This observer variation was compared with that found by other authors for other diagnoses. We also determined the reported presence of these radiologic features in radiographs from patients with bronchiolitis as compared with normal controls. Our study showed acceptable interobserver (kappa = 0.40-0.66) and intraobserver agreement (kappa = 0.50-0.78) on the radiologic features of bronchiolitis relative to other diagnoses. We demonstrated a higher reported presence of these accepted radiologic features in patients with bronchiolitis as compared to controls. Although kappa statistics are widely used in studies of observer variation, "weighted kappa" has received little attention in the radiologic literature. This statistical analysis allows observers to equivocate on the presence or absence of a feature and therefore allows the format of observer variation studies to simulate more closely the normal clinical setting.

Bronchiolitis, Viral↗
PubMed1986

Duplication of the urethra with communication to the rectum. Report of a case.

The posterior channel of duplicated urethrae usually follows a straight course to end in the perineum just inside the anal verge. This unique urethra dipped into the perineum and then turned cephalad to enter the rectum above the anus. Delineation of the course of the urethra simplified management by assisting the urologist to convert the rectal passage to a hypospadiac urethra.

Humans↗
PubMed1983

Extensive spinal dysrhaphism and sacral agenesis without urologic disturbances.

The clinical and radiologic findings in a child with sacral agenesis and extensive spinal dysrhaphism are reported. Observations made in this case suggest that even if the spinal cord is seriously injured by congenital anomalies including sacral agenesis, the functions of the urinary tract can be well preserved.

Child↗