Biomedical subjects

D Beringer

Publications and source records attributed to D Beringer.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1993

Restaurant wheelchair accessibility.

This study was designed to determine the compliance of restaurants to the wheelchair accessibility standards set forth in the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards. The standards that were operationalized in this study are also found in Title III of the Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990. The data were collected at 120 sites in three midwestern states. For one who uses a wheelchair, parking the car is often an obstacle to eating out. Only 53% of the restaurants surveyed provide handicapped parking. Entering the building may also be a problem. Of the restaurants that required a ramp, only 66% provided them. Inside the restaurant, the key problems were accessible rest-rooms and the height of tables. The study provided comparisons between restaurants in rural and urban settings, as well as comparisons between conventional restaurants and fast food restaurants. No notable differences emerged for these comparisons.

Architectural Accessibility↗

PubMed1992

Postoperative wound infections complicating adult spine surgery.

A review of 19 consecutive patients treated for deep wound infections after spinal surgery was performed. Patients were analyzed for preoperative risk factors, original diagnosis requiring surgery, onset of infection, presentation, treatment, and outcome. These patients (10 men, nine women), with a mean age of 44 years (range 18-74) were treated for 13 deep and six subcutaneous infections: 16 spine infections and nine graft site infections (six with both). All 19 presented with draining wounds on an average of 17 days after surgery (range 4-86). Staphylococcus aureus was cultured in 14. Patients were treated with i.v. antibiotics for an average of 3 weeks (range 0-14) followed by oral antibiotics for an average of 6 weeks (range 2-12). Surgical treatment included an average of 1.8 debridements (range 0-5), primary closure in two, delayed primary closure in seven, and healing by secondary intent in 10. All but three patients were noted to be malnourished at the onset of their infection, with a total lymphocyte count of less than 2,000. Three patients required removal of their hardware. Eighteen of 19 healed or their infections were stabilized, 17 of 18 arthrodeses fused, and no patient had neurological deterioration secondary to the infection. The treatment outlined produced satisfactory results in all but one patient. We conclude that postoperative spine infections are frequently associated with poor nutrition. Although definitive diagnosis is determined by the culture, clinical exam is helpful in establishing a presumptive diagnosis and, thus, earlier institution of surgical and antibiotic treatment.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1985

Angina and sudden death resulting from papillary fibroelastoma of the aortic valve.

A 75-year-old woman presented with recurrent severe chest pain radiating to her back. The initial ECG was normal, and clinically an aortic dissection was suspected. The patient became hypotensive during a chest computed tomography scan with infusion, had subsequent repeated cardiac arrests, and died. Autopsy revealed a 1.5-cm polypoid lesion, a papillary fibroelastoma, on the aortic valve, which effectively occluded the ostium of the left coronary artery in a ball-valve effect. In addition, an embolic fragment of the tumor was found in the left anterior descending artery. This is the sixth reported case of angina and/or sudden death resulting from this lesion. Of the 75 cases reported in the literature, most are incidental necropsy findings, although neurologic emboli and outflow tract obstruction have been described.

Aged↗