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Biomedical subjects

D Manuel

Publications and source records attributed to D Manuel.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

Imaging findings and referral outcomes of rapid assessment stroke clinics.

AIM: A rapid assessment stroke clinic (RASC) was established to provide a rapid diagnostic service to individuals with suspected transient cerebral or ocular ischaemia or recovered non-hospitalized strokes. In this report we review imaging findings and clinical outcomes of patients proceeding to the carotid surgery programme. METHODS: Between October 2000 and December 2002, 1339 people attended the RASC. The findings of head CT and carotid Doppler ultrasound of the 1320 patients who underwent brain and carotid imaging were reviewed, and the number subsequently proceeding to carotid angiography and intervention was reported. RESULTS: CT head scans were normal in 57% of cases; 38% demonstrated ischaemia or infarction; and 3% yielded incidental or other significant findings not related to ischaemia. On screening with carotid Doppler ultrasound, 7.5% showed greater than 50% stenosis on the symptomatic side. A total of 83 patients (6.2%) proceeded to cerebral angiography and 65 (4.8%) underwent carotid endarterectomy or endovascular repair. CONCLUSION: Rapid-access neurovascular clinics are efficient in selecting patients for carotid intervention, but this is at a cost and the number of potential strokes prevented is small. Alternative management pathways based on immediate medical treatment need to be evaluated.

Adult↗

Epidemic Escherichia coli O157:H7 gastroenteritis and hemolytic-uremic syndrome in a Canadian inuit community: intestinal illness in family members as a risk factor.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate risk factors for childhood hemolytic-uremic syndrome (HUS) and gastroenteritis during an epidemic of Escherichia coli O157:H7 infection. DESIGN: Case-control study. SETTING: Remote Inuit community of Arviat in northern Canada. PARTICIPANTS: Of the 565 Arviat residents less than 15 years of age, 19 had HUS and 65 more had E. coli O157:H7 gastroenteritis. The 19 children with HUS were compared with 19 age- and gender-matched children with uncomplicated E. coli O157:H7 gastroenteritis, and both HUS and gastroenteritis patients were compared with 19 healthy control subjects. INTERVENTIONS: Questionnaire administered face-to-face to parents of participants in the home. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Rates of exposure to foods, travel, sources of water, and gastrointestinal illness in family members. RESULTS: Patients with HUS and those with uncomplicated E. coli O157:H7 gastroenteritis differed only on measures of clinical severity. In the 7 days before the onset of gastrointestinal symptoms, children with HUS and those with uncomplicated gastroenteritis were more likely to have been exposed to a family member with diarrhea than were the healthy control subjects (odds ratio = 9 for HUS vs healthy control subjects; 95% confidence interval 2 to 43; p < 0.01). Undercooked ground meat and foods traditionally consumed by the Inuit were not implicated as risk factors in E. coli O157:H7 infection. CONCLUSIONS: These findings emphasize the potential for extensive intrafamilial transmission of verotoxin-producing E. coli once infection is introduced into certain communities.

Case-Control Studies↗