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Biomedical subjects

E Masterson

Publications and source records attributed to E Masterson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

Chronic neck pain following road traffic accidents in an Irish setting and it's relationship to seat belt use and low back pain.

Chronic neck pain following road traffic accidents is a highly prevalent condition in developed societies. It constitutes the main element of chronic whiplash syndrome, and is often used synonymously with that term. It is also a highly controversial condition, with debate in the extensive literature as to the nature of the complaint. We performed an analysis of 100 consecutive patients presenting for treatment of chronic neck pain following road traffic accidents. The mean duration of neck pain was 15.5 months and 90% of patients reported wearing a seatbelt at the time, a significantly greater proportion than the general population (p<0.001). All patients in the study were involved in litigation related to the accident. The mean time off work due to the injury was 4.9 months (range 1 week-3 years). 60 patients also complained of accident related low back pain, a statistically significant association with whiplash syndrome (p<0.001). Our study demonstrates a significantly high incidence of reported seatbelt use in patients presenting with chronic neck pain and whiplash syndrome. We also found a significant association between whiplash and chronic lumbar pain, an association having important medico-legal implications and requiring further analysis.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed2002

A prospective study for evaluation of knee effusion after hip surgery.

Knee effusion is a common occurrence in elderly patients following hip surgery. We prospectively studied 106 patients undergoing proximal femoral surgery. These patients were examined pre-operatively, on days 4 and 8, and six weeks post operatively for the presence of an ipsilateral knee effusion. 71 patients had undergone Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA), 26 Dynamic Hip Screw (DHS) insertion and 9 had hemiarthroplasty. The incidence of pre-operative ipsilateral knee effusion was 13% (14 patients). 42% (44 patients) had an effusion at one week post operatively and 12% (13 patients) at 6 weeks. 57% (60 patients) of the study group had radiological evidence of osteoarthritis in their knees. However, the incidence of effusion in patients with and without arthritis was the same. The majority of these effusions resolved after six weeks with no residual effects.

Aged↗
PubMed1999

The role of intraoperative gram stain in the diagnosis of infection during revision total hip arthroplasty.

A total of 202 revision hip arthroplasties in 178 patients, over a 2-year period, were evaluated prospectively. Intraoperative Gram stains were obtained from periprosthetic tissues in all cases. Of these, a definitive diagnosis of infection, using defined criteria, was established in 35 cases. Of these 35 patients, 17 had received antibiotics before surgery. The intraoperative cultures were positive in 8 of the 17 patients who had received antibiotics and 17 of the 18 patients who had not received preoperative antibiotics. In 1 infected case, intraoperative cultures of periprosthetic tissues failed to reveal bacterial growth, despite the fact that the patient received no preoperative antibiotics. Overall, there were 5 true-positive Gram stain results, 172 true-negative results, 3 false-positive results, and 22 false-negative results. The sensitivity of the Gram stain was 19%, specificity was 98%, predictive value of a positive test was 63%, and predictive value of a negative test was 89%. These results suggest that the intraoperative Gram stain is not a sensitive tool for the diagnosis of infection and should not be used when attempting to diagnose infection intraoperatively.

Antibiotic Prophylaxis↗
PubMed1997

Risk of pelvic injury from femoral neck guidewires.

Many of the devices used in the internal fixation of femoral neck fractures are cannulated and require the initial placement of one or more guidewires for accurate positioning. These wires are occasionally advanced inadvertently through the hip joint and the acetabulum. Pelvic visceral damage may follow. To assess this risk, we inserted three guidewires to a depth of 16 cm into each femoral neck of ten cadavers and explored the pelvis during autopsy. Thirty-two of the 60 guidewires had penetrated a pelvic organ. The literature on intrapelvic injuries associated with hip surgery is reviewed, and suggestions are offered on the avoidance of pelvic penetration during hip fracture fixation.

Cadaver↗
PubMed1995

The planovalgus rheumatoid foot--is tibialis posterior tendon rupture a factor?

The purpose of this study was to assess gross tibialis posterior tendon (TPT) integrity in a series of patients with a planovalgus foot deformity secondary to rheumatoid arthritis. This was done by means of contrast tenography. Our findings of an intact tendon in all of the seventeen patients studied suggest that complete rupture of the TPT is not the primary aetiology in the planovalgus rheumatoid foot.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Bacterial arthritis in the neurosurgical patient: report on four cases.

Bacterial arthritis that occurred in four patients during neurosurgical convalescence is reported. Three patients had a cerebral aneurysm clipped after a subarachnoid hemorrhage, and one had herpes simplex encephalitis with a possible temporal lobe hemorrhage. All four patients had been treated with steroids. A total of six joints were infected, two patients with an infection in one joint each, and two with a metachronous infection in two joints. The interval between the onset of local symptoms and the definitive diagnosis ranged from 0 to 44 days. A delay in diagnosis severely compromises joint function, and all four of these patients were left with an associated significant musculoskeletal disability. Bacterial arthritis is well recognized in the immunocompromised patient, but, to our knowledge, has not been described in this particular clinical setting. A patient with a sustained pyrexia of unknown origin in the neurosurgical convalescent period should be suspected of having an occult musculoskeletal infection. An isotope bone scan to facilitate early diagnosis is recommended, and this, combined with specific aggressive therapy, should preserve joint function.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Victims of our climate.

In order to test the hypothesis that the volume of paediatric orthopaedic trauma is related to the weather, we analysed all children with fractures admitted to our unit over a 3-year period and correlated this information with local meteorological data. The average number of children admitted per month with fractures showed a strong positive correlation with mean monthly sunshine hours (Pearson correlation coefficient 0.91) and a weak negative correlation with mean monthly rainfall (-0.24). The summer peak in the incidence of fractures persisted when the effect of school holidays was eliminated. Fractures involving the radius accounted for 48.7 per cent of all fracture admissions and correlation with sunshine hours was highest in this group. Almost two-thirds of all fracture admissions were male and these had a slightly higher mean age (8.2 years) than females (7.6 years). This data has implications for bed management and staffing levels in a paediatric orthopaedic unit.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Congenital pseudarthrosis of the ulna treated by free vascularized fibular graft: a case report and review of methods of treatment.

Congenital pseudarthrosis of the ulna is an extremely rare condition for which current surgical techniques have been unsatisfactory in restoring a normal two-bone forearm. We report a case which was treated by excision of the ulnar pseudarthrosis and interposition of a free vascularized fibular graft with a skin island to monitor anastomotic patency. Forearm rotation has been restored and the potential for normal forearm growth has been preserved.

Female↗
PubMed1993

Peroneus longus tendon sling in revision surgery for congenital vertical talus: a new surgical technique.

When faced with revision surgery for recurrent congenital vertical talus deformity, the tibialis anterior tendon may be deficient or absent as a result of the initial procedure. This tendon cannot then be used as a dynamic sling to dorsiflex the talar neck. We present two cases in which the peroneus longus tendon was transferred dorsally into the talar neck as an alternative to an absent tibialis anterior tendon. Excellent corrections were achieved and maintained. The use of this tendon has not been described previously in surgery for this condition.

Child↗
PubMed1993

The role of radiography and computed tomography in the diagnosis of acute dislocation of the proximal tibiofibular joint.

A cadaveric study was undertaken to determine the best radiographic method of diagnosing dislocation of the proximal tibio-fibular (PTFJ) joint. Three pairs of cadaver knees were used, the right side serving as a control in each case. Plain radiographs, antero-posterior (AP) lateral and 45 degrees oblique films, and axial computed tomography (CT) scans were obtained with the joints in each of three positions: (1) anatomical, (2) dislocated anteriorly and (3) dislocated posteriorly. Similar views were obtained in the control joints with the PTFJ undisturbed. The radiographs were assessed by eight independent observers and the results were analysed. The diagnostic accuracy with plain AP and lateral radiographs was 72.5%. This was unchanged with the addition of oblique views, but improved to 82% with the control films and 86% with the axial CT scans. The authors conclude that in the diagnosis of suspected dislocation of the PTFJ, axial CT scanning is the investigation of choice. Plain AP, lateral and comparison views are useful but less accurate, while oblique views are unhelpful and unnecessary.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1984

An examination of the efficiency of glucose and glutamine as energy sources for cultured chick pigment epithelial cells.

Embryonic chick pigment epithelial cells in culture require glucose as their major energy source for long-term growth, pigment formation, and colony organization. Cell number increases with glucose concentration at least up to 5.0 mM. Cells can be grown with glutamine as the major energy source but produce comparable cell numbers for only the first 3 days in culture, after which they cease growing. However, they are able to metabolize glutamine at a two to sixfold higher rate than cells grown in the presence of glucose as measured by CO2 release and by incorporation into protein. In cells grown in the presence of both glucose and glutamine, basal ATP levels were 31.1 nmoles/mg protein; P-creatine averaged 15.2 nmoles/mg protein and showed marked variability between experimental groups. During starvation, P-creatine levels fell while ATP levels remained relatively constant. Glucose was required for the recovery of P-creatine to prestarvation levels when measured 5 min after refeeding. Because of these marked changes in P-creatine concentration as a function of nutritional status, the ATP/P-creatine ratio becomes a useful measure of the energy state of the cell.

Adenosine Triphosphate↗
PubMed1984

Smoking and malignancy in schizophrenia.

It has been suggested that schizophrenic patients have a lower risk of cancer than the general population. We therefore investigated the smoking patterns of 100 current chronic schizophrenic in-patients, and the causes of death in 122 recently deceased schizophrenics. We found that schizophrenics are heavy smokers, and that schizophrenics do die from carcinoma of the bronchus. Proportional mortality rates for all malignancies were not significantly lower in schizophrenics than in the general population but there was a significant absence of cancer of the gastro-intestinal tract. Proportional mortality rates for female mammary carcinoma, pneumonia, and suicide were raised, and that for cerebrovascular disease was low. These differences between schizophrenics and the general population warrant further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Changes in retinoid binding levels during development of the chicken cornea.

[3H]-retinol binding to cellular retinol-binding protein (CRBP) increased more than five-fold in developing chicken corneal epithelium at 14 days of incubation, the time when the initial increase in corneal transparency occurs in the developing embryo. In contrast, [3H]-retinoic acid binding to cellular retinoic acid-binding protein (CRABP) was highest at the earliest stages and decreased progressively to a very low level in the corneal epithelium near the time of hatching. Thus, there appear to be changing and differing requirements for retinol and retinoic acid during development of the chicken cornea.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Tissue culture of chick embryonic choroidal cells: cell aggregation and pigment accumulation.

Cells originating from the chick embryo choroid were grown in culture for up to 1 month. The cells did not form coherent monolayer colonies but rather formed large transparent cell aggregates surrounded by a random, loose network of cells. The cell aggregates avidly took up and retained pigment granules while the individual cells did not. Choroidal cell aggregates were not similar to the "lentoid" bodies described by Okada and coworkers in cultures from other ocular tissues; they did not develop fiber cells and did not synthesize delta-crystallin. Thus aggregation of ocular cells appears to be a necessary but insufficient step for the formation of a "lentoid" body.

Animals↗