PubMed HealthSearch

Biomedical subjects

E W Humphrey

Publications and source records attributed to E W Humphrey.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Enterococcal sepsis and lung microvascular injury in sheep.

In a common bile duct contamination model, we studied the effect of Streptococcus faecalis compared with Escherichia coli in sheep with chronic lymph fistulas to investigate the role of enterococcus in acute lung injury and acute sepsis. Early pulmonary hypertension in the E coli group was not expressed in the S faecalis group, probably due to a failure of S faecalis to illicit a thromboxane A2 response. In the late period, E coli was associated with significantly greater lung microvascular damage compared with S faecalis. The lack of difference between groups with respect to complement activation suggests the action of chemotactic factors, in addition to complement, mediating granulocyte aggregation, and neutropenia. In this model, S faecalis demonstrated limited pathogenicity as expressed in lung microvascular injury compared with E coli.

6-Ketoprostaglandin F1 alpha

National survey of the pattern of care for carcinoma of the lung.

A national survey of the patterns of care for carcinoma of the lung sponsored by the Commission on Cancer of the American College of Surgeons has documented continuing changes in epidemiology, treatment, and outcome. The project consisted of a long-term study of 15,219 patients whose diagnosis was made in 1981 and a short-term study of 19,074 patients whose diagnosis was made in 1986. The male/female incidence ratios have continued to decrease and the decrease has moved into the older age groups. Although the percentage of adenocarcinoma is increasing at the expense of squamous carcinoma, the latter is still the most prevalent histologic type. The accuracy of percutaneous needle biopsy and transbronchial biopsy of lung nodules reported from this group of 941 hospitals was high and equal to that reported by single institutions. The percentage of patients having a resection did not increase from 1981 to 1986, but for smaller lesions a move was apparent toward more lung-sparing resections. Little change has occurred in the use of adjuvant radiotherapy, particularly in stage III disease, where approximately 50% of the patients received postoperative irradiation. An improvement in the overall 5-year survival when compared with Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data was noted. Whether this is a true improvement in survival or is the result of selection because of an unrecognized change in the pattern of care for patients with a carcinoma of the lung is unknown.

Adult

The association of Escherichia coli virulence and pulmonary microvascular damage.

Bacterial virulence indicates the degree of pathogenicity of a given strain of microbe for a given host. The effect of Escherichia coli virulence on lung microvascular permeability was studied in sheep with chronic pulmonary lymph fistulas following peritoneal contamination. The study was divided into four groups: (1) wild-type E coli (WT group, 2.5 x 10(9) colony-forming units [CFUs]/kg); (2) virulent E coli (PV group, 2.3 x 10(9) CFUs/kg); (3) nonvirulent E coli (PNV group, 2.6 x 10(9) CFUs/kg); (4) high-inoculum wild-type E coli (HIWT group, 6.1 x 10(9) CFUs/kg). In the late period (two to six hours), the increase in lung lymph flow in the PV group was significantly greater than the WT, PNV, and HIWT groups, with no difference noted among groups with respect to the pulmonary artery pressure, pulmonary wedge pressure, or albumin lymph/plasma ratio. It was concluded that (1) increased E coli virulence results in increased lung microvascular damage and (2) increased lung microvascular damage as a function of E coli virulence may not be solely due to increased bacterial numbers as a function of time.

Albumins

The impact of phantom CT scanning on surgery for the solitary pulmonary nodule.

A reliable preoperative method to distinguish benign from malignant peripheral solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) would be clinically valuable. New techniques using epoxy resin plastic models of the thorax combined with calcium carbonate (phantom) nodules to determine the density of SPN have been proposed as a partial solution to this problem. During the first 3 years that phantom computed tomography (CT) has been available, 50 consecutive patients in whom SPN was discovered on screening chest x-ray film and who were considered to be candidates for surgery were evaluated by this technique. Twenty patients (40%) clearly met the phantom CT criteria for benign nodules (more dense than the phantom nodule, at least 10% of the surface area uniformly calcified, round or oval lesions without spicules, and lesions less than 3.0 cm in diameter) and have been followed up without surgery (no change on periodic screening chest x-ray film or CT for as many as 36 months). Only one of these 20 patients would have met standard x-ray criteria for benign nodules. Thirty patients who had lesions with densities less than the phantom nodule underwent thoracotomy, and in 17 (57%) of these, the lesions were malignant. No patient in this study who had a benign reading on the phantom CT scan had a malignancy at surgery or during follow-up. We conclude that phantom CT scanning is a useful adjunct to standard technique (review of prior screening chest x-ray film) and may prevent unnecessary thoracotomy in a significant percentage of patients with SPN.

Female

Preoperative radiation and surgery for cancer of the rectum. Veterans Administration Surgical Oncology Group Trial II.

In a prospective randomized trial, 361 male patients with histologically proven adenocarcinoma of the rectum, judged preoperatively to require abdominoperineal resection (APR), were treated by surgery alone or were given 3,150 rads of preoperative radiotherapy. Surgical resection was done on 320 patients, 262 having "curative" APR. Only moderate symptoms from radiotherapy were noted and postoperative complications and 30-day mortality were similar in both groups. Five-year survival for curative APR was the same in both groups (50% for both treated and control patients). The incidence of positive lymph nodes in the resected specimens was 35% in treated and 41% in controls. In the first preoperative radiotherapy trial conducted by the group, 5-year survival in patients undergoing "curative" APR was 47% in treated versus 34% in control groups. Additionally, the difference in positive lymph nodes in the resected specimens was substantially greater in the first trial (26% in treated versus 44% in controls).

Adenocarcinoma

Role of resident macrophages, peripheral neutrophils, and translymphatic absorption in bacterial clearance from the peritoneal cavity.

Microbial pathogens within the peritoneal cavity are thought to encounter three categories of host defense mechanisms: (i) removal mechanisms, which occur via diaphragmatic lymphatic absorption; (ii) killing mechanisms, in which host phagocytes act as effector cells; and (iii) sequestration mechanisms due to fibrin trapping and the formation of adhesions between visceral surfaces. We sought to define and quantitate the relative role of the first two components in an experimental rat model of Escherichia coli peritonitis in which fibrinous adhesions do not form. Intraperitoneal challenge with greater than or equal to 2 X 10(8) CFU of viable E. coli led to an initial decline in bacterial numbers followed by ongoing proliferation and greater than 50% mortality. With inocula of less than or equal to 5 X 10(7) CFU, elimination of bacteria occurred after moderate initial proliferation, and no mortality ensued. Nonviable, radiolabeled E. coli organisms were utilized to examine bacterial clearance via translymphatic absorption and phagocytosis. Both processes were extremely rapid, serving to eliminate free bacteria rapidly within the peritoneal cavity. Although macrophages and polymorphonuclear leukocytes within the peritoneal cavity demonstrated similar phagocytic capacities, the predominance of macrophages at the time of the initial bacterial insult led to the conclusion that these cells, in addition to translymphatic absorption, represent the first line of host defenses, acting to eliminate bacteria in the incipient stages of infection.

Animals

Comparative pulmonary effects of intraperitoneal inoculation of live v dead Escherichia coli.

We studied the effect of 2.5 X 10(9) live Escherichia coli per kilogram v 2.7 X 10(9) dead E coli per kilogram injected into the peritoneal cavity of sheep with chronic pulmonary lymph fistulas. The effects of dead E coli were compared with those of live E coli, with respect to (1) pulmonary hypertension, (2) hemodynamic failure, (3) damage to the pulmonary microvasculature, (4) systemic arterial hypoxemia, (5) neutropenia and lymphopenia, (6) thrombocytopenia and platelet aggregation, (7) plasma fibrinogen concentration, and (8) classic- and alternative-pathway hemolytic complement. The time after injection of the bacteria was divided into an early period (zero to two hours) and a late period (two to seven hours). We made two conclusions: (1) The early period effects, with the exception of the absolute neutrophil count and Pao2, were independent of bacterial viability, whereas the late period effects were strongly dependent on bacterial viability. (2) The early notable difference between the live v dead groups, with respect to the absolute neutrophil count and Pao2, could not be explained on the basis of an increase in bacterial numbers alone.

Animals

Stapling techniques in esophageal replacement.

Either the stomach or the colon can be used to restore deglutition after esophagectomy. The use of the EEA and other stapling devices has increased both the safety and the speed with which these procedures can be done. This article illustrates techniques for the utilization of staplers to perform such operations.

Colon

The adjuvant effect of peritoneal fluid in experimental peritonitis. Mechanism and clinical implications.

At laparotomy, many surgeons routinely instill crystalloid solutions into the peritoneal cavity, presumably to dilute out necrotic debris, bacteria, and adjuvant substances which foster bacterial growth. We examined the effect on mortality, bacterial growth, clearance, and phagocytosis of various volumes of saline instilled into the peritoneal cavity of rats during Escherichia coli peritonitis. Minimal intraperitoneal bacterial growth was seen after the introduction of a nonlethal inoculum of viable E. coli in 1 ml of saline, while administration of an identical inoculum in 30 ml of saline intraperitoneally (i.p.) led to increased 48-hour mortality (p less than 0.01), and associated rapid bacterial proliferation (p less than 0.01). Clearance of nonviable radiolabelled E. coli from the peritoneal cavity was delayed, bacterial association with host peritoneal leukocytes was decreased, and blood uptake of radiolabelled bacteria was diminished in animals receiving 30 ml of saline i.p., compared to controls which received the identical inoculum in 1 ml of saline i.p. The clinical relevance of these studies is manifold: (1) they provide a possible explanation why patients with ascites due to cirrhosis or the nephrotic syndrome, or those patients undergoing peritoneal dialysis are more susceptible to primary and secondary bacterial peritonitis, possibly on the basis of impaired peritoneal clearance or diminished phagocytosis and, (2) although irrigation of the peritoneal cavity with crystalloid solution would seem prudent during laparotomy, these solutions must be removed prior to closure to prevent interference with normal peritoneal host defense mechanisms.

Adjuvants, Immunologic

Efficacy of prolonged intermittent therapy with combined 5-FU and methyl-CCNU following resection for gastric carcinoma. A Veterans Administration Surgical Oncology, Group report.

This prospective evaluation of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) and methyl-CCNU administered in combination to patients with surgery for histologically proved gastric adenocarcinoma is based upon 312 patients randomized between August 1974 and May 1980. Patients were stratified into three categories of resectability, (1) complete, (2) proven incomplete, and (3) nonresectable, prior to random treatment assignment to surgery alone or surgery followed by adjuvant chemotherapy. Drug therapy consisted of discrete 5-day courses administered at 7-week intervals. Toxic reactions were reported in association with 42% of the courses. Treatment was suspended or discontinued in 6% of the courses because of hematologic toxicity. Treated patients with curative resections experienced a more favorable survival than did controls, but the early advantage was lost by the end of the second follow-up year. However, no statistically significant improvements in survival or reductions in risks of recurrence were observed. Similar proportions of treated and control deaths were attributable to residual or recurrent disease.

Adenocarcinoma

Mechanisms of the adjuvant effect of hemoglobin in experimental peritonitis. VII. Hemoglobin does not inhibit clearance of Escherichia coli from the peritoneal cavity.

Hemoglobin has been shown to be a potent adjuvant in experimental Escherichia coli peritonitis, although a satisfactory mechanistic rationale is still obscure. Hemoglobin has been thought to impair intraperitoneal neutrophil function, delay clearance of bacteria from the peritoneal cavity by the normal absorptive mechanisms, or directly enhance bacterial growth. Using highly purified stroma-free hemoglobin (SFHgb), we have largely discounted any direct effect of hemoglobin on peritoneal white blood cell function. In the present study, we confirmed that uncontrolled proliferation of bacteria takes place in the presence of hemoglobin in the peritoneal cavity. Nonviable 5-iododeoxyuridine 125I-labelled bacteria were then used to directly study peritoneal clearance kinetics, eliminating the problem of bacterial growth. SFHgb had no influence on the removal of intraperitoneal bacteria. The rate of bloodstream appearance of radiolabel was similar with or without intraperitoneal SFHgb. Thus, SFHgb does not prevent clearance of bacteria from the peritoneal cavity by interfering with normal host clearance mechanisms. SFHgb may act as a bacterial growth adjuvant, either by serving as a bacterial nutrient or by suitably modifying the environment so that extensive bacterial proliferation can occur. The latter hypothesis appears to be an area in which investigation concerning the adjuvant effect of hemoglobin may prove most fruitful.

Animals

Prolonged intermittent adjuvant chemotherapy with CCNU and hydroxyurea after resection of carcinoma of the lung.

Eight hundred sixty-five patients with a microscopically curative resection for carcinoma of the lung were accepted for study, none of whom were excluded from analysis. Adjuvant therapy was randomly assigned about the tenth to 14th postoperative day; 432 patients (treated) were to receive CCNU and hydroxyurea for one year, while 433 patients (controls) were to receive no adjuvant therapy. Toxic reactions to therapy were reported, but only 1% were severe enough to require stopping therapy. No evidence of improved survival or delayed recurrence of disease was seen in treated patients as a whole or when examined by cell type and by postsurgical TNM category. On the contrary, survival beyond the second year of follow-up may have been impaired by the drugs when administered to patients without evidence of tumor spread to the lymph nodes.

Carcinoma

Surgical treatment of duodenal ulcer: a prospective randomized study.

From 1960 to 1980, 344 patients were included in a prospective randomized study for elective surgical treatment of duodenal ulcer disease. Results of vagotomy and pyloroplasty were compared with vagotomy and hemigastrectomy. There were no postoperative deaths, the postoperative complication rates were similar for both groups. Ulcerations recurred in 12% of the vagotomy-pyloroplasty group and in 3% of the vagotomy-hemigastrectomy group (P less than .05). Independent analyses of recurrence were performed for young patients, for alcoholics, and for patients who had obstructions or were bleeding preoperatively. Recurrence rates in these special populations were not found to be significantly different. Eight percent of the vagotomy-pyloroplasty group required reoperations for recurrent ulceration; only 2% of the vagotomy-hemigastrectomy group required reoperation. Postoperative dumping symptoms were significantly more frequent in the vagotomy hemigastrectomy group. Postoperative diarrhea was also more frequent and more severe in the vagotomy-hemigastrectomy group.

Adult

Gastric outlet obstruction in peptic ulcer disease: an indication for surgery.

Eighty-seven patients with duodenal peptic ulcer disease and gastric outlet obstruction were reviewed retrospectively. All patients were initially treated with standard medical regimens. Gastric outlet obstruction persisted in 49 patients (56 percent) for more than 5 days, necessitating operative intervention. Obstruction relented in the other 38 patients (44 percent), and they were discharged from the hospital. However, late follow-up on the entire cohort revealed that 98 percent of patients with chronic ulcer disease and 64 percent of patients with acute disease ultimately required an operation.

Gastric Emptying

Esophagogastrectomy for adenocarcinoma of the cardia. Ten years' experience and current approach.

During a 10-year period, 94 surgical resections for adenocarcinoma of the cardia (75 "curative" and 19 palliative) were performed using three primary approaches: Group I (46 curative, 14 palliative), esophagogastrectomy performed through a left thoracotomy or left thoraco-abdominal incision; Group II (17 curative, 4 palliative), resection done through two separate incisions (abdominal and thoracic) with delayed reconstruction between two and three months later; and Group III (12 curative, 1 palliative), resection, also through abdominal and thoracic incisions, with simultaneous reconstruction. Operative mortality in the 75 procedures done for cure was 19.5%, 18%, and 8.3% in Groups I, II, and III, respectively. Microscopic residual tumor at the line of resection was 56%, 12%, and 8%. Free margins less than 3 cm had the same local recurrence rate (21%, 6%, and 8%) within 18 months as did margins with residual microscopic tumor. The length of time from operation to first regular meal was 12, 110, and 7 days, respectively. Wide resection with subtotal esophagectomy and simultaneous reconstruction is advocated.

Adenocarcinoma