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Biomedical subjects

F W Denny

Publications and source records attributed to F W Denny.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Lower respiratory illness in infants and low socioeconomic status.

OBJECTIVES: Infants from families of low socioeconomic status are said to suffer higher rates of lower respiratory illness, but this assertion has not been carefully examined. METHODS: We studied the frequency and determinants of lower respiratory illness in infants of different socioeconomic status (n = 393) by analyzing data from a community-based cohort study of respiratory illness during the first year of life in central North Carolina. RESULTS: The incidence of lower respiratory illness was 1.41 in the low socioeconomic group, 1.26 in the middle group, and 0.67 in the high group. The prevalence of persistent respiratory symptoms was 39% in infants in the low socioeconomic group, 24% in infants in the middle group, and 14% in infants in the high group. The odds of persistent respiratory symptoms in infants of low and middle socioeconomic status were reduced after controlling for environmental risk factors for lower respiratory illness. Enrollment in day care was associated with an increased risk of persistent symptoms among infants of high but not low socioeconomic status. CONCLUSIONS: Infants of low socioeconomic status are at increased risk of persistent respiratory symptoms. This risk can be partly attributed to environmental exposures, most of which could be changed.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1990

Pertussis immunization in eight-month-old children in North Carolina.

Between 1984 and 1987 reported pertussis cases in North Carolina increased threefold. Pertussis immunization rates were examined for those years in three one-year cohorts drawn from a random selection of North Carolina birth records. The percentage of children immunized with three DTPs at eight months of age was 58.1, 58.6, and 56.7 for the three cohorts. Only 20.5 percent of 117 reported pertussis cases in children 9-36 months of age during the last 10 years were adequately immunized. The low pertussis immunization rate may have contributed to the recent increase in pertussis cases in North Carolina.

Child↗
PubMed1986

Epidemiology of colonization by nontypable Haemophilus influenzae in children: a longitudinal study.

Eighty-six nasopharyngeal isolates of Haemophilus influenzae were prospectively obtained from three children who attended a day care center from infancy until early childhood (five to seven years). A majority of the strains were nontypable. We analyzed strains by comparing their biotypes and by performing electrophoresis of outer membrane proteins on polyacrylamide gels. Profiles of outer membrane proteins were very heterogeneous and could not be used as the basis for the development of a subtyping scheme. The children characteristically carried a nasopharyngeal strain defined by a unique outer membrane pattern for a period of months, lost it, and then acquired a new strain. We probed the outer membrane proteins of a child's strains by the western blot technique with serum obtained serially from the child. Isolates whose outer membrane proteins appeared identical on stained gels generally had similar antigenic bands on western blots but were occasionally immunologically distinct. Serum immunoglobulins of the IgG class that reacted with the outer membrane proteins did not appear to change greatly over time or to play a role in preventing or terminating colonization. We conclude that nasopharyngeal colonization in children by nontypable H. influenzae is a dynamic process and that factors that cause loss and acquisition of strains remain to be determined.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed1986

Pulmonary function in children with sarcoidosis.

To document pulmonary function abnormalities in children with sarcoidosis, we reviewed the records of all children with this disease at the North Carolina Memorial Hospital. Spirometry was performed by 34 of 60 children at initial presentation and was repeated by 16 at least 1 yr after presentation (mean, 3.9 yr). Those with and without pulmonary function data available were similar in age, sex, race, and clinical manifestations at presentation. Results indicate that at presentation, 50% of children had the characteristic functional changes of restrictive lung disease (mean % predicted FVC, 79.8 +/- 16.0). Fifteen percent had a FVC of 70 to 80% predicted, 32% had a FVC of 50 to 70% predicted, and 3% had a FVC less than 50% predicted. The TLC and FRC supported the diagnosis of restrictive lung disease. There were 15% who had obstructive changes. Children with auscultatory abnormalities and parenchymal changes on chest radiograph had more severe decrements in pulmonary function; however, specific symptoms did not predict decrements in pulmonary function. There was significant improvement in lung function at the last pulmonary function test performed (mean % predicted FVC, 97.1 +/- 18.8).

Adolescent↗