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Biomedical subjects

H D Peterson

Publications and source records attributed to H D Peterson.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Smoke inhalation is a multilevel insult to the pulmonary system.

Inhalation injury represents an ongoing threat to patients with thermal injury. The magnitude of the disease severity is related to the multilevel insult to the pulmonary system. Asphyxiants present in inhaled smoke can compromise oxygen delivery, resulting in cell death. Also, early changes in the microcirculation of the lung parenchyma, related to polymorphonuclear cell activation and oxygen free radical production, are responsible for early pulmonary edema. Perhaps the most significant pathologic change caused by smoke inhalation is loss of the respiratory epithelium and the formation of tracheobronchial casts. The recent application of high-frequency flow interruption ventilation and intrapulmonary percussive ventilation has made the largest impact on improved survival in patients suffering from smoke inhalation.

Animals↗

Etiology and outcome of pediatric burns.

A 6-year retrospective review of burn victims hospitalized at a major burn center was conducted to determine the etiology and outcome of pediatric burns. Four hundred forty-nine patients under age 16 years were identified and stratified by age, sex, burn size, presence or absence of inhalation injury, cause of burn, and county of residence. The mean patient age was 4.3 +/- 0.2 years, and the male:female ratio was 1.9:1. There were 21 deaths overall (4.7%), the majority of which (18) were among children under 4 years of age. With respect to large burns, defined as > and = 30% total body surface area (TBSA), the mortality rate for children under age 4 was significantly higher than that for older children (46.9% v 12.5%; P < .01), despite the nearly identical mean burn size of the two groups. Except for burn incidence, there were no significant differences between males and females. The mean burn size was 15.1% +/- 0.7%, and was significantly larger for nonsurvivors than survivors (55.3% +/- 5.7 v 13.1% +/- 0.5%; P < .01). Inhalation injuries were strongly associated with large burns and were present in all 15 flame-burn fatalities. Scalds were the most common type of burn among children under 4 years of age; flame burns predominated in older children. There were 6 deaths related to scalds, all of which occurred in children under 4. Burn type, size, and mortality rate did not differ between children from urban and rural counties. Large burn size was the strongest predictor of mortality, followed by (in order) age less than 4 and the presence of inhalation injury. Infants and young children have the highest risk of death from burn injury. Burns smaller than 30% TBSA without an inhalation injury (such as small scald injuries) occasionally are lethal in infants and small children, despite modern therapy.

Adolescent↗

Allogeneic fibroblasts used to grow cultured epidermal autografts persist in vivo and sensitize the graft recipient for accelerated second-set rejection.

INTRODUCTION: Cultured epidermal autografts (CEAs) have been used for wound coverage in patients with massive burns and other skin defects. However, CEAs often display late breakdown, which may be immunologically mediated and initiated by persistent foreign fibroblasts used as a feeder layer to optimize keratinocyte growth. This study investigates whether these fibroblasts, previously shown to persist in vitro, survive after grafting and induce host sensitization to alloantigen. METHODS: CEAs from CBA donors (H-2k) were grown on allogeneic NIH 3T3 (H-2q) or syngeneic LTK (H-2k) fibroblasts, which were removed by trypsinization 7 days later. CBA mice (n = 85) were flank-grafted with NIH allografts (positive control), CEA/3T3s, CEA/LTKs, or CBA autografts (negative control). Hosts were challenged with second set NIH tail allografts 3 weeks later. Median graft survival was compared between groups by Wilcoxon rank and chi 2 analysis. Additional CBA mice (n = 15) received CEAs that were biopsied 0, 4, and 8 days after grafting. The presence of allogeneic fibroblasts was determined by Western immunoblotting, using KL295, a monoclonal antibody that recognizes H-2q (but not H-2k) class II histocompatibility antigens. RESULTS: Allogeneic fibroblasts persisted after grafting but decreased over time, as determined by alloantigen expression on Western immunoblots. Accelerated tail graft rejection occurred in hosts primed by NIH allografts (9 days, p < 0.05), as well as by CEAs growth with an allogeneic (10 days, p < 0.05) but not a syngeneic feeder layer (12 days, NS). Mice receiving flank autografts rejected second set tail allografts at 12 days. CONCLUSIONS: Immunogenic fibroblasts used to grow CEAs survive in vivo and sensitize the graft recipient for accelerated second-set rejection. These persistent cells may initiate an inflammatory response that may result in late graft breakdown and limit the utility of CEAs grown with a foreign fibroblast feeder layer.

Animals↗

Comparison of the Furlow double-opposing Z-palatoplasty with the Wardill-Kilner procedure for isolated clefts of the soft palate.

This retrospective investigation compared the operative experience speech results of 21 patients who underwent a Furlow double-opposing Z-palatoplasty with those of 10 patients who underwent a modified Wardill-Kilner procedure. The modification consisted of not incising the nasal mucosa. All patients presented with an isolated cleft of the soft palate and were operated on by a single surgeon. The choice of operative technique was based solely on the fact that the surgeon developed an increasing preference for the Furlow procedure over time. The mean age at surgery was 1.3 and 1.5 years for the Furlow group and the Wardill-Kilner group, respectively. The average postoperative follow-up was 2.5 and 3.1 years, respectively. The mean operative times and hospital stay were the same for both groups. Postoperative speech assessments involved equal-appearing interval scale ratings of hypernasality and nasal emission, as well as pressure-flow testing and perceptual judgments of overall velopharyngeal adequacy. Analysis failed to reveal any statistically or clinically significant differences between the two groups.

Child, Preschool↗

Effect of inhalation injury, burn size, and age on mortality: a study of 1447 consecutive burn patients.

The relative impact of inhalation injury, burn size, and age on overall outcome following burn injury was examined in 1447 consecutive burn patients over a five and a half year period. The overall mortality for all patients was 9.5% (138 of 1447). The presence of inhalation injury, increasing burn size, and advancing age were all associated with an increased mortality (p < 0.01). The incidence of inhalation injury was 19.6% (284 of 1447) and correlated with increasing percent total body surface area (%TBSA) burn (r = 0.41, p < 0.01) and advancing age (r = 0.15, p < 0.01). The overall mortality for patients with inhalation injury was 31% (88 of 284) compared with 4.3% (50 of 1163) for those without inhalation injury. Using multivariate analysis inhalation injury was found to be an important variable in determining outcome, but the most important factor in predicting mortality was %TBSA burn (accuracy = 92.8%) or a combination of %TBSA burn and patient age (accuracy = 93.0%). Adding inhalation injury only slightly improved the ability to predict mortality (accuracy = 93.3%). The presence of inhalation injury is significantly associated with mortality after thermal injury but adds little to the prediction of mortality using %TBSA and age alone.

Adolescent↗

Skin replacements. The biotechnological quest for optimal wound closure.

Extensive skin loss from a variety of conditions is associated with significant functional morbidity and loss of life. In many patients, a limited number of donor sites available for harvesting autologous split-thickness skin grafts prevents early, effective, and permanent wound closure. In the past 25 years, significant biotechnological advancements have been made in defining the criteria and manufacturing ingredients in materials that could serve as skin replacements for permanent wound closure. The optimal skin replacement should have the functional and cosmetic properties of the dermis and the epidermis. It should provide rapid, functional wound coverage and barrier protection to microorganisms, normalize fluid flux and hypermetabolism, and provide long-term stability without contraction or hypertrophic scarring. In addition, the optimal skin replacement should be nontoxic, easily stored and used, and relatively cost-effective. This report will discuss the two major skin replacement designs available today, cultured keratinocyte grafts and bioartificial bilaminate systems, outline the advantages and disadvantages of each material, report the results of clinical trials for each, and speculate on the potential for each material to serve as a practical skin replacement.

Cells, Cultured↗

Reevaluation of benzene exposure for the Pliofilm (rubberworker) cohort (1936-1976).

The Pliofilm cohort is the most intensely studied group of workers chronically exposed to benzene. Information on this cohort has been the basis for regulations and/or guidelines for occupational and environmental exposure to benzene. Rinsky et al. (1986, 1987) and Crump and Allen (1984) developed different approaches for reconstructing the exposure history of each member of the group. The predicted levels of exposure, combined with the data on the incidence of disease, have been used to estimate benzene's carcinogenic potency. In this paper, recent information from worker interviews and historical records from the National Archives and elsewhere were used to evaluate the accuracy of prior exposure estimates and to develop better ones for the cohort. The following factors were accounted for: (1) uptake of benzene due to short-term, high-level exposure to vapors, (2) uptake due to background concentrations in the manufacturing building, (3) uptake due to contact with the skin, (4) morbidity and mortality data on workers in the Pliofilm process, (5) the installation of industrial hygiene engineering controls, (6) extraordinarily long work weeks during the 1940s, (7) data indicating that airborne concentrations of benzene were underestimated due to inaccurate monitoring devices and the lack of adequate field calibration mated due to inaccurate monitoring devices and the lack of adequate field calibration of these devices, and (8) likely effectiveness of respirators and gloves. Our estimates suggest that Crump and Allen (1984) overestimated the exposure of workers in some job classifications and underestimated others, and that Rinsky et al. (1981, 1986) almost certainly underestimated the exposure of nearly all workers. Airborne concentrations of benzene at the St. Marys facility during the years of its operation were found (on average) to be about half those of the two Akron facilities. Our analysis indicates that short-term, high-level exposure to benzene vapors and dermal exposure significantly increased (by about 25-50%) the total absorbed dose of benzene for some workers. One of the key findings was that, unlike prior analyses, the three facilities probably had significantly different airborne concentrations of benzene, especially during the 1940s and 1950s.

Air Pollutants, Occupational↗

Patient tolerance study of topical chlorhexidine diphosphanilate: a new topical agent for burns.

Effective topical antimicrobial agents decrease infection and mortality in burn patients. Chlorhexidine phosphanilate (CHP), a new broad-spectrum antimicrobial agent, has been evaluated as a topical burn wound dressing in cream form, but preliminary clinical trials reported that it was painful upon application. This study compared various concentrations of CHP to determine if a tolerable concentration could be identified with retention of antimicrobial efficacy. Twenty-nine burn patients, each with two similar burns which could be separately treated, were given pairs of treatments at successive 12-h intervals over a 3-day period. One burn site was treated with each of four different CHP concentrations, from 0.25 per cent to 2 per cent, their vehicle, and 1 per cent silver sulphadiazine (AgSD) cream, an antimicrobial agent frequently used for topical treatment of burn wounds. The other site was always treated with AgSD cream. There was a direct relationship between CHP concentration and patients' ratings of pain on an analogue scale. The 0.25 per cent CHP cream was closest to AgSD in pain tolerance; however, none of the treatments differed statistically from AgSD or from each other. In addition, ease of application of CHP creams was less satisfactory than that of AgSD. It was concluded that formulations at or below 0.5 per cent CHP may prove acceptable for wound care, but the vehicle system needs pharmaceutical improvement to render it more tolerable and easier to use.

Administration, Topical↗

Chronic ethanol exposure before injury produces greater immune dysfunction after thermal injury in rats.

Chronic alcoholics constitute a small but significant subgroup of burned patients. The effects of chronic alcohol exposure on immune function in burned patients has not to our knowledge been studied. This study was designed to determine the effect of chronic alcohol exposure before burn injury on immune function after injury in rats. Immune function assessed by in vivo chemotaxis and responsiveness of non-adherent splenocytes to both a T-cell mitogen, concanavalin A, and a B-cell mitogen, lipopolysaccharide, was measured at 4 days after a 20% BSA full-thickness burn injury and/or gavage of 2.4 gm/kg/day of ethanol for 14 days. Chronic ethanol ingestion before burn injury produced significant suppression in chemotaxis and response to lipopolysaccharide but not in response to concanavalin A. These results suggest that chronic alcohol exposure before injury can contribute to further impaired immune function after injury, and may lead to increased susceptibility to infection and increased mortality.

Alcoholism↗

Bilateral simultaneous fractures of the femoral neck: case report.

A case of bilateral fractures of the femoral neck resulting from high-voltage electric injury is reported. Surgeons caring for patients with electrical injuries must be aware of the possibility of this injury as well as other skeletal injuries which may result from muscle contraction or falls related to electric shock. Without vigilance for these injuries, diagnosis may be delayed.

Accidents, Occupational↗

Characterization of "neo-dermis" formation beneath cultured human epidermal autografts transplanted on muscle fascia.

Cultured human keratinocyte autografts were transplanted to burn wounds that had been completely excised down to muscle fascia such that all cutaneous elements were removed from the wounds. Healing autografts were biopsied from days 6-153 in five patients, and the "neo-dermis" beneath the autografts was examined by immunofluorescent staining using antibody probes to connective tissue molecules, by histochemical staining for elastin fibers, and by electron microscopy. We found that the neo-dermis contained most of the major connective tissue elements early in the post-transplantation period. However, regardless of the time examined, there was a paucity of elastin fibers and poor organization of linkin (microthread-like fibers) in the neo-dermis beneath autografts. The perturbations of these connective tissue components in the neo-dermis may play a role in the poor recoil and elastic properties of burn wounds treated with autografts.

Collagen↗

Analysis of life expectancy and living status of elderly patients surviving a burn injury.

This study evaluates the long-term outcome of elderly patients discharged from hospital after a burn injury. Ninety-three patients over the age of 60 years, admitted to a regional burn center, were included in the study from January 1981 to January 1986. The in-hospital mortality rate was 49.4%. Patients' living status was graded according to dependency: 47% of patients were reduced to a more dependent living status on discharge, and 36% of the survivors were followed up for between 1 and 5 years. During this time seven (19.4%) patients died, three (8.3%) became more independent, four (11.1%) less independent. Life table analysis of discharged patients showed no accelerated death rate in comparison with the normal population. The high mortality associated with burns in the elderly was confirmed. Half the survivors were at least temporarily less independent. Projected life expectancy for the elderly surviving a burn is comparable with his/her uninjured counterpart.

Activities of Daily Living↗

Burn wounds resurfaced by cultured epidermal autografts show abnormal reconstitution of anchoring fibrils.

We studied epidermal autografts placed on four severely burned patients. All of the patients experienced skin fragility in the autograft sites, and three of the four patients reported spontaneous blisters. Epidermal-dermal adherence was objectively examined in one patient by comparing suction blistering times in the autograft and in a parallel, control, unburned site. Blisters formed in the autograft at 17 minutes, and the cleavage plane of the blister was below the lamina densa of the basement membrane. In contrast, the normal skin blistered at 65 minutes and had a superficial cleavage plane, above the basal lamina. In all four patients, the reconstituted basement membrane zone beneath the autografts was incomplete and lacked type IV (basement membrane) collagen 7-S sites and anchoring fibrils. We conclude that skin fragility, apparent as late as seven months after transplantation, may result from defective anchoring fibrils.

Adult↗

Tendon synovial cells secrete fibronectin in vivo and in vitro.

The chemistry and cell biology of the tendon have been largely overlooked due to the emphasis on collagen, the principle structural component of the tendon. The tendon must not only transmit the force of muscle contraction to bone to effect movement, but it must also glide simultaneously over extratendonous tissues. Fibronectin is classified as a cell attachment molecule that induces cell spreading and adhesion to substratum. The external surface of intact avian flexor tendon stained positively with antibody to cellular fibronectin. However, if the surface synovial cells were first removed with collagenase, no positive reaction with antifibronectin antibody was detected. Analysis of immunologically stained frozen sections of tendon also revealed fibronectin at the tendon synovium, but little was associated with cells internal in tendon. The staining pattern with isolated, cultured synovial cells and fibroblasts from the tendon interior substantiated the histological observations. Analysis of polyacrylamide gel profiles of 35S-methionine-labeled proteins synthesized by synovial cells and internal fibroblasts indicated that fibronectin was synthesized principally by synovial cells. Fibronectin at the tendon surface may play a role in cell attachment to prevent cell removal by the friction of gliding. Alternatively, fibronectin, with its binding sites for hyaluronic acid and collagen, may act as a complex for boundary lubrication.

Animals↗

Cell populations of tendon: a simplified method for isolation of synovial cells and internal fibroblasts: confirmation of origin and biologic properties.

Tendons transmit the force of muscle contraction to bone to effect limb movement. Special structural and biological properties of tendon have developed to facilitate force transmission. The tendon has a complex organization of cells surrounding the collagen bundles inside tendon as well as at the tendon surface. Internal cells may act to maintain the bulk of the collagen in tendon. External cells in the epitenon may provide lubrication for tendon gliding. To develop better understanding of these processes and the roles the cell populations play, we isolated cells from the surface and interior of tendon and studied them in vitro. Flexor tendons from 8-week-old white Leghorn chickens were separated into two distinct cell populations: the outer synovial cells and the fibroblasts more internal in tendon. These cell populations were discernible by their locations in the intact tendon, determined by sequential enzymatic and physical release from their substrata. Initially, some cells eluted in Hanks' salt solution (HSS) (population 1); then synovial cells were released after a 2-min treatment with 0.5% collagenase (population 2). Next, a population of synovial cells was released in high yield by treatment with 0.25% trypsin (step III, population 3). Step III, population 3 cells were used as synovial cells (SCs). Next, a population of SCs and fibroblasts were released by scraping with a rubber policeman (population 4). Subsequently, fibroblasts were released after incubation with 0.5% collagenase (population 5). A more direct procedure (procedure 2) to isolate the synovial and internal tendon cells involved treatment in 0.5% collagenase followed by sedimentation at 900 g. Cells that sedimented were largely fibroblasts, whereas the cells that remained at the top of the tube were largely SCs. Cells designated as SCs, isolated by procedure 2, most likely contained surface cells from epitenon and internal interfascicular cells from endotenon and paratenon. Surface tendon cells separated by sequential enzymatic and physical release from their substrata (by procedure 1) had all the following characteristics: distinct subpopulations of cells based on morphology; presence of cytoplasmic, lipid-containing vesicles; decreased sensitivity to trypsin; and reduced generation time as compared with that of internal fibroblasts. Conversely, the internal fibroblasts (IFs) appeared to represent a more uniform population based on morphological characteristics.

Animals↗

Antibody response to xenogeneic proteins in burned patients receiving cultured keratinocyte grafts.

Cultured keratinocytes (CK) have been used to resurface large burn wounds with some success. These CK are grown in the presence of fetal bovine serum (FBS) and mouse fibroblasts (MF). Serum from ten patients who received CK grafts as part of burn wound coverage was studied by ELISA technique for antibody to these xenogeneic antigens. All patients had some amount of antibody to FBS but no detectable antibody to MF. The amount of antibody to FBS varied between patients and with respect to time after graft application. Generally, the levels of antibody to FBS were moderate by 30 days, declined, and then rose slowly by 5 to 6 months. The majority of antibody to FBS was against bovine serum albumin (BSA), demonstrated by Western blot technique. The presence of such antibody to FBS might produce clinical problems of graft rejection, anaphylaxis, and serum sickness in patients receiving CK grown in FBS supplemental medium. Further investigation will need to determine the likelihood and potential severity of such clinical problems.

Adult↗