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Biomedical subjects

H Da Costa

Publications and source records attributed to H Da Costa.

12 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

A radiocolloid study of the reticulo-endothelial system in tropical diseases.

Radiocolloids were used to study the trapping function of the reticulo-endothelial system in 361 children with infectious or non-infectious tropical diseases. Responses of the system varied not only between different types of diseases but also between individuals suffering from the same type of disease, as illustrated (primarily) by numerous scans of the liver and spleen.

Child↗
PubMed1978

Transit time of a radionuclide bolus through inferior vena cava.

The effect of an intrinsic block or extrinsic pressure on blood flow through the inferior vena cava (IVC) was studied after rapid injection of 99mTc-pertechnetate or 99mTc-phytate into the femoral vein. Peak-to-peak transit time (PTT) between the curves generated at IVC origin and over the cardiac blood pool was measured in twelve normal patients (PTT = 2.0 +/- 0.7 s) and six patients clinically suspected of circulatory impediment through the IVC (PTT = 3.0 to 30.0 s). PTT measurements augmented the information obtained from sequential scintiphotos of IVC circulation. It is felt that this may be a more objective parameter for follow-up of patients having a progressive, primary disease of this vessel.

Blood Circulation↗
PubMed1977

Frequency of inferior vena caval abnormalcy due to a juxtaposed pathology.

Radionuclide inferior vena cavagrams were done in 135 patients who had hepatomegaly, splenomegaly or a mass in the vicinity of the inferior vena cava (I.V.C.). 2-5mCi 66mTc phytate, 99mTc S colloid, 99mTc O4-, 99mTc-LIDA, 99mTc pyridoxyledene glutamate or 113mIn colloid were injected directly and rapidly into either a malleolar or a femoral vein while the patient lay supine under the 13.5'' detector head of a scinticamera. Rapid sequential scintiphotos were manually taken at approximately 1 sec. interval for 20-30 sec. Thus iliac vein, I.V.C., cardiopulmonary zone in infants, aorta and the arterial phase were visualized. 48% of these subjects had an abnormal I.V.C. and the depictions were interestingly varied, indicating that different patients responded in a different manner even to grossly similar pathologies. It became evident that this soft walled vessel could be compressed by both fluids and neoplastic tissue (Fig. 1, 2); the long I.V.C. channel could also be segmentally pushed away by a mass in its vicinity. (Fig. 2, 3, 4). An abnormal arterial flush usually differentiated between benign (Fig. 2) and malignant (Fig. 3) lesions, even when the mass was extra-hepatic (Fig. 4) and retiroperitoneal (Fig. 5). Such a systematic study of I.V.C. had not been possible earlier since the classical x-ray contrast inferior vena cavagram necessitates venous dissection, passage of a catheter, and the injection of large volume of fluid under an unphysiologically high pressure. The simplified radionuclide technique, however, permitted the study of neonates and critically ill subjects with massive ascites, while retaining a satisfactory reproducability.

Abdominal Muscles↗
PubMed1977

Distribution of orally administered bromine-82 in tubercular meningitis: concise communication.

Bromine-82 as ammonium bromide (0.6 muCi/kg) was administered orally to 86 children with neurologic manifestations of tubercular meningitis (TBM). The cerebrospinal-fluid-to-plasma activity ratios were obtained at 48 hr. A serum-to-CSF ratio below 1.9 was highly specific for TBM (40 of 42 patients), and only 4 of 44 patients with neurologic disorders other than TBM had ratios below 1.9. An attempt to simplify the diagnosis of TBM was carried out in 44 of the 86 patients by obtaining external counts over the head, heart, and thigh at 4, 24, and 48 hr after Br-82 administration, but these external counts did not distinguish TBM patients from the other patients in our series.

Administration, Oral↗