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Biomedical subjects

H G Taylor

Publications and source records attributed to H G Taylor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Human parvovirus B19 and rheumatoid arthritis.

Human parvovirus B19 infections have been linked with the development of a short-lived symmetrical polyarthritis and, rarely, a more persistent arthritis. We prospectively looked for serological evidence of recent B19 infection in 25 early synovitis patients presenting within 12 weeks of symptom onset and compared them with 21 controls seen over the same time period. None of the control patients had evidence of recent B19 infection while 3 of the early synovitis patients had raised IgM anti-B19 antibody levels. Two had a transient arthritis and 1 developed persistent seropositive rheumatoid arthritis.

Adult↗
PubMed1992

The three week sulphasalazine syndrome.

We report a 53-year-old man with sero-negative rheumatoid arthritis who developed a fever, rash and hepatitis 3 weeks after starting sulphasalazine therapy. This was associated with a T cell lymphocytosis, eosinophilia and evidence of classical complement pathway activation. He responded to high dose corticosteroids. This is a rare but characteristic reaction which is likely to be encountered by rheumatologists more frequently with the increasing use of sulphasalazine. It should be recognized promptly as it may be fatal and can be confused with other systemic diseases.

Arthritis, Rheumatoid↗
PubMed1992

Academic achievement following childhood brain disease: implications for the concept of learning disabilities.

The present study examined three hypotheses regarding the consequences of early brain damage for academic achievement: First, early brain insults will have a negative impact on achievement, even in children with normal intelligence. Second, underachievement in these children will be at least partially independent of IQ (i.e., not fully accounted for by a lowering of IQ within the average range). Third, normally intelligent children with histories of brain insult will also manifest selective cognitive dysfunctions. To test these hypotheses, we compared two groups of children who had recovered from Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis. The "complicated" group consisted of children who, as a consequence of having sustained neurologic complications during their illness, were more likely to have had brain insults. Children in the "uncomplicated" group did not have complications with their illness and were regarded as having escaped significant central nervous system (CNS) pathology. Only children with normal hearing and a prorated Full Scale IQ of at least 80 (WISC-R) were considered. Group differences on the Wide Range Achievement Test-Revised were consistent with the first two hypotheses. Although the two groups had similar Verbal IQs, the complicated group also had a lower mean Performance IQ and performed less well on perceptually demanding neuropsychological tasks. Findings suggest that learning disabilities may have selective, brain-related cognitive antecedents; but they challenge the practice of using IQ criteria for clinical diagnosis.

Achievement↗
PubMed1992

Sterno-costo-clavicular hyperostosis.

Sterno-costo-clavicular hyperostosis (SCCH) is a condition of unknown aetiology in which a chronic inflammatory osteitis affects predominantly the medical clavicle, sternum and distal tibia and femur, sometimes associated with skin disease. We report on two patients with the typical bony lesions of SCCH and no associated skin disease.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Hypophosphataemic rickets and pyrophosphate arthropathy.

Pyrophosphate arthropathy (PA) has been reported in association with a number of diseases, usually occurring in the older age group. We report a 40-year-old female with untreated X-linked hypophosphataemic rickets who presented with PA.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Intra-articular steroids: confounder of clinical trials.

The effect of intra-articular (i-a) steroid injection on ESR and C-reactive protein (CRP) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was investigated. One week following injection of 1 or 2 knees there was a significant fall in ESR (p less than 0.0001) and CRP (p less than 0.01) in a cohort of 20 RA patients. The mean drop for both ESR and CRP was 46%. This effect lasted over a variable period up to 6 months. A survey of 50 published drug efficacy studies in RA revealed that, while 44 used ESR and 20 CRP as efficacy measures, 37 neither excluded nor recorded i-a steroid injections during the study. Steroid injections were excluded in 8 studies and recorded in 5, being used as an outcome measure in 2 of these. It is recommended that the frequency with which i-a injections are used in drug efficacy studies is reported and that they are avoided in the 3 months preceding an outcome measurement if ESR or CRP are being used as outcome measures.

Aged↗
PubMed1991

Sulphasalazine in ankylosing spondylitis. A radiological, clinical and laboratory assessment.

In a 12-month double-blind placebo-controlled trial, the effect of sulphasalazine was studied in 40 patients with ankylosing spondylitis. The treatment group showed significant improvement in pain, stiffness, sleep disturbance (p less than 0.05), finger/floor distance, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein, orosomucoid and IgA levels (p less than 0.01). There was improvement in sleep disturbance (p less than 0.05), finger/floor distance and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (p less than 0.01) in the placebo group. Sulphasalazine did not retard radiological progression as measured either by plain X-ray or computerised tomographic scans. Multiple analysis of variance did not show a significant difference in disease activity indicators between the 2 groups.

Analysis of Variance↗
PubMed1991

RECPAM: a computer program for recursive partition and amalgamation for survival data and other situations frequently occurring in biostatistics. III. Classification according to a multivariate construct. Application to data on Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis.

The methodology of RECursive Partition and AMalgamation (RECPAM) previously presented in Parts I and II (A. Ciampi et al., Computer. Methods Progr. Biomed. 26 (1988) 239-256 and 30 (1989) 283-296) pursues its development with an application to predict long-term effects of a disease given a set of clinical information measured at the time of illness. This paper illustrates how RECPAM deals with a situation typical in Medical Informatics applied to data on Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

The relationship of clinical and laboratory measurements to radiological change in ankylosing spondylitis.

Methods for scoring the severity of radiological change in patients with ankylosing spondylitis using plain X-rays of the sacroiliac (SI) joints and lumbar spine and computerized tomographic (CT) scans of the SI joints were evaluated in a cohort of 70 patients. Analysis of reproducibility was by the kappa statistic. Significant change over 12 months in a subgroup of patients was demonstrated by these scores. Ankylosis correlates negatively with erosions and sclerosis and the change in SI joint ankylosis correlates negatively with change in SI joint erosions as seen on CT scan. The clinical and laboratory correlates of these findings were examined. Pain, stiffness and sleep disturbance correlated positively with increasing SI joint sclerosis on CT scanning (r = 0.45; P less than 0.05) but negatively with ankylosis (r = -0.43; P less than 0.05). Orosomucoid levels predicted an increase in the radiological lumbar spine score. No other clinical or laboratory variable predicted radiological change.

Cohort Studies↗
PubMed1991

Quantitative radio-isotope scanning in ankylosing spondylitis: a clinical, laboratory and computerised tomographic study.

Quantitative sacroiliac and lumbar spine radio-isotope (Tc-99m MDP) scans were performed in 42 patients with ankylosing spondylitis, and repeated 12 months later in 25. Clinical and laboratory assessments as well as computerised tomographic (CT) scans of the sacroiliac joints (SIJ) and lateral lumbar spine x-rays, were performed. Bone (using the L3/4 area of the lumbar spine, sacrum, SIJ's and knee) to soft tissue (ST) ratios all correlated strongly with each other. Patients with high SIJ:ST ratios had significantly greater low-back stiffness (p less than 0.05). Change in serum IgA levels correlated negatively with change in bone: ST ratios. There was no relationship between bone: ST ratios and any other clinical or laboratory variables. The change in SIJ:ST ratios correlated positively with change in CT erosion score (p less than 0.05) and negatively with change in CT ankylosis score (p less than 0.05).

Adult↗
PubMed1990

The sequelae of Haemophilus influenzae meningitis in school-age children.

BACKGROUND: Previous data on the consequences of Haemophilus influenzae type b meningitis for school-age children have been inconsistent, and much of the information on risk factors has been inconclusive. The present study was designed to evaluate the sequelae of this disease with a protocol for the comprehensive assessment of neuropsychological function. METHODS: Ninety-seven school-age children (mean age, 9.6 years), each of whom had a school-age sibling, were recruited from a survey of the medical records of 519 children treated for H. influenzae type b meningitis between 1972 and 1984 (at a mean age of 17 months) at the children's hospitals of Toronto, Ottawa, and Montreal. Of the 97 children, 41 had had an acute neurologic complication. Sequelae were assessed by comparing the index children with their nearest siblings on the basis of standardized measures of cognitive, academic, and behavioral status. RESULTS: Only 14 children (14 percent) had persisting neurologic sequelae: sensorineural hearing loss in 11 (unilateral in 6 and bilateral in 5), seizure disorder in 2, and hemiplegia and mental retardation in 1. Although the total sample of index children scored slightly below the siblings in reading ability, the 56 children without acute-phase neurologic complications (58 percent) were indistinguishable from their siblings on all measures. The differences between the groups were small even for the 41 pairs in which the index child had had an acute neurologic complication (mean full-scale IQ, 102 for the index children vs. 109 for the siblings). Sequelae were also associated with lower socioeconomic status and a lower ratio of glucose in cerebrospinal fluid to that in blood at the time of the meningitis. Behavioral problems were more prominent in index boys than index girls and in those who were older at the time of testing, but sex and age were not related to cognitive or academic sequelae. CONCLUSIONS: We find a favorable prognosis for the majority of children who are treated for meningitis caused by H. influenzae type b.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

An unusual pleural effusion.

Transudative pleural effusions usually result from systemic disorders such as congestive heart failure, hypoproteinaemic states and pneumonia. We report a patient who illustrates a rarely considered local mechanism of transudate formation.

Aged↗