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Biomedical subjects

H J Khamis

Publications and source records attributed to H J Khamis.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

DNA probe for beta-hemolytic group B Streptococcus. Diagnostic accuracy in threatened preterm labor.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of a DNA probe for beta-hemolytic group B Streptococcus (GBS) in women with threatened preterm labor. STUDY DESIGN: Two identical vaginal/perianal samples were collected from 75 pregnant women who were being evaluated for threatened preterm labor. One sample was managed in the traditional manner, with direct plating onto blood agar followed by plating after 8 and 24 hours of LIM broth enhancement. The "gold standard" was 24 hours of LIM broth enhancement followed by blood agar plating. The second sample was placed in LIM broth, and DNA probe testing was performed after incubation for 8 and 24 hours. RESULTS: The prevalence of GBS colonization by the gold standard culture was 32%. After 8 hours of incubation in LIM broth, the DNA probe had poor sensitivity (79%); however, after 24 hours of incubation in LIM broth the DNA probe sensitivity rose to 96%. The DNA probe demonstrated only one false negative result after 24 hours of LIM broth enhancement. All DNA probe results were known 25 hours after sample collection. CONCLUSION: This DNA probe gave results nearly identical to those of standard cultures and allowed a substantial saving of time.

Adult↗

Allopurinol as an additive to quinine in the treatment of acute complicated falciparum malaria.

The emergence of chloroquine resistance, and a world-wide scarcity of quinine, have resulted in a search for newer antimalarial drugs directed against falciparum malaria. Allopurinol causes virtually complete inhibition of purine biosynthesis of malaria parasites, which may prove lethal to the parasites. This study was designed to examine if allopurinol is additive to quinine in the treatment of acute falciparum malaria. Forty-seven Asian-Indian adults with acute complicated falciparum malaria were assigned to a treatment period of five days. They were randomly assigned to receive either oral allopurinol (12 mg/kg in three divided doses for five days) plus quinine (600 mg intravenously every 8 hr for two days, followed by 600 mg orally every 8 hr for three days ) (n = 24), or quinine alone (600 mg intravenously every 8 hr for two days, followed by 600 mg orally every 8 hr for three days) (n = 23). The responses were assessed by parasite clearance time, defervescence time, splenomegaly disappearance time, and cure rate. In the allopurinol-quinine (ALLQUIN)-treated group, all the durations were significantly shorter than those in the quinine alone (QUIN)-treated group. They were ALLQUIN versus QUIN (mean +/- SD = 65.33 +/- 11.47 hr versus 76.78 +/- 18.20 hr; P = 0.0214; 57.66 +/- 13.01 hr versus 82.52 +/- 23.55 hr, P = 0.0002; 10 +/- 1.64 days versus 14.65 +/- 2.4 days; P = 0.0002), respectively. The cure rate was higher in the ALLQUIN group (91.7%) than in the QUIN group (87%). However, this difference was not statistically significant. Therefore, this study indicates that allopurinol can be an additive to quinine to bring about both faster eradication of Plasmodium falciparum and clinical remission than with quinine alone.

Acute Disease↗

Relationships between the Body Mass Index and body composition.

The aims of this study were to evaluate the Body Mass Index (BMI) (weight/stature2) as a proxy for percent body fat (%BF) and to determine its association with fat-free mass (FFM). Multivariate analysis of variance and partial correlations were used to examine relationships between BMI and %BF and FFM from densitometry for 504 men and 511 women, aged 20 to 45 years. Sensitivity/specificity analyses used cut offs of 28 kg/m2 in men and 26 kg/m2 in women for BMI, and 25% in men and 33% in women for %BF. Significantly higher associations existed in each gender between BMI and %BF in the upper BMI tertile than in the lower BMI tertiles. In the lower BMI tertiles, correlations between BMI and FFM were approximately twice as large as those between BMI and %BF. The BMI correctly identified about 44% of obese men, and 52% of obese women when obesity was determined from %BF. BMI is an uncertain diagnostic index of obesity. Results of Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) analyses using %BF and total body fat, both provided a BMI of 25 kg/m2 in men and 23 kg/m2 in women as diagnostic screening cut offs for obesity.

Adipose Tissue↗

Prostaglandin E2 gel for cervical ripening in patients with an indication for delivery.

OBJECTIVE: To determine if labor can be induced safely and efficiently in patients with a medical or obstetric indication for delivery before 41 completed weeks of gestation by pre-induction cervical ripening with prostaglandin (PG) E2 gel. METHODS: One hundred eighteen women with confirmed indication for induction of labor before 41 completed weeks were randomized in a double-blind fashion to either intracervical PGE2 gel or placebo before induction by a standard oxytocin protocol. Data regarding the change in Bishop score, interval to complete dilation, maximal oxytocin dose required to establish labor, and route of delivery were collected. Apgar scores and umbilical artery pH were also recorded. RESULTS: The maximum oxytocin dose required to establish progressive labor was significantly lower in the PGE2 group (10.06 +/- 8.50 versus 13.35 +/- 9.27 mU/minute, P = .014). The cesarean rate was also significantly lower in the PGE2 group (13.1 versus 31.6%, P = .016). CONCLUSION: Pre-induction intracervical deposition of 1 mg PGE2 gel decreased the amount of oxytocin required to induce progressive labor and decreased the cesarean rate in patients who had medical or obstetric indications for delivery before 41 completed weeks. This was accomplished without negative effect on Apgar score or umbilical artery pH.

Adult↗

Predicting adult stature without using skeletal age: the Khamis-Roche method.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To obtain reliable and accurate predictions of adult stature in white American children who are free of disease without using skeletal age. DESIGN: Apply a modification of the Roche-Wainer-Thissen stature prediction model to a sample of white American children. SETTING: Longitudinal data (every 6 months) from participants in the Fels Longitudinal Study were used for the development of the stature prediction model. PARTICIPANTS: Residents of Southwest Ohio, 223 white males and 210 white females, at the time of their enrollment into the Fels Longitudinal Study. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: The errors of the proposed method, which does not use skeletal age as a predictor variable, are only slightly larger than those for the Roche-Wainer-Thissen method which uses skeletal age as a predictor variable. CONCLUSIONS: Adult stature predictions are needed commonly but the current methods are difficult to apply because they require a skeletal age assessed by a modern method. The Khamis-Roche method predicts adult stature in the absence of skeletal age with only a slight deterioration in accuracy and reliability. The applicability of the Khamis-Roche method is limited to white American children without pathologic conditions that alter the potential for growth in stature, but it should be useful for white children who are unusual in stature or in levels of maturity for age.

Adolescent↗

Diuretic induced long term hemodynamic changes in hypertension. A retrospective study in a MRFIT clinical center.

Retrospective analysis of hemodynamic factors was performed on hypertensive participants of our Multiple Risk Factor Intervention Trial (MRFIT) center to determine whether these may have a role in the higher mortality in a subgroup of special intervention (SI) participants with minor baseline electrocardiographic abnormalities. Stroke volume was estimated by a formula [SV = K(LVETxPP)x(1 + LVET/DP) where the K factor was determined using a separate group of individuals undergoing cardiac catheterization. The Pearson correlation between the two methods (dye dilution and above formula) was 0.7744 with a 95% confidence interval of 0.57-0.89 for the true correlation. In 222 SI and 186 usual care (UC) participants with no differences in stroke volume index (SVI) and cardiac output index (CI) at baseline, SVI and CI were systematically lower during the entire period of treatment in SI receiving higher average doses of thiazide diuretics. There was a moderate increase of SVI and CI in SI participants toward baseline after hydrochlorothiazide was replaced by other antihypertensive medication in the fourth year of the trial. We conclude that the lower SVI and CI could have been a contributing factor in the higher mortality in the SI group with ECG abnormalities resulting in decreased coronary flow reserve under stress conditions in these participants with probably pre-existing asymptomatic coronary artery disease.

Adult↗

Contingency table estimation of genetic parameters and disease risks.

Many genetic variables, categorical in nature, allow for analysis by use of contingency table techniques and thereby lead to maximum likelihood estimators. This paper describes these techniques for the classical direct effect model under Mendelian segregation to illustrate how one obtains maximum likelihood estimators for penetrance probabilities and recurrence risks when the data appear in the form of a semi-symmetric intraclass contingency table. The method presented for the 2(3) table is based exclusively on the generalized cross-product ratio and the Pearson chi-squared statistic, and thereby avoids complex statistical methodology and unwieldy computations.

Dermatoglyphics↗

Relationships between legal and clinical factors among forensic hospital patients.

Recognizing that established relationships enhance understanding and therefore improve clinical intuition and inference, the authors examined clinical and legal characteristics of a legally and clinically heterogeneous population of maximum security forensic hospital patients (n = 380). Several findings serve to substantiate outcomes of previous studies of subgroups of offenders. Some new relationships among legal and clinical variables are established. The relationship between admission legal status and Axis I diagnosis is dependent upon the Axis II diagnosis. Those admitted for competency evaluations have the lowest percentage of psychotic diagnoses and the highest IQ. Kidnapers have the highest percentage of psychotic diagnoses and there is a relationship between previous incarceration and drug treatment refusal. The authors discuss clinical implications, generalizability, and the needs for further investigation.

Adult↗

Factors related to drug treatment refusal in a forensic hospital.

Using the hospital records of 421 patients in a maximum-security forensic hospital, the authors explored the relationship between clinical factors and patients' receptiveness to or refusal of drug treatment. They found drug treatment refusal to be significantly related to a psychotic diagnosis in the absence of a personality disorder; in contrast, psychotic patients with personality disorders tended to be relatively compliant with drug treatment. Treatment refusers had significantly longer lengths of hospitalization that were not reduced by receipt of medication. Significant relationships were also found between treatment refusal and involuntary medication, use of restraints, and greater number of previous hospitalizations; between reasons for refusal and involuntary medication; and between history of substance abuse and previous incarceration.

Adult↗

Alexithymia and handedness. A pilot study.

Exploration of the connection between alexithymia and handedness has not been addressed in the literature. Although trends which have been reported between alexithymia and characteristics of individuals may vary with the methods of assessment and types of population, the possible relationships between alexithymia and males and between left-handedness and males raise questions about the relationship between alexithymia and handedness. This pilot study (n = 100) indicates a higher incidence of alexithymia in individuals who are not right-handed. The possible influence of left hemisphere development on the occurrence of alexithymia is discussed.

Adult↗

Log-linear-model analysis of the association between disease and genotype.

In this paper, log-linear-model analysis is employed to provide further insight into the disease-genotype association problem, as discussed by Norwood and Hinkelmann (1978, Biometrics 34, 593-602). It is shown how this approach can take account of the structure of the data when testing hypotheses about the type of association, by specifying the form of recurrence risks and allowing estimation of such recurrence risks by maximum likelihood. The notation of conditional recurrence risk is introduced and its usefulness is illustrated.

Alleles↗

Growth outcome of "normal" short children who are retarded in skeletal maturation.

The growth and adult stature of "short normal slow maturing" children (SNSMC) have not been adequately studied. We applied a well-known adult stature prediction method to SNSMC and average children (AC). The accuracy of adult stature prediction in SNSMC warranted its use as a guide to the effectiveness of treatment (average median absolute errors: 1.71 cm males, 1.61 cm females). Additionally, we derived biological parameters from the serial statures for SNSMC and AC. Several of the biological parameters differed significantly between the SNSMC and AC in both sexes (stature velocity and age at onset of the pubescent spurt, age at peak height velocity, and the increment in stature from peak height velocity to 18 years) and the differences between these groups in stature at onset of the pubescent spurt and at peak height velocity were significant for males. The differences were not significant in either sex for the rate of growth at peak height velocity or the increase in stature from the onset of the pubescent spurt to peak height velocity.

Adolescent↗

Growth comparison of breast-fed and formula-fed infants.

Growth during infancy was analyzed using data from a study in which groups of infants were fed breast-milk or one of three formulas: Good Start, Isomil, or Similac. After adjustments for size at birth and parental stature, growth was within the normal range for all feeding groups and there were few significant differences in growth between those fed different formulas. There was, however, some evidence that Similac was associated with larger gains in weight and that those fed breast-milk or Isomil had lower weights at ages older than two months. Additionally, at six months, recumbent length tended to be smaller in the Isomil group of boys and in both the Isomil and Similac groups of girls and larger in the Good Start groups of boys and girls.

Body Height↗