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Biomedical subjects

I Hamilton

Publications and source records attributed to I Hamilton.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Bacteraemia with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy--a reappraisal.

To assess the risk of infective endocarditis for susceptible patients having upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopy, we have prospectively studied the incidence, level, duration and source of endoscopy-related bacteraemia and the microorganisms involved. Blood was drawn for aerobic and anaerobic culture and pour plate estimation from 50 patients undergoing upper GI endoscopy. Blood cultures were positive in two patients with the isolation of Streptococci and other oropharyngeal organisms during and 5 min after endoscopy. Pre-endoscopy salivary cultures in both patients grew Streptococci identical to those isolated from the blood; pour plates were negative. We conclude that though the risk of infective endocarditis after upper GI endoscopy is probably very low, the finding of a 4% incidence of transient low-level bacteraemia of oropharyngeal origin argues for antibiotic prophylaxis for susceptible patients.

Adolescent↗

Effects of tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate (TDB) tablets or cimetidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer.

Forty patients with duodenal ulcer were randomly allocated to treatment with either tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate tablets or cimetidine for six weeks. Endoscopically confirmed healing of the ulcer occurred in 80% treated with tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate tablets and in 85% treated with cimetidine. Symptomatic improvement was also similar in the two groups. Treatment with cimetidine was associated with an increase in pH of gastric aspirate during treatment and increased numbers of bacteria were isolated from the gastric aspirate during treatment, while the pH and bacterial flora of gastric aspirate did not change during tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate treatment. Serum and urinary bismuth levels rose during treatment with tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate and urinary excretion remained raised two weeks after cessation of treatment. Tripotassium dicitrato bismuthate tablets appear to be as effective as cimetidine in the treatment of duodenal ulcer without the potentially undesirable effects of a reduction in gastric acid secretion.

Adult↗

Assessment of a rapid pancreatic isoamylase assay as a screening test for chronic pancreatic disease.

A new, rapid assay for pancreatic isoamylase (PIA) has been evaluated in normal subjects and patients with either proven chronic pancreatic disease or diseases in which chronic pancreatitis commonly enters the differential diagnosis. A wide normal range limited the diagnostic usefulness of the test. In non-pancreatic disease the serum levels of PIA were normal in 107 of 109 patients with non-pancreatic disease, but only 3 of 16 patients with chronic pancreatitis and proven exocrine insufficiency had a low PIA level, and variable levels occurred in pancreatic carcinoma. These results suggest that measurement of serum PIA is of limited value as a screening test for chronic pancreatic disease.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗

Metrizamide as contrast medium in endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography.

Endoscopic retrograde cholangio-pancreatography (ERCP) has been performed in 17 patients using metrizamide (Amipaque) as contrast medium, and in 33 using meglumine diatrizoate (Urografin). The quality of pancreatograms obtained has been compared, using a specially developed scoring system, an any clinical and biochemical evidence of (acute) pancreatitis following ERCP observed. The mean pancreatogram score was slightly higher when Amipaque was used but there was no difference in the frequency or extent of hyperamylasaemia between the two groups. The slight advantage of Amipaque is not sufficient to overcome the disadvantages of its relatively high cost and inconvenience in use.

Cholangiopancreatography, Endoscopic Retrograde↗

Endoscopic retrograde cholangiograms of the normal and post-cholecystectomy biliary tree.

The diameter of extrahepatic and intrahepatic bile ducts was measured on 50 normal retrograde cholangiograms and on the cholangiograms of 109 post-cholecystectomy patients undergoing endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography: 70 of the post-cholecystectomy patients had a normal cholangiogram and 39 had retained stone or biliary stricture, of whom 17 were jaundiced. Biliary diameter at all points measured was greater in the post-cholecystectomy patients with no biliary lesion than in normals, and further increased in the presence of pathology (e.g. retained stone). The extent of overlap in biliary diameter between all these three groups is so great that measurement of bile duct calibre cannot separate patients with retained stone from post-cholecystectomy patients without retained stone, or from patients with an entirely normal biliary tree, even in the presence of obstructive jaundice. Methods of evaluating the biliary tract which rely on the measurement of bile duct diameter (e.g. ultrasound) are therefore of limited value in the investigation of post-cholecystectomy patients.

Adolescent↗

Simultaneous culture of saliva and jejunal aspirate in the investigation of small bowel bacterial overgrowth.

Both saliva and jejunal aspirate were cultured from 22 patients with suspected small bowel bacterial overgrowth and from eight controls. Large numbers of organisms (greater than 10(6)/ml) were recovered from the jejunal aspirate of 16 subjects, in five of whom the same organisms were present in similar relative proportions in the saliva, suggesting contamination of the sample with saliva, while in 11 the jejunal organisms differed from those in saliva. In eight of these the jejunal flora was a typical 'faecal' flora usually associated with small bowel bacterial overgrowth but, in three, the jejunal floral was superficially similar to that of saliva. Distinct subpopulations of bacteria, typically Gram-positive non-sporing rods, were, however, evident in the jejunum of these patients, and were also recovered, in smaller numbers, from the jejunum of controls, suggesting that they form a distinct jejunal microflora. Culture of saliva in addition to jejunal aspirate may be useful in the recognition of contamination of the proximal small bowel with saliva, and in the diagnosis of small bowel bacterial overgrowth.

Bacteria↗

Intestinal permeability in coeliac disease: the response to gluten withdrawal and single-dose gluten challenge.

Intestinal permeability has been studied in 21 patients with coeliac disease in relapse and after gluten withdrawal using an oral test of intestinal permeability based on the simultaneous oral administration of two probe molecules. The increased absorption of the larger molecule (cellobiose) and the decreased absorption of the smaller (mannitol) found in untreated coeliac disease both returned to normal within five months of starting treatment, the abnormality in cellobiose absorption correcting more rapidly than that of mannitol. After exposure to a single oral dose of gluten, the intestinal permeability of six patients with treated coeliac disease became transiently abnormal with an increased absorption of cellobiose, returning to normal within one week. The possible structural and functional implications of these findings are discussed. The cellobiose/mannitol ratio appears to be of value in assessing the response to gluten withdrawal in coeliac disease, and also in monitoring patients who are already established on a gluten free diet by detecting dietary lapses and 'non-responding coeliac disease'. It may also offer an alternative to jejunal biopsy in patients subjected to gluten challenge.

Adolescent↗

Clinical value of serum immunoreactive trypsin concentration.

The clinical value of estimation of serum concentrations of immunoreactive trypsin was evaluated by studying 46 healthy controls, 23 controls in hospital, 44 patients with chronic pancreatic disease, and 184 patients with non-pancreatic conditions in which pancreatic disease commonly enters into the differential diagnosis. Serum trypsin concentration had a log normal distribution in the controls, and the calculated normal range was considerably wider than that previously reported. The concentration was abnormal in only 13 out of 27 patients with chronic pancreatitis and was extremely variable in patients with pancreatic cancer. Abnormal results occurred in 11% of the patients with non-pancreatic disease. Eighteen patients had a subnormal trypsin concentration, of whom six did not have pancreatic disease and 12 had either chronic pancreatitis or pancreatic cancer. There was no correlation between serum trypsin concentration and mean tryptic activity as measured by the Lundh test. Of 11 patients with pancreatic steatorrhoea, only seven had subnormal trypsin concentrations. There results suggest that the serum concentrations of immunoreactive trypsin has a low specificity and sensitivity for pancreatic disease and does no reflect the degree exocrine insufficiency in patients with proved chronic pancreatitis.

Celiac Disease↗

A renal vipoma.

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Achlorhydria↗

Small intestinal permeability in pediatric clinical practice.

Passive permeability of small intestine to lactulose and mannitol was studied in children suspected of having intestinal disease, using a hypertonic differential sugar absorption test. Children with coeliac disease and cows' milk intolerance were shown to have an elevated urinary lactulose/mannitol recovery ratio when compared with controls, children with normal jejunal biopsy, or children in whom alternative explanations for failure to thrive had been demonstrated. The abnormality in permeability ratio principally reflects a reduced urinary recovery of mannitol following oral administration. This study demonstrates that a hypertonic sugar absorption test is well tolerated even by young children, is practicable in routine clinical pediatric practice, and is capable of demonstrating abnormal intestinal function in children with small intestinal disease.

Adolescent↗