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Biomedical subjects

I Swann

Publications and source records attributed to I Swann.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Can alcohol intoxication be excluded as the cause of confusion following head injury?

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether there is a breath alcohol level (BrAC) below which confusion in the head injured patient should not be attributed solely to the acute effects of alcohol. METHOD: Based in the Accident and Emergency Ward in Glasgow Royal Infirmary, a prospective observational study was carried out over a five month period. Patients admitted to the ward were recruited for the study if they had a primary diagnosis of head injury. The outcome measures recorded and analysed were sequential 2 hrly BrAC readings (mg/L) and Glasgow Coma Scale findings (Eye opening, motor and verbal responses). The relationship between these was investigated, which revealed additional relevant factors affecting level of consciousness. RESULTS: The breath alcohol analyser was found to be a useful non-invasive, quick and easy to use tool. The results obtained were consistent with the expected pattern of reducing BrAC levels over a 6 hour period. Within this group of patients, a poor correlation was found between each of the three responses of the Glasgow Coma Scale and BrAC readings. For those patients who remained confused, when their BrAC reading was less than 1 mg/L, other causes of a lowered level of consciousness were identified. CONCLUSION: Confusion in the head injured patient with a BrAC of less than 1 mg/L, should alert one to the likelihood of causes other than alcohol intoxication.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Activation during preparation of therapeutic platelets affects deterioration during storage: a comparative flow cytometric study of different production methods.

Three different separation methods, all using centrifugation, are routinely used to prepare therapeutic platelet concentrates from human donor blood. Platelet concentrates derived from platelet-rich plasma (PRP-PC), buffy coat (BC-PC) and apheresis (AP-PC) were investigated at the end of production, and over an 8 d storage period. Change in platelet surface markers were measured by flow cytometry, using fluorescein-conjugated antibodies to fibrinogen, P-selectin (CD62P), GPIIb-IIIa (CD41), GPIb alpha (CD42b) and GPV (CD42d), and fluorescein-conjugated Annexin V was used to measure expression of anionic phospholipid. All concentrates showed some changes during preparation but PRP-PC underwent the greatest changes with significantly higher levels of P-selectin (P<0.001) and bound Annexin V (P=0.001) than AP-PC or BC-PC, and lower levels of GPIb alpha (P=0.002) and GPV (P<0.001). These changes were attributable to component separation rather than venesection. These markers all continued to change on storage with a strong positive correlation between the changes seen during production and those after 5 d storage. PRP-PC continued to show the greatest changes whereas BC-PC showed the least. Fibrinogen was bound to 40-50% of platelets in all preparations and this did not alter significantly on storage whereas total expression of GPIIb-IIIa remained unchanged throughout. There was no evidence that the platelet surface changes were thrombin-mediated and leucocyte depletion of BP-PC by filtration had no effect on the changes. It is proposed that the deterioration of platelet concentrates during storage may be related to activation occurring during preparation. 'Whole blood' flow cytometry using a panel of fluorescein-labelled reagents provides an informative method for evaluating platelet concentrates.

Annexin A5↗
PubMed1979

Is appendicitis familial?

A family history of appendicectomy was sought in two groups of children admitted to Llandough Hospital over sixteen months. The study group consisted of 29 children with histologically confirmed acute appendicitis, while the control group consisted of 29 children admitted for reasons unrelated to abdominal pain. A history of appendicectomy was elicited in first-degree relatives--that is, siblings and parents of 20 of the children in the study group and of four of the controls--a statistically significant difference. The results obtained from this study suggest that a familial predisposition to appendicitis exists.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1978

Diagnosis of phaeochromocytoma after ingestion of imipramine.

An 11-year-old twin girl was admitted to hospital with a 24-hour history of profuse sweating, tachycardia, and hypertension after a single dose of imipramine. She was subsequently found to have a right adrenal phaeochromocytoma. To our knowledge, this is the first reported case of tumour provocation by imipramine.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗