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Biomedical subjects

I T Sutherland

Publications and source records attributed to I T Sutherland.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1981

Collection of breath for hydrogen estimation.

The breath hydrogen test is used in gastroenterological investigation, particularly for sugar malabsorption, transit time, and the investigation of small-bowel bacterial overgrowth. Several methods of collecting breath from infants and children for hydrogen assay have been described. Four such techniques (postnasal catheter, nasal prong, Rahn-Otis end-tidal sampler, and modification of a party toy--the 'Wiggins's blowout') were compared with breath collection using the Haldane-Priestley tube. Multiple sampling of breath from 3 adults was performed after initial lactulose loads to increase breath hydrogen excretion. The variability between the different assay techniques was less than the inherent variability of repeated breath hydrogen assays using the same technique. Each technique is therefore adequate for breath hydrogen collection; we recommend the Rahn-Otis end-tidal sampler in young infants and children, and the Haldane-Priestley tube in older children, since these were most acceptable to the children and their parents.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Lactose malabsorption during gastroenteritis, assessed by the hydrogen breath test.

Thirty-eight infants and young children with gastroenteritis were investigated for lactose malabsorption. Each of them was given an oral lactose load of either 0.5 g/kg or 2 g/kg after which breath hydrogen excretion was measured, and each was observed to see if he had clinical symptoms of lactose intolerance. Only one patient, given 2 g/kg lactose, had clinical intolerance. His breath hydrogen excretion however was negative. Three of 18 patients given 0.5 g/kg lactose had positive breath hydrogen tests. None of these was symptomatic. Lactose intolerance in gastroenteritis was rare in our study, and the hydrogen breath test was not an appropriate technique for detecting it.

Breath Tests↗
PubMed1981

Failure of the hydrogen breath test to detect pulmonary sugar malabsorption.

Five patients with sucrase-isomaltase deficiency, and one patient with primary glucose-galactose malabsorption had no increases in breath hydrogen excretion after oral sucrose or glucose. Anaerobic incubation with sugars of stool suspensions from 5 patients with primary sugar malabsorption produced by trace of hydrogen (17 microliter) in only one, while those from 13 or 14 controls produced a mean hydrogen volume of 640 microliter under similar conditions. Altered bacterial metabolism is a probable explanation. Breath hydrogen excretion did increase appreciably in 2 of these patients after oral lactulose showing that hydrogen excretion may vary according to the substrate. Therefore, observation of breath hydrogen excretion after lactulose is not recommended as a means of predicting false-negative breath tests with other sugars. The hydrogen breath test is not a reliable mean of diagnosing primary sugar malabsorption in children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

Flow cell modification of a filter fluorimeter producing improved throughput and precision.

A modification of a Corning-EEL 244 filter fluorimeter to take a Hellma fluoronephelometric flow cell is described, and the characteristics of a standard flow cell and the Hellma flow cell are compared by the use of a continuous flow fluorimetric calcein-calcium method. The study shows that by this modification a considerable improvement in precision, carryover, and throughput is possible. The kinetically better Hellma flow cell enables speeds in excess of 70 per hour to be achieved with carryover and precision better than that obtained at 40 per hour with the standard flow cell. Curve regeneration of signals using the Hellma flow cell can also be carried out, enabling a further increase in analytical rate to be obtained.

Calcium↗