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Biomedical subjects

J Champion

Publications and source records attributed to J Champion.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Oral health status of heroin users in a rehabilitation centre in Hubei province, China.

OBJECTIVE: To report on the oral health of heroin users and to determine risk factors for oral health status. DESIGN: All heroin users at one rehabilitation camp received an interview using a pre-tested questionnaire from one of three trained interviewers and a dental examination using World Health Organization recommended procedures from one of three calibrated dentists. SETTING: Interviews and examinations were carried out at Hubei Province camp. PARTICIPANTS: All 520 resident heroin users at the camp participated in the study. OUTCOME MEASURES: Oral hygiene expressed using the Debris Index; caries status by DMFT; periodontal status by percentage with bleeding, pocketing and calculus; mucosal status using standard World Health Organization criteria. RESULTS: One hundred (19%) of the heroin users were caries free; their mean DMFT was 4.2. The majority (92%) of the DMFT was decay and only a small proportion (8%) was treatment related. The proportion of heroin users with bleeding, calculus, shallow pocketing and deep pocketing was 42%, 95%, 42% and 8% respectively. The mean Debris Index score was 3.2. Mucosal lesions were present in 31 subjects (6%). Using multivariate analysis, duration of heroin use and education were risk factors for DMFT, route of drug administration was a risk factor for calculus and gender was a risk factor for deep pocketing. CONCLUSIONS: There are indications of poorer periodontal health as well as higher caries experience in this group when compared to provincial dental epidemiological data. Mucosal lesions were not widely prevalent. Both social factors and characteristics of drug use were related to oral health in this group.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed2000

Dental care for children and young people who have a hearing impairment.

AIM: The aim was to determine whether there are indications that hearing-impaired children experience difficulties in accessing dental care and/or in receiving dental treatment. METHOD: The study was carried out by means of a questionnaire. Parents of 84 children contacted through the National Deaf Children's Society returned completed questionnaires. RESULTS: Eighty-two children (98%) had visited a dentist. Nearly two-thirds (63%) were reported to have at least one problem in communication while receiving dental care, this increased significantly as the severity of the hearing impairment increased. Fifty-nine children (70%) reported having at least one problem in communication at the doctors'. Fifty-two (62%) reported that the dentist had worn a mask while communicating with the child and 48 (57%) that there had been background noise in the surgery during appointments. CONCLUSIONS: Removing masks while talking, reducing background noise and learning to use simple signs may improve communication with hearing-impaired children.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Caries patterns and their relationship to infant feeding and socio-economic status in 2-4-year-old Chinese children.

AIMS: To describe the prevalence, severity and patterns of caries in 2-4-year-old children and to evaluate the association between caries experience of the children and their feeding patterns and socio-economic background in terms of mothers' education and family income. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey. SETTING: Suburban area of Hanchuan in Hubei province, China. PARTICIPANTS: A sample of 426 children (250 boys and 176 girls). METHODS: Dental-examinations were undertaken in kindergartens using World Health Organization diagnostic criteria for dental caries. Mothers completed a short questionnaire. OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of caries; rampant caries; caries in incisors; caries in incisors and/or canines and molars; mean number of decayed, missing and filled teeth/surfaces (dmft/s). RESULTS: 36% of the children had caries, 7% had rampant caries. The more extensive pattern of caries involving primary molars as well as incisors and/or canines was seen in 12% of children. Children who had been wholly bottle-fed had five times the risk of having rampant caries compared to children who were breast-fed. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicated that infant feeding practice might be a key risk factor for the development of caries at an early age in this country as elsewhere.

Bottle Feeding↗
PubMed2000

Risk assessment. A five step process.

Risk assessment is a process which involves identifying hazards in the workplace and assessing the risk of them causing harm (Croner's Health Service Risks 1997). This step by step approach to risk assessment should make the whole process seem less daunting and encourage active participation in this effective method of proactive risk management.

Humans↗
PubMed2000

Laser safety management.

LASER is an acronym for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation. Since the first working laser was demonstrated in 1960 the laser has evolved from being viewed as a weapon, courtesy of the film industry, to its current position as a commonplace medical device within the healthcare industry. As perioperative staff we have become very familiar with the therapeutic use of this device. It is my experience however that, just occasionally, we are guilty of the old adage 'familiarity breeds contempt'. We must remember that the very same features which make lasers so useful in healthcare may also represent major health hazards to patients, staff and others.

Eye Protective Devices↗
PubMed1999

Fault slip rates in the modern new madrid seismic zone

Structural and geomorphic analysis of late Holocene sediments in the Lake County region of the New Madrid seismic zone indicates that they are deformed by fault-related folding above the blind Reelfoot thrust fault. The widths of narrow kink bands exposed in trenches were used to model the Reelfoot scarp as a forelimb on a fault-bend fold; this, coupled with the age of folded sediment, yields a slip rate on the blind thrust of 6.1 +/- 0.7 mm/year for the past 2300 +/- 100 years. An alternative method used structural relief across the scarp and the estimated dip of the underlying blind thrust to calculate a slip rate of 4.8 +/- 0.2 mm/year. Geometric relations suggest that the right lateral slip rate on the New Madrid seismic zone is 1.8 to 2.0 mm/year.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1998

How are men with urethral discharge managed in general practice?

Chlamydia and gonorrhoea remain major causes of morbidity despite the availability of effective therapy. Because of the asymptomatic nature of many infections, particularly in women, active case finding is necessary to trace and offer screening and treatment to sexual contacts of those infected. Genitourinary medicine (GUM) clinics provide investigation and treatment for a variety of sexual health problems but the proportion of infections treated outside these clinics is unknown. A questionnaire survey of general practitioners (GPs) was used to examine the prevalence and management of male urethritis in Scotland. Responses were received from 277/347 (80%) of GPs. A median of one case/year of male urethritis was seen and screening for gonorrhoea and chlamydia was undertaken in 82% and 63% of cases not referred to a GUM clinic respectively. Six per cent of GPs attempted to trace sexual contacts. Twenty-nine per cent (60) of patients were not referred to a GUM clinic and increasing distance to the clinic was associated with non-referral. Eleven per cent (18) of patients objected to referral to a GUM clinic. There is scope to improve the management of male urethritis by providing greater support for GPs, encouraging clinic referral where possible and appropriate investigations and treatment when not.

Chlamydia Infections↗
PubMed1993

In vitro stimulation of human endothelial cells by derivatized dextrans.

Derivatized dextrans exert a stimulatory effect on the in vitro growth of human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). Measurements of growth were monitored by [3H]thymidine uptake and cell numbers. Our results show that some derivatized dextrans at 4 micrograms/ml (88 nM) increase the [3H]thymidine incorporation, whereas starting dextran (40,000 Da), dextran sulfate, and carboxymethyl dextran have no effect. In addition, heparin under similar experimental conditions shows a slight inhibitory effect on the HUVEC growth. The stimulatory effect of derivatized dextrans was also found when HUVEC grew during 7 days in medium containing 2% fetal bovine serum. We also observed that derivatized dextrans had no effect on the mitogenic activity of acidic fibroblast growth factor, a mitogenic factor for several cell types including HUVEC. By assessment of [3H]thymidine uptake at 48 h without serum, we concluded that the exogenous growth factors were not involved in the proliferative activity of these components. The stimulatory effects are related to the chemical nature and the proportion of substituents on the synthetic polysaccharides. The data indicate that benzylamide sulfonated groups play a key role in the stimulation of HUVEC growth. Neither carboxyl nor sulfate groups alone exhibit this effect. Thus, the stimulatory capacity of dextran derivatives depends strongly on the respective ratios of the functional groups.

Carbohydrate Sequence↗
PubMed1987

Thoracotomy for pulmonary metastatic osteosarcoma. An analysis of prognostic indicators of survival.

Removal of pulmonary metastases of osteosarcoma by thoracotomy is an accepted treatment; however, few investigators have analyzed the value of various prognostic factors in estimating survival. A review of all patients undergoing thoracotomy for recurrent osteosarcoma with pulmonary metastases treated at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital is reported. Since 1968, two thirds (39/59) of all patients who developed pulmonary metastases have had a total of 66 thoracotomies. Nine patients are alive with no evidence of disease, and six additional patients are alive with disease. Analyzed in 39 evaluable patients, the prognostic factors that correlate with survival by univariate analysis are: sex, number of nodules detected radiographically and resected, completeness of resection, and tumor location (bilateral versus unilateral). By Cox regression analysis, only sex and the number of nodules detected either radiographically or during surgery, and resected, had statistically significant correlation with survival. Thoracotomy is curative for some patients with pulmonary metastatic osteosarcoma and Prognostic factors predictive for survival are defined.

Child↗
PubMed1987

Delayed retinal effects of the frequency-doubled YAG laser (532 nm).

In order to compare the retinal effects of the frequency-doubled YAG laser (532 nm) with those of argon laser, rabbit eyes were exposed to green YAG laser irradiation and processed for light and electron microscopic study at 24 hr, 2 weeks and 4 weeks. Detailed analysis was conducted on tissue exposed to 7.3 and 7.6 millijoules (mj). Response of the photoreceptors and retinal pigmented epithelium to green YAG was very similar to that described for argon laser over the same time period. By 2 weeks post-exposure, there was histologic evidence of partial recovery with absence of damaged, pycnotic photoreceptor nuclei, increased numbers of typical photoreceptor outer segment lamellae and repair of retinal pigmented epithelium. Four weeks after irradiation, normal-appearing photoreceptor nuclei were present although inner photoreceptor segments still showed mitochondrial damage. Outer segments at 4 weeks showed regular lamellar structures. We conclude that the frequency-doubled YAG laser is equivalent to the argon laser with respect to the production of thermal lesions in the retina. Its additional advantages include increased efficiency, portability, reliability and lack of absorption by macular xanthophyll pigment.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Childhood multifocal osteosarcoma. Clinicopathologic and radiologic correlates.

The authors reviewed the clinical charts and pathologic and radiographic materials of nine pediatric patients (mean age, 11.0 years) presenting with multiple skeletal foci of osteosarcoma. Four patients presented with pulmonary metastases, and five had osseous disease only. All had densely sclerotic, predominantly osteoblastic tumors, usually in metaphyseal locations. Evidence of aggressive tumor cell behavior--such as vascular, articular, epiphyseal, or soft-tissue invasion--was usually present in surgical specimens. Despite intensive chemotherapy, all patients died from 6 to 37 months after diagnosis (median survival, 12 months). Comparison of clinical and pathologic features for patients presenting with or without pulmonary metastases failed to disclose any notable differences between the two groups, indicating a common pathogenesis and evolution for their multifocal disease. The authors conclude that this variant of osteosarcoma is a highly aggressive form of the disease that may be accompanied by pulmonary metastases.

Adolescent↗