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Biomedical subjects

J Drew

Publications and source records attributed to J Drew.

52 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

A double-blind parallel evaluation of the efficacy and safety of a single dose of ketoprofen in cancer pain.

The analgesic effects of single oral doses of ketoprofen 100 and 300 mg, the combination of aspirin 650 mg plus codeine 60 mg, and placebo were compared under double-blind conditions in 160 hospitalized patients with cancer pain. At baseline and at 30 minutes and hourly for 6 hours after treatment, patients evaluated their pain intensity and pain relief. The 100 mg ketoprofen dose was significantly (P less than 0.05) superior to placebo for all 14 derived efficacy parameters; the 300 mg dose was significantly superior to placebo in all assessments except derived onset of relief. Aspirin plus codeine was significantly (P less than 0.05) superior to placebo for nine of the 14 assessments. No statistically significant differences were observed among active treatments for any of the 14 derived parameters. The number of patients with a "good" response was greatest in the ketoprofen 100 mg group (55%); the numbers of good responders in the aspirin plus codeine (37.5%) and the ketoprofen 300 mg (30%) groups were comparable. The three active treatment groups were not significantly different from each other for patient response. The numbers of patients requiring rescue analgesic were significantly (P less than 0.05) lower for both ketoprofen groups, but not for the aspirin plus codeine group, as compared with the placebo group. Twenty-three percent of the 160 patients reported adverse experiences, but there were no significant differences between the treatment groups in the number or type of experience. These results show that ketoprofen is as effective and well tolerated as aspirin plus codeine in relieving cancer pain.

Adult↗

The combination of ibuprofen and oxycodone/acetaminophen in the management of chronic cancer pain.

Thirty subjects with chronic moderate to severe pain who were receiving oxycodone/acetaminophen (oxy/APAP) for analgesia were initially evaluated for at least 7 days for oxy/APAP requirements for pain control. Each subject then received, in a randomized double-blind fashion, either 600 mg ibuprofen or placebo for an additional 7 days while hospitalized. Oxy/APAP usage was recorded daily along with efficacy and toxicity parameters. Overall global evaluations were also recorded on completion of the study. Comparison of mean differences before and after treatment with ibuprofen or placebo indicated a marked decrease in oxy/APAP use with ibuprofen (p less than 0.01) and a slight increase in use in the placebo group. Reduction in oxy/APAP usage occurred within 24 hours and maximized at 5 days. Overall global scores showed a marked preference for the ibuprofen combination over placebo (p less than 0.01). Daily pain intensity (p less than 0.05) and pain relief scores (p less than 0.05) also improved with the addition of ibuprofen. This study indicates that ibuprofen is efficacious in the management of chronic cancer pain, resulting in both enhanced analgesia and a reduction in concomitant narcotic use.

Acetaminophen↗

Modulation of rat granulocyte traffic by a surface active agent in vitro and bleomycin injury.

Pluronic F68 (F68) is a nonionic surfactant which has been reported to inhibit the in vitro adherence and migration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN) obtained from some species. We demonstrated similar effects on PMN obtained from rats, with diminished adherence to nylon wool and diminished chemotaxis toward zymosan-activated serum. We then examined the in vivo effects of 12-hr F68 infusion on the injury induced by intratracheal bleomycin instillation (ITB) in rats. When sacrificed 24 hr following injury, rats demonstrated neutrophilia, neutrophil-prominent lung lavage cellularity, and increased lung weights. F68 decreased lavage leukocyte counts and lung weight gain in ITB-injured animals. Lung weights of ITB-injured animals correlated (r = 0.81, P less than 0.001) with logarithmic values of lavage PMN. F68 also enhanced neutrophilia and decreased spleen weight gain in injured animals. The acute effects of F68 on circulating leukocyte counts, osmolality, and total complement were also examined. The data demonstrate that F68 can affect PMN traffic both in vitro and in vivo. The data also confirm the prominence of PMN in lavage fluid early in ITB injury, and suggest that an influx of relatively few PMN is associated with lung weight gain in this model.

Animals↗

Arrhythmia and late mortality after Mustard and Senning operation for transposition of the great arteries. An eight-year prospective study.

Arrhythmia and late sudden death are recognized complications of intraatrial repair of transposition of the great arteries. We performed a prospective study over 8 years in 100 consecutive hospital survivors who underwent Mustard (46 patients) or Senning (54 patients) operations between 1978 and 1982. Arrhythmia was analyzed by preoperative, postoperative, and serial follow-up Holter monitoring and standard electrocardiograms and was related to clinical outcome. Before repair, all patients were in sinus rhythm with a low incidence of arrhythmia. After repair, there was a gradual decrease in stable sinus rhythm during follow-up so that at a mean of 7 years after operation only 56% of patients having the Senning operation and 66% having the Mustard, with simple transposition, were in stable sinus rhythm on Holter monitoring. There was no significant difference between the two operations. Eleven patients (five after Senning [two simple, three complex], six after Mustard [five simple, one complex]) died during follow-up, four suddenly (two after Senning, two after Mustard). However, loss of sinus rhythm or the presence of arrhythmia on standard electrocardiograms or Holter recordings did not identify patients at risk for increased morbidity or mortality. Thus, even with current surgical techniques, gradual loss of sinus rhythm occurred after both Mustard and Senning operations. Because late death could not be predicted by electrocardiographic analysis, an alternative approach involving detailed hemodynamic and electrophysiologic measurements may be required to identify high-risk patients.

Arrhythmias, Cardiac↗

Effects of portacaval shunt and hepatic artery ligation on liver surface oxygen tension and effective hepatic blood flow.

Liver surface oxygen tension (LSOT) and nutrient hepatic blood flow (NHBF) were measured in rats 1 hr and 1 week after sham operation, portacaval shunt (PCS), and hepatic artery ligation (HAL). LSOT was measured using a heated Clark electrode (37 deg) and was expressed as percentage of rectus muscle O2 tension to correct for changes in systemic oxygenation. Nutrient hepatic blood flow (NHBF) was measured using steady-state, low-dose galactose clearance pharmacokinetics. Acutely, we found a close correlation between LSOT and nutrient hepatic blood flow after both hepatic artery ligation and portacaval shunt. At one week after hepatic artery ligation, LSOT and nutrient hepatic blood flow made parallel increases. However, 1 week after portacaval shunt, LSOT increased while nutrient hepatic blood flow remained reduced. The divergence in these results between the two methods of producing hepatic hypoperfusion, implies that LSOT recovers via a different mechanism after portacaval shunt. Recovery of LSOT at one week probably reflects normalization of hepatic O2 delivery after hepatic artery ligation and impaired oxygen utilization after portacaval shunt.

Animals↗

Outcome in infants of birth weight 500 to 999 g: a continuing regional study of 5-year-old survivors.

During 1979 and 1980, 351 infants of birth weight 500 to 999 g were born in the State of Victoria: 89 (25.4%) survived to the age of 2 years corrected for prematurity, and 83 were fully assessed by a multidisciplinary team; partial data were obtained on the remainder. At the age of 5 years, corrected for prematurity, 85/89 (96%) were evaluated by a multidisciplinary team, although not all children could be fully evaluated by the psychologists. Reports were available for another three children; one child was untraced. Of the survivors able to be classified at 5 years, 59/82 (72%) had no functional handicap. Functional handicaps was severe in 16 (19%), moderate in four (5%), and mild in three (4%). Functional handicaps were present in 50% (8/16) of outborn survivors compared with the 23% (15/66) for the inborn survivors (P = 0.02). Cerebral palsy was diagnosed in eight children at 5 years and in 12 children at 2 years. The diagnosis was stable for the children not ambulant at 2 years; five of seven 2-year-old children with mild cerebral palsy had "outgrown" the diagnosis by 5 years, but ataxic cerebral palsy was not identified in one child until 5 years. Six children were blind; four had severe sensorineural or mixed deafness, one more than at 2 years. Of 82 children assessed according to identical criteria for functional handicap at both 2 and 5 years, 52 (63%) remained in the same category at 5 years, three (4%) were judged to be more severely handicapped, and 27 (33%) were less severely handicapped. The 2-year evaluation of extremely low birth weight children often proved to be unduly pessimistic, for many showed improvement or recovery from functional handicaps and impairments by 5 years of age.

Australia↗

Outcome in infants with birth weight 500 to 999 gm: a regional study of 1979 and 1980 births.

During 1979 and 1980, 351 infants weighing 500 to 999 gm were born in the State of Victoria, Australia; 89 (25.4%) survived to 2 years of age. Survival was better for tertiary center births (29%) than for those born elsewhere (17%). Multidisciplinary teams reviewed 83 of the survivors at 2 years of age postterm; some data were available for the other six children. Overall, 22.5% of infants had severe functional handicap, 29.2% had either moderate or mild handicap, and 48.3% had no handicap. Severe functional handicap was present in 50% of outborn infants; this was significantly more common than in those born in tertiary centers (15.5%), and the Bayley Mental Developmental Index was also significantly lower in outborn infants. The prevalence of cerebral palsy (13.5%), bilateral blindness (3.4%), and severe sensorineural deafness (3.4%) did not differ significantly in the inborn and outborn infants. Singleton inborn infants of appropriate weight for gestational age had significantly less severe functional handicap (9.1%), compared with 37.5% for the group of infants who were either small for gestational age or one of multiple births. Six of the 18 outborn infants could have been transferred in utero, and improvements in immediate neonatal care were possible in seven other infants.

Age Factors↗

Outcome of extremely low birth-weight infants in relation to the hospital of birth.

There were 351 liveborn infants of birth-weight 500-999 g born in the State of Victoria in the years 1979 and 1980; 89/351 (25.4%) survived to the age of 2 years: 42 (47.2%) survivors were of gestational ages of 24 to 26 weeks and 47 (52.8%) were born at 27 to 32 weeks' gestation. Survival of these extremely low birth-weight infants was significantly better (71/245, 29%) for births in tertiary centres compared with those born elsewhere (18/106, 17%). Of the 351 livebirths, 69.8% occurred in 1 of the 3 tertiary centres. All 89 survivors were traced; 84 (94.4%) were assessed at the age of at least 2 years by a multidisciplinary team. Three children had been fully assessed at 1 year of age and paediatric reports were available for 2 children. The quality of survival of children born in tertiary centres was significantly better than those transferred to a tertiary centre after birth; the prevalence of serious functional handicap was 72.2% (13/18) for outborn children compared with 22.5% (16/71) for those born in tertiary centres. The prevalence of serious functional handicap in the inborn survivors was lowest (9/55, 16.4%) in singleton births who had been of appropriate birth-weight for gestation. A review of the 18 surviving outborn infants' records indicated that 6 (33.3%) could have been transferred to a tertiary centre in utero and for the 12 infants where birth in a tertiary centre was not feasible, improvements in the early neonatal care were possible in another 7 infants.

Australia↗

Tips, status and sacrifice: gift giving in the doctor-patient relationship.

This study examines the gifts physicians receive from their patients. Internists in a hospital-based group practice kept diaries of gifts received and were interviewed about their responses and the reasons which they ascribed to the patient's gift-giving. It describes how physicians avoid reciprocating, categorizes the nature of gifts and, for the special instance of manipulative gifts, how these may be defused. Patient gifts are found to be reciprocations for some action on the part of the physician, which the patient, in turn, perceives as a gift. Three categories of gifts, according to their nature and timing, are: (1) gifts as 'tips', given to promote personalized service, to assure the continued interest and the tolerance of the physician; (2) gifts to address the status imbalance in the doctor-patient relationship, either by imposing a non-professional identity on the physician or by redeeming status lost in the sick role; (3) gifts as a sacrifice to the physician who exercises his power on the patient's behalf.

Age Factors↗

Nursing scholarship within the British university system.

This article is a review of how a school of nursing and midwifery might promote scholarship within the university system. It is argued that the emphasis on research in universities has undermined the importance of scholarship within education and practice. The difficulties of recognizing scholarly processes as opposed to products such as publications is outlined in relation to three areas of potential scholarship within nurse education, i.e. research, teaching and practice. Issues are raised about how scholarship might be promoted in these three areas in practical terms. It is argued that systems of recognition and reward should be equitably distributed between these wide areas of potential scholarship. This will mean universities accommodating different models of scholarship and nurses recognizing their responsibility to contribute to scholarly activity.

Faculty, Nursing↗

Testing the need for a follow-up visit after child day surgery.

Day surgery for children is becomingly increasing common because of the advantages to children and their families, and the reduction in costs. However, community follow-up of children appears to be sporadic. The author conducted a survey of parents, day surgery nurses and community nurses to determine if a follow-up visit was necessary after day surgery for insertion of grommets. Just over three quarters of parents (77 per cent) said they could have coped without the visit, a view echoed by both groups of nurses. Furthermore, 54 per cent of parents felt the visit was not absolutely necessary. This leads to the conclusion that provision of this service needs reviewing.

Adult↗