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Biomedical subjects

J Gregg

Publications and source records attributed to J Gregg.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Pancreas divisum and its association with choledochal sphincter stenosis. Diagnosis by endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography and endoscopic biliary manometry.

Choledochal sphincter stenosis was demonstrated in 37 of 90 patients with pancreas divisum. In 21 of the patients, stenosis was diagnosed during ERCP by endoscopic calibration of the choledochal sphincter, delayed drainage of contrast material from the bile duct, or a dilated common duct with or without elevation of the serum alkaline phosphatase level. In 12 patients, stenosis was diagnosed during endoscopic manometry with the demonstration of elevated basal choledochal sphincter pressures. Stenosis was initially diagnosed during surgery in four patients. Common duct diameters were normal in all patients who had not had cholecystectomy. Choledochal sphincter stenosis was confirmed in all patients who subsequently underwent sphincteroplasty. The surgical approach to patients with pancreas divisum and intractable obstructive pain should include sphincteroplasty of both the major and minor sphincters rather than the minor sphincter alone.

Adolescent↗

A method for evaluating therapy for hay fever. A comparison of four treatments.

This study was undertaken in order to develop a method for comparing the value of different forms of treatment for hay fever. A cross-over trial was carried out in sixty-one patients, comparing four treatments: topical corticosteroids, topical cromoglycates, placebo tablets and oxatomide (a new oral treatment with antihistamine and cromoglycate-like properties). Three methods were used to compare these treatments: (1) post-treatment symptom questionnaires; (2) daily analogue line scores of symptoms; and (3) nasal FEV1. Of these, daily analogue line diary scores, with an analysis which took into account variation in pollen count, proved to be the most sensitive. By employing this diary method, it was shown that all three active treatments were significantly better than placebo and that topical corticosteroids were significantly better than topical cromoglycates. The activity of oxatomide was found to be not significantly different from that of steroids or cromoglycate, but it was associated with more frequent side-effects. It is suggested that daily diaries, combining symptom relief and freedom from side effects into a single score of 'usefulness' adjusted for pollen count, are suitable means for comparing treatments for hay fever.

Adult↗

Effects of intravenous tetrahydrocannabinol on experimental and surgical pain. Psychological correlates of the analgesic response.

Two intravenous doses of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (0.022 mg/kg and 0.044 mg/kg) were compared to intravenous diazepam (0.157 mg/kg) and to placebo (Ringer's lactate) as premedication for dental extraction in 10 healthy volunteers. Pain detection and tolerance thresholds were measured and psychiatric interviews were supplemented by Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventories (MMPI), the Zung Depression Scale (ZDS), Beck Depression Inventories (BDI), and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Pain detection thresholds were altered unpredictably with high THC doses, but analgesia as indicated by pain tolerance was less than that after diazepam and placebo. In three subjects low-dose THC (0.022 mg/kg) was a better analgesic than placebo but not diazepam. Six subjects preferred placebo to low-dose THC as an analgesic; this group experienced increases in subjective surgical pain and were submissive, rigid, and less introspective with high State Anxiety and MMPI profiles that differed from subjects whose pain was not increased. STAI following THC presaged a poor analgesic response in this group.

Adolescent↗

New approaches to the management of severe acute pancreatitis.

A recent experience with seventy-seven patients admitted to Boston City Hospital for acute pancreatitis permitted us to identify thirteen patients (17 per cent) whom we diagnosed as having severe protracted acute pancreatitis. These alcoholic patients obviously had fulminant pancreatitis similar to that reported by others in two instances and pancreatic abscesses in two additional instances, but nine of the patients did not fulfill the criteria usually used by others as a basic for surgical intervention. Specific preoperative diagnosis was obtained in these patients by the aggressive use of endoscopic cannulation of the pancreatic ducts, which documented the presence of surgically correctable lesions. These patients had sustained significant malnutrition, which was corrected only by protracted therapy extending an average of two months and involving all modalities currently available for nutritional support of the severely ill patient. After proper preoperative identification of a specific lesion and correction of the malnutrition, the eleven patients without fulminant disease were operated on with no deaths or significant complication. Nine of the patients had elective procedures, which included six distal pancreatectomies and one total pancreatectomy. Thus, severe protracted acute pancreatitis can be identified, and once categrorized, it can have therapeutic implications.

Acute Disease↗

Radionuclide imaging in internal derangements of the knee.

The clinical specificity and sensitivity of imaging with 99mTc was evaluated prospectively in 104 consecutive patients admitted to the hospital for diagnostic/surgical arthroscopy. Four distinct patterns of radionuclide activity were seen that correlated with observed arthroscopic findings. These patterns of activity were seen with degenerative joint disease (DJD) or severe rotational instability, meniscal pathology, fracture of the subchondral plate or full thickness cartilaginous ulceration, and synovitis. Radionuclide imaging was seen to be extremely sensitive and highly specific for all four patterns of activity. The observed association of subchondral plate injury with meniscal pathology may present an explanation for the observed poor outcome in a limited number of patients following meniscectomy.

Adult↗

Osteoid osteoma. Distant, periarticular, and subarticular lesions as a cause of knee pain.

Osteoid osteoma, a benign osteoblastic tumour comprised of osteoid and atypical bone, is a well-known entity. However, clinical diagnosis may be delayed, especially when the pain is referred to a nearby joint. This paper reports a series of 11 cases occurring in physically active patients in whom the diagnosis was delayed because of pain referral to the knee. The mean duration from the onset of symptoms to diagnosis of osteoid osteoma was 20 months (range 3 to 48 months). Review of these 11 lesions indicates that they can be classified on the basis of their anatomical location: (a) distant to the knee; (b) periarticular; or (c) subarticular (intraarticular). It should be noted that initially only 5 of the 11 cases displayed characteristic x-ray findings; in the remaining 6 cases, diagnosis was dependent on positive 99mTc radionuclide bone scans, tomograms, and computerised tomography scans. Of the 9 patients who underwent surgical resection of their lesions, all had complete relief of symptoms and all continued to be asymptomatic at follow-up evaluations.

Adolescent↗