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Biomedical subjects

J J Horan

Publications and source records attributed to J J Horan.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Ureteral obstruction associated with prostate cancer: the outcome after percutaneous nephrostomy.

We retrospectively reviewed the outcome of 37 prostate cancer patients with ureteral obstruction treated by percutaneous nephrostomy. The over-all survival was 57% at 1 year and 29% at 2 years (median survival time 21 months). The 1 and 2-year survival rates of 15 patients with no prior hormonal therapy were 73 and 47%, respectively, while those of patients who had previously received hormonal therapy were 48 and 19%, respectively. Median survival times of these groups were 24 months and 12 months, respectively. Of 12 patients who had severe renal failure before percutaneous nephrostomy (serum creatinine greater than or equal to 6.9 mg. per dl.) 9 had an adequate return of renal function (serum creatinine less than 3 mg. per dl.) after drainage and 58% survived more than 1 year (median survival time 22 months). Percutaneous nephrostomy is safe and effective in relieving ureteral obstruction and reasonable survival can be achieved even in patients with renal failure. Percutaneous nephrostomy should be considered strongly in these patients.

Aged

The detection of renal carcinoma extension into the renal vein and inferior vena cava: a prospective comparison of venacavography and magnetic resonance imaging.

Accurate preoperative evaluation of the inferior vena cava and renal vein in patients with renal cell carcinoma is mandatory to plan a successful surgical approach. The presence of venous extension may alter transfusion and anesthetic requirements, as well as require the addition of a vascular surgeon to the operative team. Venacavography traditionally has been considered the most reliable method to identify tumor thrombus, although magnetic resonance imaging has been proposed as a possible noninvasive alternative. We compared prospectively the accuracy of these 2 methods in 44 consecutive patients with renal cell carcinoma who subsequently underwent nephrectomy. Of the 44 patients 11 (25%) had tumor extension into the inferior vena cava and 17 (39%) had involvement of the renal vein at operation. Venacavography and magnetic resonance imaging correctly identified 9 of the 11 patients (82%) with inferior vena caval thrombus. When the results of both tests were combined, all 11 cases of vena caval extension were identified. Venacavography was slightly more sensitive (71%) in identifying the presence of renal vein thrombus than magnetic resonance imaging (65%) but these differences were not statistically significant. Magnetic resonance imaging better localized the thrombus within the renal vein. We conclude that venacavography and magnetic resonance imaging offer equal diagnostic accuracy in the identification of venous extension of renal cell carcinoma. The combination of both tests results in higher diagnostic yield than either test alone. Neither test by itself is reliable in the presence of a large, bulky adenopathic lesion that compresses the inferior vena cava.

Adult

Improving exposure component and generalization potential of stress inoculation for pain.

Stress inoculation for pain involves education about the psychological dimensions of pain, training in a number of coping skills, and practice in applying these skills during exposure to the noxious stimulus. In a previous study the exposure component (which involved six practice sessions) proved ineffective; moreover the efficacy of the other components was not repeated on the generalization measures. The present study compared three variations in the exposure component and found that training with a single practice session on the cold pressor task proved more helpful than training with no practice at all, which in turn was no worse than training with six practice sessions. Moreover, therapeutic attention to generalization resulted in increased pain tolerance on the pressure algometer task.

Behavior Therapy

Lead poisoning caused by glazed pottery: case report.

A case of severe lead poisoning is described. This was caused by the ingestion of fruit drink prepared and stored in lead-glazed jugs. Results of tests to measure the extractability of lead from the jugs are given.

Acetates

Preliminary study of effects of "in vivo" emotive imagery on dental discomfort.

To examine the effects of "in vivo" emotive imagery on dental discomfort (as measured by pulse rate and self-report) 27 female subjects undergoing tooth prophylaxis were exposed to three tape-recorded treatment conditions (relaxation imagery, neutral imagery, and a blank tape) in counterbalanced order. Promising findings of a pilot study were not confirmed on heart rate; however, on self-reported discomfort, positive differences appeared between the relaxation imagery and each of the control conditions.

Adolescent

The effect of two nutritional software programs used as adjuncts to the behavioral treatment of obesity.

The need to provide nutritional information in the behavioral treatment of obesity is now generally recognized. However, the comparative efficacy of various delivery modes remains to be demonstrated. Two commercial software packages (The Eating Machine and EATS) were embedded in Ferguson's (1975) prototypical behavioral program and contrasted with the Ferguson approach deployed alone. Assessments of weight, nutritional knowledge, eating behavior, and related cognitive variables were made at pretest, posttest, 1-month follow-up and 6-month follow-up occasions. No incremental effects attributable to the software programs appeared.

Adult