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Biomedical subjects

J Jagger

Publications and source records attributed to J Jagger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

The risk of occupational exposure to blood and body fluids for health care workers in the dialysis setting. Italian Multicenter Study on Nosocomial and Occupational Risk of Infections in Dialysis.

In 1991, to assess the risk of occupational exposure to blood or other body fluids in health-care workers (HCWs) working in the dialysis setting, properly trained interviewers used standardized questionnaires asking the 583 HCWs employed in 19 Italian dialysis units to recall exposures sustained in the previous year. On a total of 208,498 dialyses performed in the previous year, 105 (5 per 10,000 dialyses) needlesticks, and 579 (28 per 10,000 dialyses) skin/mucous membrane contaminations were recalled. Recapping injuries were recalled in 38 cases (1.8 per 10,000 dialyses), but 67 needlestick injuries (4.1 per 10,000 dialyses) occurred during other circumstances (p = 0.006). The highest rate of skin/mucous membrane contaminations were recalled during the dialysis patient care, but more than one third of exposures occurred in other circumstances (break in blood circuit, disposal, contamination with blood-soiled equipment. To minimize the risk of occupational exposure to blood efforts must continue to increase compliance with Universal Precautions; moreover, needle designs incorporating safety features to prevent sticks are needed.

Blood-Borne Pathogens

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General Surgery

Serum cortisol levels predict infarct size and patient mortality.

We have investigated prospectively the serum cortisol response to acute myocardial infarction in 70 consecutive patients admitted to a coronary care unit and we have shown that the levels are significantly raised early in the course of the illness and prior to elevation of the cardiac specific enzyme fraction, creatine kinase MB. The magnitude of the cortisol response is related to the size of the ensuing infarction (rs = 0.54) as calculated from the total creatine kinase MB release (P < 0.001) and very high levels (> 2000 mumol/l) are predictive of mortality (P < 0.05). Serum cortisol levels may have a role in the early identification of myocardial infarction and in predicting those patients with a poor prognosis.

Anistreplase

Prevention of brain trauma by legislation, regulation, and improved technology: a focus on motor vehicles.

More than half of all brain trauma is caused by motor vehicle crashes. Prevention strategies that reduce the likelihood of motor vehicle crashes or injuries to occupants will also prevent trauma. Many effective strategies have yet to be applied on a large scale. Roadway design improvements such as removal of fixed objects from roadsides, widening roadside recovery zones, installing dividers between opposing lanes of traffic, and replacing fixed utility poles with breakaway designs, have been effective in reducing crashes and injuries. Driver measures of documented benefit include the 55 mph speed limit, safety belt use laws, 21 year legal drinking age, administrative license suspension for drinking drivers, and driving curfews and postponement of licensure for teenagers. Motor vehicle safety has improved greatly since the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration began regulating vehicle design. Significant design requirements include lap and shoulder belts in front seat positions, and, more recently, automatic safety belts or air bags in front seat positions, head restraints in front seat positions, reinforcing side and roof beams, and the center-mounted brake light. The most significant future advance will be the provision of full front seat air bags in all passenger vehicles. As much as one-quarter of brain trauma can be prevented or reduced in severity by this measure alone. Further safety requirements should include head restraints in rear positions, a-pillar, b-pillar, and roof padding, antilock brakes, and a vehicle rollover standard.

Accidents, Traffic

Sharp object injuries in the hospital: causes and strategies for prevention.

We identified characteristics of items causing sharp object injuries in hospital personnel during a 10-month interval. Sharp objects were defined as items that were not hollow-bore needles, that cause lacerations or puncture wounds. Workers reporting sharp object injuries were interviewed to determine what items caused injury and the circumstances of their injuries. Of 89 incidents, 51% were surgical instrument injuries, 19% were lancet injuries, 16% were glass injuries, and 15% were caused by other sharp items. A frequent feature of sharp objects causing injuries was the necessity of disengaging a disposable sharp item from a reusable holder. The application of manual force to fragile glass items also caused many injuries. Opportunities for safer product design and improved materials are discussed to reduce this common occupational hazard.

Accidents, Occupational

Estimated cost of needlestick injuries for six major needled devices.

A major factor in the introduction of new products designed to decrease the risk of needlesticks to healthcare workers (HCWs) is whether the increased expense of a safer device is offset by the savings of preventing needlesticks. The itemized costs of needlestick injuries associated with six major needled devices were estimated and compared to the cost of the devices causing the injuries, based on 1988 dollars. Included was the cost of treatment, prophylaxis and employee health department personnel time. The average cost of needlestick injury was $405, with a narrow range of $390 to $456 for different devices. As a percent of the cost of the devices, needlesticks cost as little as 10% of the cost of the device, for the intravenous (IV) catheter, to as much as 457%, for needles used to connect IV lines. On the average, needlesticks cost 36% of the devices' cost. These data may be used to weigh the potential economic benefits of safer needle technology or other strategies intended to reduce the incidence of needlesticks.

Costs and Cost Analysis

Refsum's disease: electron microscopy of an iris biopsy.

Refsum's disease (phytanic acid storage disease) results in an accumulation of lipid as a result of an absence of mitochondrial hydroxylation of phytanic acid. We describe a previously unrecorded electron microscopic study of lipid deposition in the iris pigment epithelium of a patient with Refsum's disease, and lipid was present in other sites within the iris.

Adult

Neurologic assessment of subarachnoid hemorrhage in a large patient series.

Data from the International Cooperative Aneurysm Study including 3521 cases of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage were used to statistically derive a simple scoring method for assessing neurologic status of subarachnoid hemorrhage patients. Discriminant analysis was used to identify the best combination and weighting of seven neurologic assessment variables to classify outcomes at 6 months post-subarachnoid hemorrhage. The sum of eye opening response and worst motor response classified patient outcomes nearly as well as all variables combined. The validity of this summary score was tested using good recovery and mortality endpoints. The result is a useful scale for classifying subarachnoid hemorrhage patients.

Discriminant Analysis