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Biomedical subjects

J Keogh

Publications and source records attributed to J Keogh.

35 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Screening for glaucoma in a Brisbane general practice--the role of tonometry.

OBJECTIVES: (1) To pilot, and evaluate, a tonometry training intervention for general practitioners; (2) to evaluate the efficacy of three types of tonometer (Perkins, Schiotz and Tonopen) in the hands of these general practitioners; (3) to evaluate the predictive value of tonometry in screening for glaucoma in a general practice population; and (4) to evaluate the acceptability of tonometry to general practice patients. DESIGN: After being trained, three general practitioners recruited 73 of their patients over 50 years of age to attend for measurement of intraocular pressure by tonometry. Intraocular pressure was initially measured by an ophthalmologist using the Goldmann applanation tonometer, and then recorded in random order by GPs using three types of tonometer--the Perkins, Schiotz and Tonopen. SETTING: A group general practice in a middle-class suburb in southern Brisbane. OUTCOME MEASURES: (1) Comparison of measurements on the Perkins, Schiotz and Tonopen tonometers with that of the 'gold standard', the Goldmann Applanation tonometer; (2) prevalence of disc and perimetric abnormality suggestive of glaucoma among those patients with increased intraocular pressure; and (3) the acceptability of contact tonometry to general practice patients. RESULTS: There was considerable variability between intraocular values obtained across doctors and across instruments (6% to 95% of values within 4 mm of the 'gold standard'). The Schiotz tonometer provided the most uniform assessment of intraocular pressure across the groups. Nineteen of the 73 patients (26%) had intraocular pressures > or = 21 mmHg using the 'gold standard'. Of these, 18 were followed up with funduscopy, gonioscopy, repeat measurement of intraocular pressure and visual field assessment. Five had persistent elevations of intraocular pressure > or = 21 mmHg on subsequent assessment, and two had mild abnormalities of cup-disc ratio with normal fields on testing with Humphrey computerised perimetry. CONCLUSION: No one hand-held tonometer proved highly accurate in the hands of all three doctors. Even measured optimally, increased intraocular pressure alone was a poor predictor of glaucoma. Of the population screened, two patients (3%) showed evidence of mild cup-disc abnormality requiring follow-up.

Australia↗

Evaluation of urine-based screening strategies to detect Chlamydia trachomatis among sexually active asymptomatic young males.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the performances of diagnostic screening tests alone or in combination to detect asymptomatic chlamydial urethral infection in young males. DESIGN: Comparisons of the performance profiles of the following chlamydia screening strategies were done: urethral culture; identification of polymorphonucleocytes (PMNs) on spun first-void urine (FVU); urinary leukocyte esterase test (LET) on unspun FVU; chlamydial enzyme immunoassay (EIA) applied to FVU sediment; combining LET on unspun FVU followed by EIA with or without direct fluorescent antibody (DFA) confirmation on FVU sediment; and combining PMNs on spun FVU followed by EIA with or without DFA confirmation. SETTING: General clinics at a youth detention center, university-based teen clinic, college health service, and a military screening clinic. PATIENTS: A total of 618 males aged 12 to 35 years (mean, 17 years) were recruited as a convenience sample; site participation rates ranged from 50% to 80%. Eligible subjects were sexually active, denied symptoms of urethritis, and had taken no antibiotics in the prior 2 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values of each test strategy's ability to detect Chlamydia trachomatis infection, and cost to confirm each positive case. RESULTS: With a 7% prevalence of chlamydial infection, tissue culture had a sensitivity of only 61%. However, two strategies yielded significantly better performance profiles compared with the others: EIA confirmed by DFA test with a sensitivity of 84%, a specificity of 100%, and a cost to identify each positive case of $434; and PMNs followed by EIA confirmed by DFA test with a sensitivity of 78%, a specificity of 100%, and a cost to identify each positive case of $199. The LET followed by EIA-DFA had a similar performance profile to the PMN test strategies. CONCLUSIONS: A combination of a nonspecific screening of FVU for PMNs or LET followed by specific testing with EIA with DFA confirmation has superior clinical and cost-effective performance for detecting asymptomatic C trachomatis urethritis in young males compared with other strategies. However, an evaluation of the medical, fiscal, and psychological benefits and risks associated with a specific screening strategy for sexually transmitted diseases must be made before adopting a specific strategy for a particular population.

Adolescent↗

Septic pelvic thrombophlebitis: an unusual treatable postpartum complication.

Septic pelvic thrombophlebitis is an uncommon but serious postpartum complication occurring in about 1 in 2,000 pregnancies, characterized by pain, antibiotic resistant fever and tachycardia. In about 50% of cases a pelvic mass is present which is usually right-sided (especially when the ovarian vein is involved). It is estimated to cause 18 maternal deaths per million pregnancies in the United States. Use of contrast enhanced CT scanning and a trial of heparin therapy increases the diagnostic certainty. It is particularly important because surgical management which may otherwise be suggested because of a spiking fever and a mass seems to be associated with a poorer prognosis than does conservative management.

Adult↗

Another Selectatec switch malfunction.

Malfunction of a Selectatec-3 switch mechanism is reported which caused isolation of the selected vaporizer. This resulted in a delivery of unsupplemented fresh gas to the patient.

Anesthesiology↗

Sucralfate protection of gastric mucosa against alcohol-induced injury: a phosphoinositide mediated process.

The mechanism of protection by sucralfate against gastric mucosal injury induced by ethanol was investigated. The experiments in vivo were conducted with groups of rats with and without indomethacin pretreatment, and the animals received sucralfate followed by ethanol. In the in vitro experiments, gastric mucosa was cultured in the presence of sucralfate, ethanol, or both. The in vivo experiments revealed that ethanol caused extensive gastric hemorrhagic lesions which were significantly reduced following sucralfate pretreatment and that this effect of sucralfate was not prevented by indomethacin. The data with gastric mucosal culture demonstrated that ethanol caused a 24% decrease in mucin synthesis, while mucin synthesis in the presence of sucralfate increased by 32%. This increase was accompanied by the enhanced metabolism of mucosal phosphoinositides, as reflected by a 22% decrease in PI, 1,2-fold increase in IP1 and 3.4-fold increase in IP3. In contrast, ethanol, caused 1.5-fold increase in IP1 and PIP2, and 35% decrease in PIP, 47% decrease in IP2 and 38% decrease in IP3. However, when the mucosal culture was carried out in the presence of both sucralfate and ethanol, the detrimental changes evoked by ethanol in mucin synthesis were prevented. The results suggest that the mucosal protective action of sucralfate involves the metabolism of phosphoinositide-derived messenger molecules.

Animals↗

Relative mutagenicity of some urinary metabolites of the antitumor drug cyclophosphamide.

Four urinary metabolites of the cytostatic drug cyclophosphamide were tested for mutagenicity in the Ames Salmonella assay: nornitrogen mustard (NM), 4-ketocyclophosphamide, 3-(2-chloroethyl)oxazolidone (OZ), and N,N'-bis(2-chloroethyl)piperazine. All four acted as direct base substitution mutagens although 4-ketocyclophosphamide showed an increase in mutagenicity after metabolic activation with S-9 rat liver fraction. Of the four compounds tested, NM was the strongest mutagen while all the others had weak mutagenic activity, with OZ being the weakest. We observed that, under conditions which facilitate the conversion of NM to OZ (presence of HCO-3 at neutral pH), the former lost both mutagenic and alkylating activities. Our findings, taken together with other reports in the literature, indicate that NM could be a major cause of secondary bladder carcinoma since it is a potent mutagen ad seems to be present in high levels in the urine of cyclophosphamide-treated patients. The fact that it can be detoxified to the weak mutagen OZ in the presence of HCO-3 suggests the possibility that, by increasing the concentration of HCO-3 in the urine of patients, that undesirable side effect of cyclophosphamide treatment can be alleviated.

Bicarbonates↗

Effectiveness of mask ventilation performed by hospital doctors in an Irish tertiary referral teaching hospital.

The objective of this study was to assess the effectiveness of mask ventilation performed by 112 doctors with clinical responsibilities at a tertiary referral teaching hospital. Participant doctors were asked to perform mask ventilation for three minutes on a Resusci Anne mannequin using a facemask and a two litre self inflating bag. The tidal volumes generated were quantified using a Laerdal skillmeter computer as grades 0-5, corresponding to 0, 334, 434, 561, 673 and > 800 ml respectively. The effectiveness of mask ventilation (i.e. the proportion of ventilation attempts which achieved a volume delivery of > 434 mls) was greater for anaesthetists [78.0 (29.5)%] than for non anaesthetists [54.6 (40.0)%] (P = 0.012). Doctors who had attended one or more resuscitation courses where no more effective at mask ventilation than their colleagues who had not undertaken such courses. It is likely that first responders to in-hospital cardiac arrests are commonly unable to perform adequate mask ventilation.

Clinical Competence↗

Relationship between drug use and sexual behaviors and the occurrence of sexually transmitted diseases among high-risk male youth.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Sexually active adolescents, especially those in detention, are at high risk for acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including HIV infection. Yet little information is available that describes their risk behaviors associated with STDs. The overall objective was to define the relationship between risk behaviors and STD acquisition among adolescents. GOALS OF THIS STUDY: The first goal was to characterize drug use and sexual behaviors that place a population of adolescent male detainees at STD/HIV risk. The second goal was to define possible interrelationships between drug use, especially alcohol use, and risky sexual behaviors with STD acquisition. STUDY DESIGN: The study group consisted of 414 adolescent male detainees 12 to 18 years of age who participated in an interview and a clinical assessment. Two hundred sixty-nine of the 414 subjects agreed to STD laboratory tests, including serologic testing for hepatitis B and syphilis, and urethral cultures to screen for chlamydial and gonorrheal urethritis. RESULTS: Results showed that 15% had current evidence of at least one STD, and 34% had a history or current evidence of at least one STD (STD occurrence). The subjects were frequently engaging in risky sexual and drug use behaviors. Two multivariate models described three factors that significantly place the male adolescent in detention at risk for STDs: multiple sexual partners, inconsistent condom use, and the quantity of alcohol consumed per week. CONCLUSION: Youth in detention place themselves at risk for STDs including HIV because of their risky sexual behavior and drug use. Addressing alcohol use and barriers to condom use appear to be essential components of any STD prevention program targeting this largely minority youth population.

Adolescent↗

Effect of hepatic disease on the pharmacokinetics and plasma protein binding of eprosartan.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pharmacokinetics and plasma protein binding of eprosartan in hepatic disease. DESIGN: Single-dose, parallel-group study. SETTING: Oklahoma Foundation for Digestive Research, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. PATIENTS: Eight healthy subjects with normal hepatic function and eight patients with hepatic disease. INTERVENTION: All subjects received a single oral dose of eprosartan 100 mg. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Eprosartan plasma concentrations were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography; plasma protein binding was determined by ultrafiltration. Using analysis of variance, point estimates (PE) and 90% CIs were calculated. Total and unbound maximum concentrations and degree of plasma protein binding were similar for both groups. Total area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC0-t) was approximately 40% higher for the group with hepatic disease (PE 1.42, 90% CI 0.94-2.14). Similarly, unbound AUC0-t was approximately 50% higher (PE 1.53, 90% CI 0.98-2.39). CONCLUSION: Eprosartan was safe and well tolerated by both groups. Based on the increase in AUC in patients with hepatic disease compared with those with normal hepatic function, the dosage of eprosartan in patients with hepatic disease should be individualized based on tolerability and response.

Acrylates↗