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Biomedical subjects

J M Woolfenden

Publications and source records attributed to J M Woolfenden.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Clinical correlations in patients with acute myocardial infarction and left ventricular thrombus detected by two-dimensional echocardiography.

Eleven of forty-nine patients with acute myocardial infarction had left ventricular thrombus identified by two-dimensional echocardiography. The patients with thrombi had a greater incidence of transmural infarction, high-grade ventricular ectopy on ambulatory monitoring and lower radionuclide ejection fractions than the patients without thrombi. Most of the patients were receiving full-dose heparin and/or warfarin anticoagulation from the time of admission to the hospital. Thus the thrombi either developed prior to hospital admission or developed during anticoagulation therapy. Two patients with thrombi had peripheral emboli complicating their infarction. One of these patients was undergoing anticoagulation at the time of his embolus.

Aged↗

Evaluation of the cardiac effects of doxorubicin by serial echocardiography.

Serial echocardiographic studies were performed on 48 children who received chemotherapy with doxorubicin hydrochloride (Adriamycin). For the group as a whole, no correlation could be made between the cumulative dose of doxorubicin administered and left ventricular systolic function as measured by the fractional shortening of the left ventricle (delta s). Two asymptomatic patients, however, demonstrated depressed delta s and abnormal results from radionuclide studies at cumulative doxorubicin doses of less than 430 mg/sq m. Differentiation of the echoderived curve of left ventricular minor axis dimension indicated that these two patients had abnormalities in both diastolic and systolic function. Good correlation was demonstrated between echocardiographic and radionuclide studies in eight patients, including the two with depressed function. Inherent variability limits the sensitivity of echocardiographic functional studies, but serial studies are helpful in the evaluation of cardiac function in children who receive doxorubicin.

Adolescent↗

High-risk thyroid cancer. Prolonged survival with early multimodality therapy.

Eleven patients with high-risk thyroid carcinoma of anaplastic or mixed anaplastic-differentiated histology were treated using an early multimodality approach. Patients were classified using the prognostic index for thyroid carcinoma developed by the EORTC. Therapy consisted of a four-drug chemotherapy combination, radioiodine (131I), and Bacille-Calmette-Guerin (BCG) immunotherapy. Treatment was designed to maximize effects against both anaplastic and differentiated tumor components. There has been prolonged disease-free survival (14+ to 73+ months) in patients with clear cell, small cell, and mixed anaplastic histologies. Currently five patients have been in complete remission for over 4 years. Treatment has been well tolerated. The long-term participation in care by a multispecialty team has produced promising results which we hope can be valuable as a basis for multicenter trials.

Adult↗

Comparison of bone scintigraphy and radiography in multiple myeloma.

Radionuclide images and skeletal radiographs of 51 patients with multiple myeloma were compared to assess the sensitivity of scintigraphy in detecting radiographically evident disease. Comparable studies were available for 562 sites. The radionuclide image was relatively insensitive in detecting myeloma; it failed to show radiographically evident disease or underestimated its extent at 27% of the sites. On a limited number of serial images there were 7 sites at which a scintigraphic abnormality preceded the radiographic abnormality. No definite correlation was found between scintigraphic findings and hematologic parameters of myeloma activity. Although the radionuclide image may demonstrate a few sites of myeloma before the radiograph, radiography remains the primary method of evaluating skeletal involvement by myeloma.

Adult↗

Circulatory control of splenic hyperfunction in children with peripheral blood dyscrasia.

Ligation of the splenic artery was performed upon six children with a variety of peripheral cytopenias associated with hypersplenism to decrease splenic hyperfunction while preserving some splenic tissue. While this procedure initially improved the peripheral blood values in five patients--two patients with hereditary spherocytosis, one patient with idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, one patient with pyruvate-kinase hemolytic anemia and one patient with posthepatitic cirrhosis and splenomegaly--the hematologic derangement gradually recurred in four, necessitating eventual splenectomy in two. The sixth patient, an infant with histiocytosis-x, died soon after ligation of the splenic artery. Scintiscans of the spleen corroborated regrowth of the splenic remnant, principally the lower pole to which the vascular supply in the splenocolic ligament was not interrupted. Although ligation of the splenic artery is safe and promptly reduces splenic overreactivity, this operation can only be viewed as temporizing and not as definitive treatment of hypersplenism. On the other hand, in view of the protective function of the spleen against certain bacteria and protozoa, particularly in children with blood dyscrasia, the idea of achieving eusplenism or mild hyposplenism rather than asplenism by a graded reduction in the functional splenic mass through ischemic treatment of hypersplenism seems sound. Alternative methods of circulatory control, for instance, embolization of the splenic artery, of splenic function should be cautiously pursued.

Blood Cell Count↗

Cobalt-57 bleomycin for imaging head and neck tumors.

Cobalt-57 bleomycin imaging was performed in 11 patients with a history of head and neck cancer. Clinical and scan findings concurred on the presence and extent of tumor in 9 patients (82%); tumor was present in 7 and absent in 2 of the 9. In 2 patients (18%) the scan demonstrated tumor in the neck but failed to show metastatic sites. Cobalt-57 bleomycin images were of good technical quality, with remarkably low background activity at 24 hours after administration. Cobalt-57 bleomycin imaging appears to be a promising technique for evaluating patients with head and neck tumors.

Adult↗

Technetium-99m stannous pyrophosphate myocardial scintiphotos in patients admitted to rule out acute myocardial infarction.

Technetium-99m stannous pyrophosphate (Tc-PYP) cardiac scintiphotos were performed on 101 of 221 patients admitted to the Coronary Care Unit to rule out acute myocardial infarction (AMI). Criteria were defined for the diagnosis of AMI, variant angina and unstable angina. 42 patients were diagnosed as having had an AMI. 22 patients had transmural and 20 patients had nontransmural AMI. 40 of the 42 patients with AMI (95%) had positive scintophotos; 2 (5%) had negative scintiphotos. 59 patients did not have an AMI; (97%) had negative scintiphotos. Four of these 59 patients had variant angina; all had negative scintiphotos. Seven of these 59 patients had unstable angina; 2 had positive scintiphotos. Tc-PYP scintiphotos have high sensitivity and specificity and are accurate in correctly classifying patients as having or not having AMI.

Acute Disease↗

Radionuclide bone scanning in diseases of the spine.

Radionuclide bone scans provide a sensitive, no-risk diagnostic technique for the detection and evaluation of a wide variety of diseases of the spine. Scans and radiographs provide complementary diagnostic information, and should both be considered in the medical imaging portion of the diagnostic plan.

Arthritis↗

Diagnosis of chylothorax with 131I-triolein: case report.

Communication between the thoracic duct and the pleural space can be demonstrated after oral administration of radiolabeled triglycerides or fatty acids of suitable chain length. A case of chylothorax was confirmed in this manner using 131I-triolein. The technique may be most useful in cases where the chylous nature of a pleural effusion is not apparent on inspection of the pleural fluid.

Adult↗

Detection of bronchopleural-subarachnoid fistula by radionuclide myelography: case report.

Radionuclide myeloscintigraphy has previously been used to demonstrate subarachnoid fistulae. In the present case a patient with bronchogenic carcinoma developed spontaneous pneumocephalus postoperatively. Chest radiographs showed an air-fluid level in the postoperative area. Various diagnostic tests were used, but only a radionuclide myeloscintigram showed the presence of a bronchopleural-subarachnoid fistula.

Adult↗

Ischemic therapy in thrombocytopenia from hypersplenism.

Percutaneous transfemoral arterial balloon occlusion or gelatin sponge embolization of the splenic artery or both were carried out in three high-risk patients with hepatic cirrhosis to reduce splenic hyperfunction and improve severe thrombocytopenia. Although this maneuver raised peripheral platelet counts in each patient, in one patient left upper quadrant pain with splinting of the lower chest cage led to hypostatic lower lobe pneumonia, while in another septic splentitis with gas-forming organisms necessitated splecectomy. Transfemoral occlusion of the splenic artery, although an effective, noninvasive approach to control splenic hyperfunction, has at the same time potential dangers that should be viewed with extreme caution in therapeutic application.

Adult↗

Bone scanning in lymphoma.

The results of bone scanning with the newer technetium-99m complexes were correlated with clinical, laboratory, and radiographic findings in 26 patients with malignant lymphoma (10 with Hodgkin's disease and 16 with non-Hodgkin's lymphomas). Abnormalities on bone scan compatible with lymphomatous involvement of the skeleton appeared to occur more commonly in patients with diffuse lymphomas than in patients with nodular lymphomas and were generally observed in the setting of advanced disease (15 of 23 patients). Twenty-seven (73%) of the 37 scans obtained were abnormal. Although abnormal scans were observed with the greatest frequency in patients with bone pain (11 of 11), bone marrow involvement (11 of 12), abnormal skeletal radiographs (11 of 11), and elevated serum alkaline phosphatase levels (5 of 6), bone scanning also detected lymphomatous involvement in patients free of pain or with normal laboratory tests. Moreover, conventional radiography was entirely normal in six (35%) of 17 patients with abnormal scans and revealed only nonspecific osteopenia in another two patients (12%). Serial bone scans in nine patients reflected their response to chemotherapy. Of the 37 scans, only one was judged falsely positive and one falsey negative. Bone scanning with 99mTc complexes is a safe, simple, and sensitive screening procedure for detecting both extensive and focal lymphomatous involvement of the skeletal system and is a useful means of following such involvement in response to treatment.

Adult↗