Biomedical subjects

J R Britton

Publications and source records attributed to J R Britton.

75 records · Page 5Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Neonatal nurse practitioner and physician use on a newborn resuscitation team in a community hospital.

INTRODUCTION: Neonatal nurse practitioner (NNP) and physician (NCP) use in a community hospital was evaluated to test the hypothesis that NNP availability would result in changing patterns of NCP attendance at newborn resuscitations. METHOD: Records were reviewed for consecutive years before (pre-NNP) and after (post-NNP) NNP employment for frequency of NNP and NCP attendance at moderate-, high-, and very high-risk deliveries, together with rates of low Apgar scores and resuscitation guideline compliance. RESULTS: Pre-NNP, NCPs attended 39.5% o of moderate-risk and 91.6% of high-risk deliveries; these figures fell to 2.1% and 6.0%, respectively, during post-NNP (chi square: df = l, p < .0001). Post-NNP, NNP attendance at moderate- and high-risk deliveries was 88.6% and 99.2% higher than NCP attendance during pre-NNP (chi square: df = l, p < .01). No difference was observed between periods in rates of Apgar scores less than 7 at 5 minutes or the percentage of resuscitations that complied with current guidelines. DISCUSSION: In community hospitals NNPs may be used instead of NCPs for moderate- and high-risk deliveries. They may also be used more than NCPs in the absence of NNPs.

Hospitals, Community↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of short-term food deprivation on luminal protein digestion in suckling and weanling rats.

Although previous studies have described the effects of long-term undernutrition on the process of protein digestion, little data exist regarding the impact of short-term food deprivation on digestive processes. To evaluate the effect of short-term food deprivation on luminal proteolytic activity in the rat, we incubated [125I]bovine casein in vitro at 37 degrees C with fluid flushed from the lumen of stomach and small intestine of 12-day-old suckling and 31-day-old weanling rats that were either fed or food deprived for 12 h/100 g body weight (3 h for sucklings, 12 h for weanlings), followed by measurement of radioactivity in trichloroacetic acid soluble material. Assays were performed at pH 3.2 for stomach and 7.4 for small intestine. In the suckling, gastric luminal proteolytic activity was minimal in both fed and food-deprived animals; jejunal and midjejunal proteolysis was not significantly affected by food deprivation, but the hydrolytic capacity of fluid from the ileum was reduced to 20% of that of fed animals. In the weanling, food deprivation increased gastric proteolytic activity two- to threefold but decreased proteolysis in jejunum and midjejunum. Time-course studies revealed that these effects were further accentuated by food deprivation for 24 h/100 g body weight in both age groups. It is concluded that short-term food deprivation may affect luminal proteolytic capacity and that individual segments of the developing rat gastrointestinal tract respond differently to food deprivation. Presumably, direct and indirect effects of digesta may contribute to these differences.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Enteral administration of recombinant erythropoietin to preterm infants.

In six preterm infants we tested the hypothesis that, as is the case in infant rats, orally administered recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) would be absorbed and would stimulate erythropoiesis. Three study subjects were younger than 1 week old and had never been fed and three were more than 1 month old and were receiving enteral feedings totally. Two hours after the administration of large doses of EPO (1000 U/kg body weight) only a small increase in serum EPO concentrations (from 6.3 +/- 0.9 to 13.3 +/- 2.8 mU/ml, mean +/- SEM) was observed. No further increases were observed 4, 6, 12, or 24 hours after the administration. No increases in reticulocyte count or hematocrit were observed after 10 days of EPO administration. We conclude that, unlike the situation in infant rats, enterally administered recombinant EPO is not absorbed in significant amounts by human preterm infants. Therefore oral administration will not be an effective substitute for subcutaneous or intravenous EPO administration in preterm infants.

Anemia, Neonatal↗