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Biomedical subjects

J R Cove-Smith

Publications and source records attributed to J R Cove-Smith.

17 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Cost benefits of low dose subcutaneous erythropoietin in patients with anaemia of end stage renal disease.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the cost benefits of low dose subcutaneous recombinant human erythropoietin in correcting the anaemia of end stage renal disease. DESIGN: Three year retrospective study. SETTING: Subregional nephrology service serving a mixed urban and rural population of 800,000. SUBJECTS: 60 patients with symptoms of anaemic end stage renal disease treated with erythropoietin (43 receiving haemodialysis; 11 receiving continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis; two with predialysis end stage renal disease; four with failing renal transplants). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Costs and savings of achieving and maintaining a haemoglobin concentration of 85-105 g/l with erythropoietin. RESULTS: All patients treated with erythropoietin achieved the target haemoglobin concentration at median induction doses of 97 (95% confidence interval 95 to 108) units/kg/week, and this was maintained with 79 (75 to 95) units/kg/week at an average annual cost per patient of 2260 pounds. Admissions related to anaemia were virtually eliminated (246 v 1 inpatient days for 12 months before and after starting erythropoietin). 54 patients required no blood transfusions after starting erythropoietin, and the total requirements fell from 230 to 21 units in the 12 months before and after starting erythropoietin. Iron stores were maintained with oral or intravenous iron. All patients reported increased wellbeing, appetite, and exercise capacity. Hypertension developed or worsened in 30 patients, resulting in hospital admissions in five patients, one of whom had seizures. CONCLUSION: Low dose subcutaneous erythropoietin restores haemoglobin concentrations sufficiently to abolish blood transfusion requirements and reduce morbidity. The net cost of erythropoietin prescribed in this way (2260 pounds/patient/year) was largely offset by savings in costs of hospital admissions. The true annual cost to the NHS was around 1200 pounds per patient.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Acute respiratory failure following lithium intoxication. A report of two cases.

Two patients suffering from severe lithium poisoning (blood level greater than 4 mmol/litre) were treated by haemodialysis. Both patients developed delayed respiratory failure, with the characteristics of adult respiratory distress syndrome, at a time when lithium levels had fallen below 2 mmol/litre. We recommend early respiratory support in the treatment of severe lithium intoxication.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1985

CNS-related side-effects with metoprolol and atenolol.

Vivid and bizarre dreams, hallucinations, sleep disturbance and psychosis have all been described following treatment with beta-blockers. It has been suggested that these central nervous system (CNS) side-effects are related to the degree of lipophilicity of the beta-blocker. A randomized double-blind crossover study was performed to compare the incidence of CNS side-effects with atenolol and metoprolol in hypertensive patients who had reported CNS side-effects with lipophilic beta-blockers. Eleven women and six men completed the study, in which a 30-item psychiatric questionnaire was used to detect changes in psychological status and possible CNS side-effects. Discontinuation of the original lipophilic beta-blocker produced a significant improvement in quality of sleep, dreams, concentration, memory, energy, and anxiety. No significant CNS side-effects were reported with atenolol, but introduction of metoprolol caused a significant increase in the incidence of sleep disturbance (p less than 0.01) and restless nights (p less than 0.05), as well as failure to achieve satisfactory sexual intercourse (p less than 0.05). When compared with atenolol, metoprolol was associated with a significantly higher incidence of restless disturbed nights (p less than 0.05). Blood pressure control was identical for both beta-blockers. This study appears to confirm the association between CNS-related side-effects and the lipophilicity of beta-blockers.

Adult↗
PubMed1979

Possible effect of time on renal allograft rejection.

The change in plasma creatinine concentrations from decreasing values after successful renal transplantation to increasing values after the onset of rejection occurs as a sudden event. Twenty-two such episodes in 16 renal allograft recipients were studied by extrapolating sequential measurements of plasma creatinine concentrations to see when the change occurred. Seventeen of the episodes occurred between 2300 and 1100 and the rest at other times. This difference was significant. The results suggest that rejection is more common at night and apparently has a circadian rhythm, being likely to first influence creatinine clearance at around 0600.

Circadian Rhythm↗
PubMed1978

Transplantation, immunosuppression and plasmapheresis in Goodpasture's syndrome.

Renal transplantation in the face of circulating anti-glomerular basement membrane (GBM) antibody can lead to recurrent glomerulonephritis. The severity of the recurrence may be related to the level of antibody present at the time of transplantation. We describe a patient with Goodpasture's Syndrome and moderate circulating anti-GBM antibody activity who received a renal transplant, followed by plasmapheresis and immunosuppression. The graft has functioned well for almost two years associated with a continued reduction in levels of circulating anti-GBM antibody.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Analgesic nephropathy: an important cause of chronic renal failure.

Study of case-notes and autopsy reports of patients with renal disease suggests that analgesic nephropathy is responsible for at least 12 per cent of cases of chronic renal failure, Between 1970 and 1975 eight new cases of analgesic nephropathy were seen annually in a population of three-quarters of a million. This is equivalent to an incidence of 490 new cases per year in England and Wales. Fifty-five patients with analgesic nephropathy were followed from one to 84 months for a total of 190 patient years. Changes in renal function were correlated with bacteriuria, hypertension and analgesic consumption. One-third of the cases had been misdiagnosed and analgesic abuse was only revealed by thorough examination of case-notes and autopsy records, together with careful questioning of patients and relatives. A number of cases had been classified as chronic pyelonephritis. The calculated survival rate at five years was 44 per cent. Mortality was related to the level of analgesic consumption and the degree of renal failure at the time of diagnosis. The prognosis was poor if serum creatinine at presentation was greater than 400 mumol/l. There was no significant correlation between deterioration in renal function and bacteriuria or hypertension. Forty-two per cent of the patients were taking analgesics for arthritis; 27 per cent had rheumatoid arthritis. Most had been taking large quantities of analgesic mixtures containing phenacetin. Renal papillary necrosis was present in only 26 per cent on intravenous urography but was found in all those examined at autopsy. Twenty thousand, two hundred and twenty-nine autopsy reports were examined for the presence of renal disease. Renal papillary necrosis was found in 0.41 per cent, and could be attributed to analgesic nephropathy in 24 per cent. In patients under 65 years of age analgesic nephropathy appeared to be a more frequent cause of death than chronic pyelonephritis. The report indicates the need for careful enquiry about analgesic consumption in all patients with renal disease, and emphasizes the importance of early diagnosis and cessation of analgesics in suspected cases of analgesic nephropathy.

Adult↗