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Biomedical subjects

J S Snow

Publications and source records attributed to J S Snow.

13 recordsLinked to original sources

Efficacy of pindolol for treatment of vasovagal syncope.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy, safety, and tolerance of pindolol as initial therapy for vasovagal syncope. Head-up tilt table testing (HUT) was performed on 192 patients for syncope or near-syncope of unknown cause. Forty-four (23%) patients had a positive HUT for vasovagal syncope, and 28 (64%) received oral pindolol as initial therapy. Three patients were lost to follow-up; of the remaining 25 patients (mean age 60 +/- 22 years), 15 were women, 14 had syncope, and 11 had near-syncope. At 14 +/- 6 months' follow-up, 16 (64%) patients were without recurrence or side effects from pindolol. Of the 9 patients who stopped taking pindolol, 3 were switched to another regimen for recurrent symptoms, 2 stopped because of side effects, and 4 did not comply with the regimen. In conclusion, pindolol appears to be safe and effective as initial treatment for vasovagal syncope.

Adolescent↗

Clinical experience with transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillators for treatment of malignant ventricular arrhythmias.

The need for thoracotomy has previously limited the use of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. Prior investigators have shown the efficacy and reduced risk of the transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. In this study, we report our experience with the transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator as a first-line system. Thirty-four patients with mean age 63.2 +/- 10.3 years and mean ejection fraction 32.6 +/- 11.4% underwent implantation of a transvenous cardioverter-defibrillator using an Endotak lead with or without a subcutaneous patch. Twenty-one patients received a biphasic device and the remainder a monophasic device. Thirty-three of 34 patients (97%) were successfully implanted. The mean defibrillation threshold was than < or = 15.3 +/- 3.6J. Overall, 25 of 34 (74%) patients were implanted with a single endocardial lead alone. In the group receiving a biphasic device 19 of 21 (90%) were successfully implanted with a single endocardial lead alone whereas in the group receiving a monophasic device only 6 of 12 (50%) were successfully implanted with single endocardial lead alone (p < 0.05). There were no serious complications. One postoperative death was a result of end-staged congestive heart failure. We conclude that the transvenous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is safe and efficacious and that incorporation of biphasic waveform may lead to higher rates of implantation of single transvenous lead alone without the need for subcutaneous patch.

Adult↗

Ocular effects of topical and systemic steroids.

Topical and systemic steroids have proven to be invaluable agents in the treatment of a wide range of disorders, but their use is not without potential complications. Before initiation of therapy with systemic steroids, a personal or family history of cataracts, glaucoma, hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, renal stones, peptic ulceration, and current infection or pregnancy should be ascertained, because these patients have an increased risk of complications. Prior to long-term therapy with systemic steroids, blood pressure measurement, tuberculin skin test, and anergy panel are recommended. Monthly follow-up may include measurements of weight, blood pressure, electrolytes, and blood sugar and guaiac testing of the stool. To prevent the ocular complications of steroid therapy, routine screening is indicated (Table 1). Screening for cataracts, which occur most commonly as a sequela of continuous systemic steroid use, may be performed by slit-lamp examinations conducted three or four times a year for patients on long-term therapy and twice a year for patients taking intermittent topical ocular or systemic steroids. Glaucoma is more often associated with topical ocular or periocular steroids than with systemic steroids; recommended screening includes a baseline intraocular pressure measurement, then routine pressure measurements taken every few weeks initially, then every few months. Ocular rebound inflammation may develop secondary to rapid tapering or abrupt discontinuation of topical ocular steroid use and is best prevented with gradual tapering. Opportunistic infections of the eye include bacterial, viral, and fungal infections and are most often associated with the use of topical ocular steroids. Ophthalmologic evaluation is indicated promptly if patients treated with ocular steroids develop ocular discharge, pain, photophobia, or redness.

Administration, Topical↗

Dimensions of psychotherapy session impact across sessions and across clients.

The Session Evaluation Questionnaire measures two dimensions of participants' perceptions of psychotherapy sessions, depth and smoothness, and two dimensions of post-session mood, positivity and arousal. In ratings by therapists and in ratings by clients, the same dimensions were identified as underlying variation across sessions and variation across clients. Thus these 'impact' dimensions can be used for session-level comparisons with process variables and for client-level comparisons with outcome variables, possibly permitting two-stage inferences from process to impact to outcome.

Adolescent↗

Development of standards of performance by mentally retarded children.

The ability of moderately mentally retarded children to set self-performance standards was investigated. We hypothesized that (a) subjects who received training based on the relational concept of "between" would be able to acquire and retain superior standard-setting performance compared to nontrained control subjects, and (b) those receiving this training would be able to generalize their superior standard-setting performance to a task involving more variable feedback as well as to a conceptually more abstract task. Results indicated that the subjects learned and retained concepts that allowed them to set appropriate or realistic self-performance standards. Further, retarded subjects were able to set appropriate standards when given less restricted feedback than was given during the initial training. On a more abstract picture-matching task, no significant differences were found between the two groups.

Concept Formation↗

Radiofrequency catheter ablation as primary therapy for symptomatic ventricular tachycardia.

Most applications of radiofrequency (RF) catheter ablation for treatment of ventricular tachycardia (VT) have been as a treatment of last resort. The purpose of this study was to determine the efficacy and safety of RF catheter ablation as the primary treatment for symptomatic single morphology VT. Eleven of 81 patients (14%) with inducible sustained monomorphic VT underwent RF ablation as the primary treatment. One of these 11 patients had successful RF ablation of bundle branch reentry VT and was excluded from this series. The remaining 10 patients had a mean age of 58 +/- 19 years (range 20 to 73 years), were mostly men (7 of 10 patients), and all presented with documented evidence of symptomatic sustained monomorphic VT, at a mean cycle length of 340 +/- 60 milliseconds (ms) (range 250 to 430 ms). Six patients had coronary artery disease (CAD), one had surgical repair for tetralogy of Fallot, one had surgical repair of a ventricular septal defect, and two had a normal cardiac substrate. The VT origin was mapped using a combination of activation mapping, mid-diastolic potentials, pace mapping, and concealed entrainment. A mean of 5 +/- 3 (range 2 to 11) RF applications were administered to the putative VT foci. Eight of 10 (80%) clinical VTs were successfully ablated. There were no serious complications. Patients with VT originating from the left ventricle were offered implantable cardioverter-defibrillator back-up; however, only one patient accepted this option. At a mean follow-up of 12 +/- 7 months, only one patient had a possible arrhythmia recurrence.

Adult↗

The right of privacy.

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Confidentiality↗