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Biomedical subjects

Joseph K McLaughlin

Publications and source records attributed to Joseph K McLaughlin.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed2005

Reconstructive breast implantation after mastectomy for breast cancer: clinical outcomes in a nationwide prospective cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Clinical reports have raised concern about local complications following breast implantation used in reconstructive or cosmetic surgery, but there is a shortage of epidemiological studies in this area. OBJECTIVE: To assess in a prospective epidemiological manner the occurrence of short-term local complications in a nationwide implantation registry. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: The Danish Registry for Plastic Surgery of the Breast prospectively collects preoperative, perioperative, and postoperative information on Danish women undergoing breast augmentation. Through the registry, we collected data on short-term local complications among 574 women who underwent postmastectomy reconstruction with breast implants from June 1, 1999, through July 24, 2003. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Complication incidence rates. RESULTS: Thirty-one percent of the women who underwent initial implantation developed at least 1 adverse event. Forty-nine percent of the adverse events occurred within 3 months after implantation and 67% within 6 months. Surgical intervention was required after initial implantation among 21% of women, most frequently because of capsular contracture, asymmetry, or displacement of the implant. Thirty-six percent of women who underwent subsequent implantation experienced at least 1 adverse event, and 21% underwent surgical intervention to treat definitive complications or to optimize cosmetic result. CONCLUSIONS: Women who undergo postmastectomy breast implantation frequently experience short-term local complications. Surgical or medical intervention is commonly required during the reconstructive course, but reconstruction failure (loss of implant) is rare. However, when weighing benefits and risks associated with reconstruction, the patient should consider that breast reconstruction is a process involving planned and unplanned supplementary surgical correction to achieve the desired result.

Breast Implantation↗
PubMed2005

The diagnosis of breast implant rupture: MRI findings compared with findings at explantation.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to evaluate the accuracy of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) as performed according to a strict study protocol in diagnosing rupture of silicone breast implants. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study population consisted of 64 women with 118 implants, who had participated in either one or two study MRI examinations, aiming at determining the prevalence and incidence of silent implant rupture, respectively, and who subsequently underwent explantation. Implant rupture status was determined by four independent readers and a consensus diagnosis of either rupture (intracapsular or extracapsular), possible rupture or intact implant was then obtained. Strict predetermined rupture criteria were applied as described in this report and findings at surgery were abstracted in a standardised manner and results compared. RESULTS: At MRI, 66 implants were diagnosed as ruptured, nine as possibly ruptured and 43 as intact. Among the ruptured implants, 27 were categorized as extracapsular. At surgery, on average 297 days after the MRI, 65 of the 66 rupture diagnoses were confirmed, as were 20 of the cases with extracapsular silicone. Eight of the nine possibly ruptured implants were in fact ruptured at surgery. Thirty-four of the 43 intact implants were described as intact at surgery. When categorising possible ruptures as ruptures, there were one false positive and nine false negative rupture diagnoses at MRI yielding an accuracy of 92%, a sensitivity of 89%, and a specificity of 97%. Correspondingly, the predictive value of a positive MRI examination was 99% and the predictive value of a negative MRI examination was 79%. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that MRI is highly accurate for identification of silicone breast implant rupture, with a high sensitivity and specificity when evaluation of images are based on presence of well-defined rupture criteria.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

The natural history of chronic renal failure: results from an unselected, population-based, inception cohort in Sweden.

BACKGROUND: Mortality rates in patients with chronic renal failure (CRF) are high both before and after start of renal replacement therapy (RRT). However, few studies of mortality and progression have been performed in an unselected CRF population. METHODS: We followed up a population-based inception cohort of 920 men and women aged 18 to 74 years who had CRF (serum creatinine level > 3.4 mg/dL [>300 micromol/L] for men and >2.8 mg/dL [>250 micromol/L] for women) for 55 to 79 months. Relationships between the outcomes (death and start of RRT) and independent variables under study (age, sex, primary renal disease, body mass index [BMI], and glomerular filtration rate [GFR] at entry) were explored by using Cox regression models. RESULTS: Seven hundred thirty-nine patients (80%) started RRT during the follow-up period. As expected, GFR at entry was clearly linked to the incidence of RRT (P < 0.0001). Age was related inversely to incidence of RRT (adjusted relative risk for patients > or =65 years relative to patients <45 years, 0.72; 95% confidence interval, 0.57 to 0.90). Men progressed to RRT more often than women (adjusted relative risk, 1.59; 95% confidence interval, 1.35 to 1.88). BMI was unrelated to RRT incidence. By the end of follow-up, 389 patients with CRF (42%) had died, 89 of them (10%) before the start of RRT. The most common primary cause of death was cardiovascular disease (37.5%). Characteristics significantly related to a greater mortality rate included older age, diagnoses of diabetic nephropathy and nephrosclerosis, and low BMI. CONCLUSION: Preuremic characteristics (age, sex, primary renal diagnosis, BMI, and GFR) are predictive of prognosis in unselected patients with CRF.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Retrospective cohort mortality study of workers engaged in motion picture film processing.

OBJECTIVE: To assess potential health risks associated with work in a large motion picture film-processing facility. METHODS: A retrospective cohort mortality study was conducted during 1960-2000 among 2646 film workers. Job family categories, created from detailed employee work history information, were used to evaluate chemical exposure patterns. RESULTS: Overall mortality was as expected (standardized mortality ratio [SMR] = 1.1; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.0-1.2). Statistically significant associations were found for suicides (SMR = 2.0; 95% CI = 1.2-3.0) among the hourly workers and AIDS (SMR = 5.3; 95% CI = 1.7-12.3) among the administrative workers. Film developers had increases of respiratory cancer (SMR = 1.9; 95% CI = 1.1-3.0) and suicides (SMR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.0-4.7), whereas film assemblers had an increase in suicides (SMR = 2.4; 95% CI = 1.2-4.4) only. CONCLUSIONS: Excess deaths resulting from suicides and AIDS among the workforce suggest that nonoccupational influences may be involved in the mortality of this cohort and warrant further investigations.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2005

Surgical intervention and capsular contracture after breast augmentation: a prospective study of risk factors.

Epidemiologic data on local complications after breast augmentation are scarce. In particular, few prospectively collected data are available on modern breast implants on this issue. Using data from the Danish Registry for Plastic Surgery of the Breast, the authors examined determinants of surgery-requiring complications and capsular contracture grades III to IV among 2277 women who underwent cosmetic breast implantation from June 1999 through April 2003. During an average follow-up period of 1.6 years after implantation, 4.3% of these women (3% of implants) required secondary surgery as a result of short-term complications. The most frequent clinical indications for surgery were displacement of the implant (38%), capsular contracture grades III to IV (16%), ptosis (13%), and hematoma (11%). Overall, the authors found that inframammary incision and subglandular placement were associated with decreased risks of developing complications requiring surgical intervention, whereas implants larger than 350 mL increased the risk of such complications (relative risk [RR], 2.3; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.3-4.0). Thirty-nine Baker III to IV capsular contractures were identified, of which 22 were treated surgically within the study period. Submuscular placement of the implant decreased the risk of capsular contracture grades III to IV (RR, 0.3; 95% CI, 0.2-0.8), whereas surgical routes other than inframammary and drainage of implant cavity were associated with increased risk of capsular contracture. Current surgical practices and modern implants used for breast augmentation produce fewer short-term complications than procedures and devices of the past. This prospective study indicates that surgical procedures are more important predictors for local (short-term) complications than implant or patient characteristics.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

The diagnosis of silicone breast-implant rupture: clinical findings compared with findings at magnetic resonance imaging.

The objective was to evaluate the usefulness of clinical examination in the evaluation of breast-implant integrity, using the diagnosis at magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the "gold standard." Fifty-five women with 109 implants underwent a breast examination either just before or shortly after an MRI examination. Twenty-four of 109 implants were clinically diagnosed with possible rupture or rupture. Eighteen of the 24 implants were ruptured according to the MRI examination (75%). Eighty-five implants were clinically classified as intact, and 43 of these were actually ruptured at MRI (51%). The sensitivity of the clinical examination for diagnosing rupture was thus 30% and the specificity 88%. The positive predictive value of a clinical diagnosis of rupture was 75%, and the negative predictive value was 49%. In this study, we found that when a clinical examination is used as the sole diagnostic tool to identify implant rupture, neither the sensitivity nor the specificity is acceptable.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

A feasibility study of magnetic resonance imaging of silicone breast implants in Finland.

Cosmetic breast implants have become increasingly popular throughout the world. However, there is insufficient knowledge about the frequency and severity of local complications such as rupture and capsular contracture. A pilot study of 25 Finnish women with 50 cosmetic breast implants was organized to determine the feasibility of conducting a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-based study of rupture incidence. The pilot investigation included a clinical examination by a plastic surgeon, MRI scan, and self-administered questionnaire. The participation rate was 100%. Implants in our study represented a cross-section of the different generations of implants in Finland, with implant ages varying from 4 months to 20 years. The average implant size was 215 mL, typical in Finnish cosmetic surgery. MR images were evaluated by two independent readers. The first reader diagnosed six implants with intracapsular rupture, while the other diagnosed all implants as intact. The procedures of the feasibility study proved successful, and the results demonstrate the importance of a rigid image evaluation protocol with employment of well-defined rupture criteria, as well as the benefits of several image readers.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Devastating injuries in healthcare workers: description of the crisis and legislative solution to the epidemic of back injury from patient lifting.

The purpose of this report is to describe a crisis in healthcare, disabling back injuries in US healthcare workers. In addition, outlined is the proven solution of safe, mechanized, patient lifting, which has been shown to prevent these injuries. A "Safe Patient Handling--No Manual Lift" policy must be immediately instituted throughout this country. Such a policy is essential to halt hazardous manual patient lifting, which promotes needless disability and loss of healthcare workers, pain and risk of severe injury to patients, and tremendous waste of financial resources to employers and workers' compensation insurance carriers. Healthcare workers consistently rank among top occupations with disabling back injuries, primarily from manually lifting patients. Back injury may be the single largest contributor to the nursing shortage. Reported injuries to certified nursing assistants are three to four times that of registered nurses. A national healthcare policy for "Safe Patient Handling--No Manual Lift" is urgently needed to address this crisis. Body mechanics training is ineffective in prevention of back injury with patient lifting. Mandated use of mechanical patient lift equipment has proven to prevent most back injury to nursing personnel and reduce pain and injury to patients associated with manual lifting. With the national epidemic of morbid obesity in our country, innovative devices are available for use in emergency medical systems and hospitals for patient lifting and transfer without injury to hospital personnel. The US healthcare industry has not voluntarily taken measures necessary to reduce patient handling injury by use of mechanical lift devices. US healthcare workers who suffer disabling work-related back injuries are limited to the fixed, and often inadequate, relief which they may obtain from workers' compensation. Under workers' compensation law, healthcare workers injured lifting patients may not sue their employer for not providing mechanical lift equipment. Discarding healthcare workers disabled by preventable back injuries is an abuse which legislators must remedy. In addition, Medicare reimbursement policies must also be updated to allow the disabled community to purchase electrically operated overhead ceiling lifts. The US lags far behind countries with legislated manual handling regulations and "No Lifting" nursing policies. England and Australia have had "No Lifting" nursing policies in place since 1996 and 1998, respectively. The National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) recognized a model in 2003 for reduction of back injuries to nursing staff in US healthcare facilities. Also in 2003, the American Nurses Association called for elimination of manual patient handling because it is unsafe and causes musculoskeletal injuries to nurses. The first state legislation for safe patient handling passed both houses in California but was vetoed by the Governor in September 2004. California and other states are preparing to (re)introduce legislation in January 2005. A national, industry-specific policy is essential to quell the outflow of nursing personnel to disability from manual patient lifting.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Southern community cohort study: establishing a cohort to investigate health disparities.

OBJECTIVES: To demonstrate the methods of recruitment of a low-income, predominantly African-American study population for the Southern Community Cohort Study (SCCS), a prospective epidemiologic investigation of racial disparities in cancer risk. METHODS: Partnerships with community health centers (CHCs) were formed to reach underserved populations throughout the south. Recruitment of participants (aged 40-79) in CHCs began in March 2002. Participants complete a comprehensive baseline interview and provide a blood or buccal cell sample. Recruitment will expand to the general population of the south to achieve a broad cross-section of socioeconomic status, The final cohort size is expected to be approximately 100,000. RESULTS: A high level of cooperation and recruitment was achieved in the CHCs. From March 2002 to October 2004, 32,632 participants (80% black, 41% male, 62% with total household income < $15,000, 34% with < 12 years schooling) enrolled. Participants reported a high prevalence of medical conditions (21% diabetic, 44% obese) and adverse health behaviors (45% current smokers). CONCLUSIONS: Working in CHCs is successful for recruiting a population that has been difficult to reach in previous studies. The SCCS is a unique cohort that will provide a rich resource for evaluating disparities in cancer and other chronic disease risk as it is followed over time.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Antidepressants and risk of first-time hospitalization for myocardial infarction: a population-based case-control study.

PURPOSE: Several studies have found an increased risk of myocardial infarction among depressed patients. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) appear to lack the arrhythmic adverse effects of tricyclic antidepressants, and are thought to inhibit platelet aggregation. We examined whether use of different antidepressant classes is associated with a lower risk of first-time hospitalization for myocardial infarction, as compared with nonuse. METHODS: We identified 8887 cases of first-time hospitalization for myocardial infarction and 88,862 age- and sex-matched population-based controls during 1994-2002, using data from North Jutland County, Denmark. Cases and controls were stratified according to history of cardiovascular disease. All prescriptions for antidepressants before hospitalization for myocardial infarction were identified using a prescription database. Conditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios of myocardial infarction associated with antidepressant use, adjusted for possible confounding factors. RESULTS: In patients with a history of cardiovascular disease, we found indications of a lower risk of myocardial infarction among those who used SSRIs (adjusted odds ratio [OR] = 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.62 to 1.16), nonselective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (adjusted OR = 0.83; 95% CI: 0.50 to 1.38), and other antidepressants (adjusted OR = 0.55; 95% CI: 0.31 to 0.97). There were no such associations among persons without a history of cardiovascular disease. CONCLUSION: Antidepressant use may be associated with a decreased risk of hospitalization for myocardial infarction among persons with a history of cardiovascular disease, although it remains uncertain whether there are differences by class of antidepressant.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Helicobacter pylori infection and gastric atrophy: risk of adenocarcinoma and squamous-cell carcinoma of the esophagus and adenocarcinoma of the gastric cardia.

BACKGROUND: An inverse association between Helicobacter pylori infection and esophageal adenocarcinoma has been reported that may be attributed to reduced acidity from inducing atrophic gastritis and from producing ammonia. We examined associations between H. pylori infection, gastric atrophy, and the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma, esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma, and gastric cardia adenocarcinoma in a large population-based case-control study in Sweden. METHODS: Self-reported data were obtained during interviews, and serum was collected from 97 patients with incident esophageal adenocarcinoma, 85 patients with incident esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma, 133 patients with incident gastric cardia adenocarcinoma, and 499 randomly selected control subjects. Serum antibodies against whole H. pylori cell-surface antigens (HP-CSAs) and cytotoxin-associated gene A (CagA) antigens were assessed by an IgG enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and immunoblotting, respectively. Gastric atrophy was assessed by serum levels of pepsinogen I. Multivariable logistic regression with adjustment for potential confounding factors was used to evaluate associations. RESULTS: H. pylori infection, assayed by HP-CSA or CagA antibodies, was statistically significantly associated with a reduced risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma (for HP-CSA antibodies, odds ratio [OR] = 0.3, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.2 to 0.6; for CagA antibodies, OR = 0.5, 95% CI = 0.3 to 0.8; for both, OR = 0.2, 95% CI = 0.1 to 0.5). Gastric atrophy was not associated with the risk for esophageal adenocarcinoma (OR = 1.1, 95% CI = 0.5 to 2.5). Serum CagA antibodies and gastric atrophy were associated with an increased risk for esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.1 to 4.0, and OR = 4.3, 95% CI = 1.9 to 9.6, respectively). The risk of gastric cardia adenocarcinoma was not associated with H. pylori infection. However, gastric atrophy was associated with an increased risk for gastric cardia adenocarcinoma (OR = 4.5, 95% CI = 2.5 to 7.8). CONCLUSIONS: Infection with H. pylori may reduce the risk of esophageal adenocarcinoma, but it is unlikely to do so by atrophy-reduced acidity. Gastric atrophy and infection with CagA-positive strains of H. pylori may increase the risk for esophageal squamous-cell carcinoma.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed2004

Outcome of upper gastro-intestinal bleeding and use of ibuprofen versus paracetamol.

BACKGROUND: Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are known to increase the risk of upper gastrointestinal bleeding (UGIB). Whether the severity of outcome of UGIB associated with NSAIDs differs from non-NSAID-related UGIB is less clear. METHOD: Medical records of 228 patients hospitalized for UGIB in the Danish county of North Jutland were evaluated. Preadmission characteristics and clinical outcomes were compared between 112 patients who had been prescribed ibuprofen and 116 patients who had been prescribed paracetamol within 90 days of the hospitalization. RESULTS: The baseline characteristics of UGIB patients prescribed ibuprofen tended to differ from those prescribed paracetamol. The ibuprofen group significantly less often had histories of ulcer (11% vs 36%) and dyspepsia (19% vs 44%), or had been prescribed medications for these or other conditions, and had lower co-morbidity indices. Ibuprofen users also were somewhat less likely (31% vs 37%) to report GI pain at admission, but among hospitalized patients with endoscopic examinations were more likely (75% vs 58%) to be diagnosed with ulcer or hematemesis vs normal or gastritis/dyspepsia/reflux. For the clinical outcomes, 30 days case fatality rates were 12% for both ibuprofen and paracetamol users. The ibuprofen-related cases of UGIB more often required surgery (11% vs 3%) or transfusions (66% vs 57%), and those prescribed ibuprofen averaged 11 days in hospital, 4 days longer than those prescribed paracetamol. Adjustment for baseline characteristics and underlying conditions, or analyses eliminating patients with unconfirmed diagnoses and prior ulcers or restricted to patients with current hospital diagnoses of ulcer or hematemesis, did not materially alter the ibuprofen vs paracetamol differences in outcome measures. Generally similar results were obtained when restricting the analyses to patients prescribed ibuprofen or paracetamol within 30 days of UGIB hospitalization, except for a reduction in the 30 days case fatality rate among those prescribed ibuprofen. CONCLUSIONS: UGIB patients with antecedent ibuprofen prescriptions experienced about the same case fatality rates, but more surgery and longer hospital stays, than patients prescribed paracetamol. The differences appear in part due to differing characteristics among those prescribed ibuprofen compared with those prescribed paracetamol, but also raise the possibility of drug-related effects.

Acetaminophen↗
PubMed2004

Consistency of use of plant stanol ester margarine in Finland.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of this study were to investigate the consistency of use of plant stanol ester margarine and to characterise consistent and inconsistent users. DESIGN: A cohort of plant stanol ester margarine users was established based on 14 national surveys conducted by the National Public Health Institute in Finland between 1996 and 1999. A follow-up study questionnaire was developed and sent to 1294 users in 2000. SETTING: Subjects who reported using plant stanol ester margarine in both the original survey and the follow-up study were classified as consistent users, and the rest as inconsistent users. SUBJECTS: The study population consisted of 1094 subjects aged 18-87 years, 590 men and 504 women. RESULTS: There were 357 (33%) consistent and 737 (67%) inconsistent users of plant stanol ester margarine in the study population. Consistent users were more likely to be men and to have a higher household income than inconsistent users. Both consistent and inconsistent users were predominantly middle-aged persons with a healthy lifestyle and diet as well as a history of cardiovascular disease. Healthfulness was the main factor affecting bread spread choice among 94% of the consistent users and 59% of the inconsistent users. CONCLUSIONS: The use of plant stanol ester margarine is more often inconsistent than consistent. There is nevertheless a relatively large subgroup of long-term users of plant stanol ester margarine. It is important to examine the health effects especially among these regular users.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

Absence of association between organic solvent exposure and risk of chronic renal failure: a nationwide population-based case-control study.

Exposure to organic solvents has been suggested to cause or exacerbate renal disease, but methodologic concerns regarding previous studies preclude firm conclusions. We examined the role of organic solvents in a population-based case-control study of early-stage chronic renal failure (CRF). All native Swedish residents aged 18 to 74 yr, living in Sweden between May 1996 and May 1998, formed the source population. Incident cases of CRF in a pre-uremic stage (n = 926) and control subjects (n = 998), randomly selected from the study base, underwent personal interviews that included a detailed occupational history. Expert rating by a certified occupational hygienist was used to assess organic solvent exposure intensity and duration. Relative risks were estimated by odds ratios (OR) in logistic regression models, with adjustment for potentially important covariates. The overall risk for CRF among subjects ever exposed to organic solvents was virtually identical to that among never-exposed (OR, 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.81 to 1.25). No dose-response relationships were observed for lifetime cumulative solvent exposure, average dose, or exposure frequency or duration. The absence of association pertained to all subgroups of CRF: glomerulonephritis (OR, 0.96; 95% CI, 0.68 to 1.34), diabetic nephropathy (OR, 1.02; 95% CI, 0.74 to 1.41), renal vascular disease (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.76 to 1.75), and other renal CRF (OR, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.27). The results from a nationwide, population-based study do not support the hypothesis of an adverse effect of organic solvents on CRF development, in general. Detrimental effects from subclasses of solvents or on specific renal diseases cannot be ruled out.

Case-Control Studies↗