Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to K Eaton.
Radiotherapy can cause significant skin reactions. Research suggests that skin care practices are diverse for patients receiving radiotherapy. Standardised practice enables nurses to evaluate interventions.
Lymphoedema affects 25-28% of patients who have undergone axillary surgery or radiotherapy in the treatment of cancer. The prevalence of primary lymphoedema or of lymphoedema secondary to non-cancer causes is unknown. In addition, basic demographic and disease characteristics of the lymphoedema population remain undocumented. We conducted a prospective survey to determine these characteristics. Lymphoedema treatment clinics in the UK were invited to participate at the British Lymphology Society 1996 Annual Conference. Twenty-seven clinics collected a standard data set for all new referrals in a 3-month period in 1997. The sample size was 603. The mean number of new referrals was 7.4 patients per unit per month. Eighty per cent of patients had cancer-related lymphoedema, and 86% of patients were female. Patients' mean age was 61.0 years. Thirty-seven per cent of the sample had suffered lymphoedema for less than 3 months, and 15% for 5 years or more. Patients with non-cancer related oedema had suffered the condition disproportionately longer than the cancer-related group (chi 2 = 102.2, P < 0.001). Sixty-six per cent of patients were reported as having lymphoedema at more than one site. Seventy-four per cent of all patients suffered unilateral limb oedema, and 23% bilateral limb oedema. Bilateral swelling was recorded for 67% of the non-cancer related group and 13% of the cancer related group (chi 2 = 153.4, P < 0.001). Median percentage excess volume (PCEV) for all patients with unilateral limb oedema was 16.4%. There was a positive relationship between PCEV and duration of the condition (H = 24.0, P < 0.001), and PCEV and non-cancer related lymphoedema (H = 10.5, P < 0.05). These results suggest that patients with non-cancer related lymphoedema and those with cancer-related lymphoedema form two distinct groups. The former present substantial management problems which are made more complex by late referral.
This paper is the first in a series of four which present a systematic approach to colleagues who are preparing for and sitting the examination for the Diploma of Membership in General Dental Surgery (MGDS) of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. Although some details may differ, the general principles set out in the four papers apply equally to the MGDS examinations of the other Royal Surgical Colleges.
This paper is the second in a series of four which present a systematic approach to colleagues who are preparing for and sitting the examination for the Diploma of Membership in General Dental Surgery (MGDS) of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. Although some details may differ, the general principles set out in the four papers apply equally to the MGDS examinations of the other Royal Surgical Colleges.
This paper is the third in a series of four which present a systematic approach to colleagues who are preparing for and sitting the examination for the Diploma of Membership in General Dental Surgery (MGDS) of The Royal College of Surgeons of England. Although some details may differ, the general principles set out in the four papers apply equally to the MGDS examinations of the other Royal Surgical Colleges.
The presence and features of mucosa associated lymhoid tissue (MALT), analogous to Peyer's patches, in the cardia of the lesser curvature of the porcine stomach are described. The gastric mucosa associated lymphoid tissue (gastric-MALT) is histologically distinct from gastric inflammation associated with colonization by normal gastric microflora and experimental bacterial colonization with a human gastric bacterial pathogen, Helicobacter pylori. The gastric-MALT consists of well-demarcated encapsulated and organized lymphoid tissue, intimately associated with overlying gastric epithelium, centered below the muscularis mucosae and drained by efferent lymphatics. Gastric-MALT was identified in all piglets studied including microbially sterile uninfected gnotobiotes; these structures were enlarged with age and local (gastric) antigenic stimulation. Significant (P < 0.05) expansion of the gastric-MALT occurred in H. pylori-infected gnotobiotic piglets. These distinct morphologic features and location in the cardia suggest that lymphoid elements in the gastric-MALT are involved in gastric antigen processing and regional lymphoid maturation, differentiation and proliferation in the stomach.
Because anticancer drugs are cytotoxic for normal as well as neoplastic cells, the range of unwanted effects that accompanies their use is broad. Many of the side effects are potentially life-threatening or seriously debilitating. Many are similar to, and readily confused with, direct or indirect (paraneoplastic) consequences of the cancer itself. Recognition of drug side effects is vital for optimal patient care, because early withdrawal of the offending agent and institution of appropriate treatment have the potential to significantly reduce the overall morbidity and mortality associated with the diagnosis of cancer.
1. Support of key decision makers is critical to the successful implementation of a corporate wellness program. Therefore, the program implementation plan must be communicated in a format and language readily understood by business people. 2. A business approach to corporate wellness program planning provides a standardized way to communicate the implementation plan. 3. A business approach incorporates the program planning components in a format that ranges from general to specific. This approach allows for flexibility and responsiveness to changes in program planning. 4. Components of the business approach are the executive summary, purpose, background, ground rules, approach, requirements, scope of work, schedule, and financials.
Seventy-one neuropathic ulcers of the foot in sixty-six patients were treated with the use of a total-contact cast. The ulcers had been present for an average of five months (range, one to twenty-nine months) and were graded according to the Wagner classification; only patients who had grade-I or grade-II lesions were treated with a total-contact cast. The diameter of the ulcer averaged 3.5 centimeters (range, 1.5 to 15.5 centimeters). Sixty-four (90 per cent) of seventy-one ulcers were healed at a mean of five and one-half weeks (range, one to fourteen weeks). A deep infection developed in two patients during treatment. Twenty-two ulcers (31 per cent) recurred within eighteen months after initial healing; nineteen (86 per cent) of them healed after an average of two weeks in a second cast. Recurrent ulceration was usually associated with an underlying fixed deformity or osseous prominence. The total-contact cast provided safe, reliable, and cost-effective treatment for patients who had neuropathic ulcers of the foot.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
Explore the source record for details and available documents.
A group of 50 patients with inhalant sensitivity to the house dust mite (D. pteronyssinus) was selected on a basis of positive history and prick tests or raised total IgE estimation together with positive nasal challenge. D. pteronyssinus was the sole or major allergen for each patient. Prior to the trial, a wider group of patients was given domestic dust avoidance regimens to follow, which produced an adequate symptomatic response in 36.8% of cases. The non-responders to this procedure were offered hyposensitization using standard aluminium adsorbed extracts, together with maintenance therapy, for a total of 12 months, and 89% of them made a good response. The study group in this trial was thus drawn from 7.69% of total attenders, who had failed on all previous treatments. This group was then given a course of an aluminium adsorbed extract ('Norisen', Merck) in a dosage which attained 10,000 PNU on the final dose, and maintenance therapy was given at this level. Thirty-eight (77.5%) of the 49 patients completing the course of treatment showed an excellent or good response and 74% experienced no side-effects. Side-effects which were reported were of similar incidence and severity to those noted on previous allergen treatments. It is suggested, therefore, that higher dosages of extract than that previously recommended should be used in D. pteronyssinus hyposensitivity therapy whenever the diagnosis is well established and there has been an inadequate response to standard measures.