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Biomedical subjects

M A Wall

Publications and source records attributed to M A Wall.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Lung function in children with sickle cell anemia.

Lung volumes and expiratory flows were measured in 12 children with sickle cell anemia and 12 height-matched black control subjects. Diffusing capacity of the lung for CO, pulmonary capillary blood volume, the membrane component of diffusing capacity, arterial blood gases on breathing room air and 100 per cent O2 were measured in the subjects with sickle cell anemia. The lung volumes and expiratory flows of subjects with sickle cell anemia were no different from those of the control subjects. Diffusing capacity for CO was maintined in the noraml range despite the severe anemia by increases in pulmonary capillary blood volume and the membrane component of diffusing capacity. All subjects with sickle cell anemia had mild hypoxemia and abnormal increases in calculated shunt. Pulmonary function in children with sickle cell anemia appears to be determined by their race and anemia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Lung function in adolescents receiving high-dose methotrexate.

Methotrexate (MTX) has been implicated as a cause of interstitial pneumonitis and/or fibrosis, but the mechanism by which the drug causes these processes is not known. The purpose of this study was to determine whether patients receiving high-dose MTX developed a consistent decrease in pulmonary function, which would implicate a role for total dose of MTX received in the pathogenesis of the lung toxicity. Pulmonary function studies, including spirometry, plethysmography, and diffusing capacity at two levels of alveolar PO2, were performed in 38 adolescents treated for osteogenic sarcoma. The patients were divided into three groups including 12 patients (group 1) studied before and during therapy, 15 patients (group 2) studied during therapy, and 11 patients (group 3) studied after completion of treatment. While total dose received at the time of the study varied from 0 to 256 gm/sq m, pulmonary function showed no change, with one exception. A mild restrictive defect and decrease in diffusing capacity due to unilateral pleural and diaphragmatic disease, whose relationship to MTX therapy is uncertain, developed in one patient. MTX, when administered in high dose to young patients by the described protocol, causes no dose-related decrease in pulmonary function.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Implementation of "Open Airways" as an educational intervention for children with asthma in an HMO.

This article describes the adaptation and implementation of an existing pediatric asthma-management educational program, Open Airways, for members of a large group practice health maintenance organization. Seventy-four children ages 4 to 14 years and their families were randomized into one of seven class cohorts as part of a larger study of pediatric asthma management. The Open Airways program was modified to increase the emphasis on behavioral change and medication information and to reflect the different sociodemographic makeup of the population, compared with that for which the program was developed. Of the 74 families, 62 attended at least one class, and 47 of these attended five or more classes. Evaluations after classes suggest an increase in parental confidence in managing their child's asthma and an earlier use of medications. Health care providers may be able to adapt similar programs for successful use with their populations.

Adolescent↗