PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Brigden

Publications and source records attributed to M Brigden.

14 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2000

Treating cancer patients. Practical monitoring and management of therapy-related complications.

OBJECTIVE: To review investigation and management of some common long-term complications associated with cancer chemotherapy and radiation therapy. QUALITY OF EVIDENCE: Databases searched using MeSH key words "cancer chemotherapy," "cancer chemotherapy complications," "radiation therapy," and "radiation therapy complications" included Ovid and CANCERLIT. Overall the literature in this area is not strong; treatment guidelines and consensus conferences generally are lacking. Recommendations in this paper are mainly based on the results of individual studies and case reports, as few randomized controlled trials have been performed. Where appropriate, recommendations incorporate results of published treatment guidelines and consensus conferences. MAIN MESSAGE: For most solid tumours, patients should be most frequently monitored during the first 3 years after completing initial treatment for cure. Follow-up monitoring usually incorporates physical examination as well as radiologic and laboratory investigations. Patients should not be lost to follow up once treatment is completed, but monitored regularly, especially while they are at highest risk for disease recurrence. Long-term complications associated with cancer therapy include postsplenectomy sepsis syndrome; central and peripheral nervous system toxicities; ocular complications; thyroid, pituitary, testicular, or ovarian dysfunction; pulmonary toxicity; vascular or lymphatic, gastrointestinal, or osseous complications; genitourinary problems; and possible secondary malignancy. CONCLUSION: Primary care physicians are key to facilitating appropriate follow up of treated cancer patients. To do this, they must be aware of practical aspects of monitoring and management of therapy-related complications.

Antineoplastic Agents↗
PubMed1998

The lack of age as a significant prognostic factor in non-metastatic breast cancer.

AIMS: To determine the prognostic significance of age at diagnosis in women with non-metastatic breast cancer. METHODS: A retrospective review of all newly diagnosed breast cancer in women between 1975 and 1991 was carried out at a tertiary Oncology Referral Centre. Patients were divided into three age groups: < 40 years, 40-50 years and > 50 years. Demographic and management/outcome details were collected from patients with UICC stages I-III. The effect of age on overall and relapse free survival was analysed by standard statistical methods. RESULTS: Of 1289 new cases registered during the study period, 710 (55%) were UICC stages I-III. Of the latter group 250 (35%) women were in the age group of less than 40 years, 237 (33%) were between 40 and 50 years and 223 (32%) were older than 50 years. Women from the younger age group had a higher proportion of breast-conserving surgery, and adjuvant chemo- and radiation therapy, while the proportion of hormone therapy usage was higher in older women. There was no difference in overall survival (P = 0.64) and relapse-free survival (P = 0.53) between the three age groups. CONCLUSION: In this study, age was not a prognostic factor in predicting overall or relapse-free survival in women with breast cancer.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

A cross-Canada survey of prothrombin time testing: Does the establishment of local ISI values improve the accuracy of international normalized ratio reporting? Thrombosis Interest Group of Canada.

The international normalized ratio (INR) was established as a means of standardizing the prothrombin time regardless of the thromboplastin used in the individual laboratories. The INR is the prothrombin time ratio of the sample raised to the power of the International Sensitivity Index (ISI). Traditionally, the ISI is determined by using a manual clotting technique by comparing the test thromboplastin with a World Health Organization international reference thromboplastin with results from 60 patient samples standardized on warfarin, and 20 samples from normal volunteers. Most laboratories no longer perform prothrombin time testing by a manual technique but instead automate the procedure by using a variety of coagulation instruments. Thromboplastin ISI values have the potential to be modified considerably by instrumentation, and as a consequence, they, may result in INRs that are unreliable when compared to those obtained by the traditional manual method. It has been proposed that the use of calibrant plasmas tested with the laboratory's thromboplastin and instrument may overcome this problem and a local ISI value could be established. Our study objective was to determine whether a local ISI calibration with the plasma calibrants could reduce the variation of the INR over a wide range of thromboplastin/ instrument combinations. A total of 58 laboratories from across Canada, including community hospitals, private laboratories, and large tertiary care units, participated. The findings indicate that the use of calibrant plasmas to calculate the local ISI does improve the accuracy of INR reporting in the majority of thromboplastin/instrument combinations.

Autoanalysis↗
PubMed1998

The erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Still a helpful test when used judiciously.

ESR is a time-honored, simple, inexpensive test, but unfortunately it lacks sensitivity and specificity. Clinicians need to be aware of appropriate uses, because any test is expensive when ordered often, and evaluation of false-positive results may incur substantial costs and place the patient at risk from additional procedures. ESR should not be used to screen asymptomatic persons for disease. If an increased ESR is encountered and no explanation is immediately apparent, clinicians should repeat the test in several months rather than pursue an exhaustive search for occult disease. ESR may be useful in establishing a "sickness index" in elderly persons who have nonspecific changes in health status and a moderate probability of underlying disease; in screening for infection in specific settings (e.g., orthopedic surgery, pediatrics, gynecology); in diagnosing and monitoring temporal arteritis, polymyalgia rheumatica, and possibly other rheumatic diseases; in monitoring patients with treated Hodgkin's disease; and in assessing iron deficiency in anemia of chronic disease (when correlated with serum ferritin level). An ESR value exceeding 100 mm/hr has a 90% predictive value for serious underlying disease, most often infection, collagen vascular disease, or metastatic tumor. In asymptomatic persons with a markedly elevated ESR value, a minimal number of tests usually reveal the cause.

Blood Sedimentation↗
PubMed1997

Acetylsalicylic-acid-containing drugs and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs available in Canada.

A large number of drugs containing acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are available by prescription and over the counter in Canada. The possibility of serious side effects and drug interactions is therefore high. The authors have compiled a comprehensive list of products containing these drugs from information supplied by pharmaceutical databases, independent marketing researchers and Health Canada's Drug Directorate. Physicians should ensure that additional ASA-containing drugs or NSAIDs are not inadvertently taken by patients, especially those receiving oral anticoagulant therapy or those with a qualitative platelet defect. Patients at risk should be cautioned to check with their physician before taking any new medication, even over-the-counter products.

Anti-Inflammatory Agents, Non-Steroidal↗
PubMed1997

Eosinophilia detected by automated blood cell counting in ambulatory North American outpatients. Incidence and clinical significance.

OBJECTIVES: To audit a cohort of ambulatory outpatients with eosinophilia detected on automated blood cell counting. Specific objectives included the determination of whether the eosinophilia had been anticipated, the etiology of the eosinophilia, the clinical follow-up and investigations performed on patients with eosinophilia, and the effect of the detection of eosinophilia on patient management and ultimate clinical outcome. DESIGN: A year-long retrospective review of all patients with an absolute eosinophil count of greater than 0.7 x 10(9)/L. SETTING: A large outpatient laboratory system. The patient population was managed by family physicians and specialists. INTERVENTION: Data collection included the results of the hematology profile, the absolute eosinophil count, the clinical situation responsible for the hematologic profile determination, and the probable cause of eosinophilia. Individual physicians were surveyed to determine if discovery of the eosinophilia had changed patient management plan or clinical outcome. PRINCIPAL RESULTS: Out of 195,300 patients who had a hematology profile performed, 225 were found to have an absolute eosinophilia count higher than 0.7 x 10(9)/L. The overall incidence of eosinophilia in the study population was 0.1%. The eosinophilia was not anticipated in 85% of patients. No obvious cause was detected for the eosinophilia in 36% of patients. Various allergic diseases were responsible for the eosinophilia in the majority of the remaining patients. Fewer than 9% of individuals manifested a serious systemic illness or parasitemia. Further clinical follow-up had been performed in 69% of patients. Additional laboratory tests had been ordered in 59% of patients. The laboratory tests most frequently ordered were a repeat hematology profile or stool examinations for ova and parasites. In only two instances did the discovery of the eosinophilia appear to result in a significant change in patient management or ultimate clinical income. CONCLUSION: The vast majority of eosinophilias detected in ambulatory outpatients are associated with allergic processes. An extensive investigation of eosinophilia in ambulatory North American outpatients does not appear to be warranted unless specifically indicated by the results of the history and physical examination.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

INR reporting in Canadian medical laboratories. Thrombosis Interest Group of Canada.

A written survey of all licensed medical laboratories in Canada performing coagulation testing was performed to investigate the level of knowledge and overall usage of the INR system for reporting prothrombin time results in medical laboratories. There was an overall response rate of 857 of 1,228 laboratories surveyed. Fifty-seven percent of responding laboratories utilized some format of INR reporting. The ISI of the individual thromboplastin utilized was known by 89% of laboratories. The ISI of the thromboplastin utilized was known to be specific for the particular reagent/instrument combination in 44% of cases. Fifty-five percent of client physicians preferred PT results to be reported in seconds while 42% desired an INR format. The situation in Canada is similar to the United States in that further education regarding the INR system for PT reporting is required by both medical laboratories and physicians.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1984

Platelet factor-4 excretion in myeloproliferative disease: implications for the aetiology of myelofibrosis.

Experimental evidence suggests that the fibroblastic proliferation often associated with the myeloproliferative disorders is not part of the neoplastic process, but is secondary to an unknown stimulus. This stimulus may be a factor derived from platelets which promotes the proliferation of fibroblasts in vitro (PDGF). Platelet-derived growth factor is localized to platelet alpha-granules together with PF4 and beta-TG. As an indicator of alpha-granule release, we have measured PF4 levels in plasma, platelets and urine in 46 normal subjects and 49 patients with myeloproliferative disorders, secondary thrombocytosis and miscellaneous malignancies. All 11 patients with elevated urinary PF4 excretion exhibited myelofibrosis, whereas 11 of 22 patients with documented myelofibrosis had urinary PF4 excretion in the normal range. No correlation was seen between marrow fibrosis and plasma levels or the platelet content of PF4. The data are consistent with the possibility that release of mitogen(s) from platelet or megakaryocyte alpha-granules in some patients with myeloproliferative disorders is pathogenetically related to the development of marrow fibrosis.

Blood Platelets↗
PubMed1980

Extragenital granuloma inguinale in North Queensland.

Two cases of extragenital granuloma inguinale are presented. A 41-year-old female presented with fever, a swollen knee joint and osteolytic lesions involving distal bones, and a 49-year-old male had multiple faecal fistulae in the lower abdomen with extensive involvement of pelvic organs. The diagnostic difficulties presented by such cases and the various types of extragenital pathology that have been described in this disease are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Fulminating systemic infection caused by Vibrio cholerae species which does not agglutinate with 0-1 V. cholerae antiserum.

A case of fatal septicaemia caused by Vibrio cholerae which did not agglutinate with 0 group 1 V. cholerae antiserum is presented. The illness occurred in a 64-year-old Aboriginal woman from Aurukun Mission in Cape York. The organism was isolated from multiple blood cultures and urine during life, and froma a large hepatic abscess found post mortem. The pathogenicity and epidemiology of the organism is discussed.

Agglutination↗