PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Cummins

Publications and source records attributed to M Cummins.

28 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1979

Infants of very low birthweight. A 15-year analysis.

357 babies weighing 501--1500 g were born alive at Hammersmith Hospital in 1961--75. 58.5% died in the neonatal period and 1.4% at 4--25 months of age. 1.4% of the total are untraced, 5.3% have major handicap, 5.6% have minor handicap, and 27.8% are apparently normal. There was no significant improvement in neonatal mortality in three 5-year periods, 1961--65, 1966--70, and 1971--75, except that more small-for-gestational-age babies survived in the last period than in the first. More of these babies survived than did babies whose birthweight was appropriate for gestational age. There was no significant improvement in the proportion of handicapped children among the very-low-weight liveborn babies throughout the 15-year period, despite increasing complexity of care.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Vertical transmission of hepatitis B surface antigen in carrier mothers in two west London hospitals.

126 children of 102 hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) carrier mothers were delivered at Hammersmith Hospital and Queen Charlotte's Maternity Hospital, between 1971 and mid-1978. Blood tests on 110 of these children showed that 8 out of the 18 with Chinese mothers, but only 6 out of the 92 other children, have become HBsAg positive. The presence of maternal hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg) is also significantly correlated with transmission of HBsAg to the children. The management of children whose mothers are carriers is discussed.

Carrier State↗
PubMed1979

Cytohormonal patterns in mature and pre-term babies.

Comparison of cytohormonal patterns in full-term and pre-term babies of both sexes showed significant differences. At birth, irrespective of gestational age, both groups had high oestrogen levels, reflecting the maternal hormonal environment, but whereas the mature neonates were capable of metabolising and excreting the excess hormone within the first week of life, the pre-term infants took much longer to do so. It is thought that immaturity or impairment of liver function is at least partially responsible for this finding.

Cell Count↗
PubMed1978

Simplified management of pregnancy complicated by diabetes.

Simple methods for the management of pregnancy complicated by diabetes are described. Emphasis was placed on keeping patients out of hospital, good control of diabetes and vaginal delivery at 38 weeks: using these methods, there were nine perinatal deaths in a consecutive series of 101 pregnancies complicated by diabetes. Four of the perinatal deaths were due to the respiratory distress syndrome. The patients whose diabetes was diagnosed during pregnancy had significantly heavier babies (18 pregnancies, mean birth weight 3337 g) than the established diabetics (83 pregnancies, mean weight 3011 g) despite significantly lower fasting blood glucose levels in the former and similar mean gestational ages at delivery. Mean fasting blood glucose levels for the whole series during the first, second and third trimesters were 9.0, 6.7 and 5.6 mmol/l respectively. The mean duration of antenatal stay in hospital for complications related to diabetes was 29 days. Diabetic retinopathy did not seem to be adversely affected by pregnancy.

Birth Weight↗
PubMed1977

Hepatitis B antigen-positive obstetric patients.

In a period of six years (1971--77) 9400 sera taken at booking from antenatal patients were examined for hepatitis B antigen (HBsAg), and 40 patients were positive. These 40 patients had 45 pregnancies and were treated with special precautions so far as venepuncture and the management of delivery were concerned. No member of the hospital staff dealing with the patients developed hepatitis B. All infants born to these mothers were normal, two infants were HBsAg-positive at 7 months and 2 years, but are clinically well. No obstetric problems attributable to the HBsAg-positive state were encountered.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

The relationship between overdrive suppression and overdrive excitation in ventricular pacemakers in dogs.

We studied the excitatory and inhibitory effects of overdrive on idioventricular pacemakers in anesthetized dogs with recently induced complete atrioventricular block. The following results were obtained: (1) a slow driving rate may induce a temporary rhythm which may be reinstituted with additional stimuli; (2) the induced rhythm may appear as coupled extrasystoles which, on interruption of the drive, are found to be self-sustaining; (3) during continued slow driving, extrasystoles may appear and disappear in a cyclical manner; (4) a short period of fast driving may be followed by a fast new rhythm, the rate and duration of which are a function of the rate and duration of drive; (5) fast driving may induce a new rhythm at a rate below predrive control; (6) after a long period fast driving, only suppression follows; and (7) intermittent periods of fast driving lead to a summation of inhibition with each successive period. These results suggest the following conclusions: (1) under certain conditions, electrical driving instead of inducing suppression may induce a rhythm ("overdrive excitation") at a rate similar to, faster then, or slower ("inhibited excitation") than control; (2) the duration of diastole and the number of driven beats are major factors in the induction of new rhythms; and (3) overdrive excitation is counteracted by overdrive inhibition, with development of the former requiring fewer beats than the latter.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Clinical variance in assessing risk of pressure ulcer development.

Nurses working in one area health service (AHS) in Sydney, Australia, expressed concern about the development of pressure ulcers in hospitalized patients. Anecdotal evidence suggested that a variety of approaches were being used to assess patients to identify those at risk of pressure ulcer development. A questionnaire was distributed to all registered nurses (n = 2113) in clinical settings within the AHS. Data were analysed using frequency distribution. The response rate was 40% (n = 850), of which 444 were useable. Nurses generally do not use a tool to assess pressure ulcer risk potential, but rely on a range of practice procedures and risk indicators. It is recommended that a pressure ulcer project group be established to evaluate existing tools or, if necessary, develop a tool for the assessment of patients to identify those at risk of developing pressure ulcers.

Health Care Surveys↗