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M Doering

Publications and source records attributed to M Doering.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Apolipoprotein E polymorphism and response to electroconvulsive therapy.

The aim of this study was to determine whether the apolipoprotein E genotype differs in patients who respond or do not respond to electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Inpatients, out-patients, and day-treatment patients who had received ECT comprised the study group. The 34 patients included met DSM-III-R criteria for affective or schizoaffective disorder. Responder or nonresponder status was assessed using the Clinical Global Inventory and Montgomery Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Blood samples were taken and coded when the patients entered the study. DNA extraction and apolipoprotein E genotyping were performed with no knowledge of the clinical classification of the patients. A significant difference in E4 genotype distribution was found between ECT responders and nonresponders (p < 0.02); psychosis was significantly less frequent in this group (p = 0.046), and there was a trend toward older onset of depression among these persons (p = 0.10). Only the E3/3 genotype was found in the patients with early-onset depression. The E4 genotype appears to define a subgroup of patients with late-onset depression who respond to ECT. If confirmed in prospective studies, this may provide a useful marker in the treatment decision-making process for late-onset depression.

Adolescent↗

Planned reoperation for generalized intraabdominal infection.

Intraabdominal infection remains a common cause of death in surgical patients. Progress in this area with improved survival rates is difficult to demonstrate despite the use of antibiotics, nutritional support, and aggressive maintenance of function of failed organs. This report documents our experience with planned reoperation to cleanse the abdominal cavity in 77 patients with generalized intraabdominal infection. In 34 of the patients, reoperation to cleanse the abdominal cavity was performed every 24 to 48 hours after the first operation until the abdominal cavity was judged to be clean. Forty-three patients underwent a single operation for intraabdominal contamination and were treated expectantly, only undergoing reoperation for signs of recurrent infection. In all patients, the hole in the intestinal tract was controlled primarily by stoma formation at the initial operation to treat intraabdominal infection. Patients with appendiceal disease were excluded. The severity of illness in the two patient groups was compared by a modified acute physiologic score. Planned reoperation was not associated with improvement in survival when compared with patients managed expectantly. Patients managed by planned reoperation had significantly more laparotomies than patients managed expectantly without improving survival. The results of this study disclosed that empiric reoperation to clean the abdominal cavity in patients with generalized intraabdominal infection produced no improvement in survival when compared with observation and reoperation when indicated.

Abdomen↗