Biomedical subjects

N Victor

Publications and source records attributed to N Victor.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1991

Toxic epidermal necrolysis and Stevens-Johnson syndrome. An epidemiologic study from West Germany.

Little work has been carried out on the epidemiology of the two serious skin reactions--toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) and Stevens-Johnson syndrome (SJS). We collected details of all the hospitalized cases of TEN and SJS in the Federal Republic of Germany for the years 1981 through 1985 inclusive. Inquiries by telephone, letter, and personal visits produced an overall response of 91%; 259 cases of TEN and 315 cases of SJS were identified. From these data, we were able to calculate an overall annual risk of 0.93 and 1.1 per million for TEN and SJS, respectively. The average age group was higher for TEN (63 years) than for SJS (25 years). Women are markedly more at risk for TEN in the ratio of 2:1, these figures being reversed for SJS. The mortality was 34% (87/259) for TEN and only 1% (2/315) for SJS. An association with previous medication defined as "definite, probable, possible" could be established for 89% of cases of TEN and 54% of cases of SJS. The drugs most commonly involved were antibiotics (TEN, 40%; SJS, 34%), followed by the analgesics (TEN, 23%; SJS, 33%). As with the drug groups, the incidences being based on the defined daily doses, were high for sulfonamides, beta-lactam antibiotics, and some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

Adult↗

PubMed1989

[Suspected acute coronary events in emergency room patients].

Identification of patients in whom chest pain is due to an acute coronary event is among the most challenging problems in emergency medicine. Because of the dangers of missing the diagnosis in patients with a possibly fatal condition, emergency room (ER) physicians often admit patients for 'observation' or 'to rule out MI.' As a result of such a policy, only 30-50% of such patients admitted to the CCU may finally be diagnosed as having an acute myocardial infarction (AMI), resulting in deleterious medical, psychological and economic consequences for the others. A series of 2280 patients who were referred to the ER was followed for 2 weeks. 1362 (59.7%) of those admitted were discharged; 16.1% were hospitalized in the CCU and 83.9% in medical wards. 95 (64.6%) of those hospitalized in the CCU and 97 (12.7%) of those admitted to medical wards had an AMI. The proportion of cases in which hospitalization was unnecessary was 10.2% in the CCU and 29.8% in the medical wards. Unjustified discharges from the ER were 4.3% of referrals. These data are similar to those reported from the USA and from our first study in 1969. It is hoped that by using a triage algorithm in the ER, differentiation between chest pain due to coronary heart disease and that due to other causes will be more accurate and therefore the demand on scarce resources due to unnecessary admissions will be substantially reduced.

Acute Disease↗

PubMed1989

The role of biometry in the training of medical informaticians.

Medical informatics and medical biometry, as well as the medical biometrician's and medical informatician's fields of activity, overlap significantly. The affinity between the two disciplines can be illustrated by a comparison of the definitions of both disciplines, by examples of research projects for which the application of methods from both fields is necessary in order to complete the project successfully, and by an analysis of the professional fields of medical informatics graduates working in their occupation. Therefore, a stronger integration of both disciplines is advocated.

Biometry↗

PubMed1987

Alternating versus sequential chemotherapy in small cell lung cancer. A randomized German multicenter trial.

A total of 306 patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC) were randomized to receive chemotherapy in a sequential or alternating mode. Sequential chemotherapy consisted of eight cycles of cyclophosphamide, Adriamycin (doxorubicin), and vincristine (CAV) and alternating chemotherapy consisted of three cycles (1, 3, 5) of etoposide, vindesine, and ifosfamide (EVI); three cycles (2, 4, 6) of cisplatin, Adriamycin, and vincristine (PAV); and two cycles (7, 8) of cyclophosphamide, methotrexate, and CCNU (CMC). Responsive patients received prophylactic cranial irradiation after three cycles and chest irradiation after eight cycles of chemotherapy. No maintenance therapy was applied to patients achieving complete remission. Minimum follow-up was 2 years. Of the 302 patients evaluable, overall response rate was 59% in the sequential arm and 70% in the alternating arm. Patients treated with CAV had a complete response rate of 21% in contrast to 36% for those receiving alternating therapy. The median survival for all patients was 9.8 versus 11.3 months, for limited disease 11.1 versus 13.4 months, and for extensive disease 8.9 versus 9.9 months, all in favor of the alternating treatment. Two-year survival rate for all patients was 6% versus 9%, for limited disease 11% versus 14%, and for extensive disease 3% versus 6%, all preferring the alternating treatment mode. Progression-free survival demonstrated a strong correlation to the extent of response irrespective of the treatment regimen applied. Toxicity included 11 lethal and 8 life-threatening complications with a higher frequency in the alternating treatment arm. These results suggest that alternating treatment of SCLC with different drug combinations is more effective than sequential application of CAV.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

PubMed1987

Risk-benefit analyses of drugs: fundamental considerations and requirements from the point of view of the biometrician. Problems in the assessment of the combination of trimethoprim with sulfamethoxazole.

Risk-benefit analyses are a prerequisite for a rational decision about therapies, e.g. drugs. Ingredients of a risk-benefit analysis are: 1. quality and quantity of the benefit; 2. quality and quantity of the harm; 3. benefit and harm of the natural history of the disease; 4. benefit and harm of therapeutic alternatives; 5. commensurability of harm and benefit; 6. consideration of all types of adverse drug reactions together. The available evidence was not suitable for a sound risk-benefit analysis of the use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole. However, there seems to be enough evidence to restrict the use of trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole in diseases with a benign prognosis and/or when there are therapeutic alternatives with a smaller risk/benefit ratio. Reliable rules for risk-benefit analyses have to be developed and the necessary information has to be gained also in methodologically sound phase IV research.

Adult↗

PubMed1987

The prognostic value of response to the first cycle of chemotherapy in small cell lung cancer. Results of a multicenter German trial.

The prognostic significance of evaluation of response according to chest X-ray after only one cycle of treatment was investigated in patients with small cell lung cancer (SCLC). Three hundred and six patients entered a multicenter randomized German trial testing alternating vs. sequential chemotherapy. Decrease of tumor size after the first cycle was seen to be 78% in the alternating group and 70% in the sequential group. Stable disease occurred in 25% of the sequentially treated and 19% of the alternatingly treated patients. No substantial differences in pretreatment characteristics were noticed between patients with stable disease in sequential and alternating treatment. In sequential therapy, median survival was 323 days for patients with decrease of tumor size after the first cycle and 219 days for patients with no change. Only five out of 21 patients with no change after one cycle responded to continuous administration of this regimen including one complete remission. In alternating therapy, median survival was 347 days for patients with decrease in tumor size after the first cycle and 378 days for patients with no change indicating no difference in prognosis. Twelve out of 18 patients with no change responded to continuous administration of alternating treatment including six complete remissions. We concluded that response to the first cycle according to chest X-ray is a reliable and prognostically valid response criterion if sequential therapy is used. In this treatment modality no change in tumor size after the first cycle indicates poor prognosis, and improvement of the patients' outcome may be achieved by a switch to a second non-cross resistant drug combination.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

PubMed1987