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Biomedical subjects

P Coghlan

Publications and source records attributed to P Coghlan.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1997

Exposure to hepatitis A virus among blood donors, injecting drug users and prison entrants in Victoria.

To assess prevalence of exposure to hepatitis A virus (HAV) among injecting drug users (IDUs) and prison entrants in Victoria, and to compare this with prevalence of HAV among a reference population of blood donors, sera stored from two previous studies and from randomly selected blood donors were tested for total antibody to HAV. The first study was a longitudinal study of field-recruited IDUs from 1990 to 1992 and the second was a study of all prison entrants in 1991-92 (both studies were carried out in Victoria); blood donors were from the Australian Red Cross Blood Bank Victoria in 1995. Forty-five per cent of 2175 prison entrants and 51% of 293 IDUs were seropositive for HAV, compared with 30% of 2995 blood donors. When standardized for age against the blood donors, HAV seropositivity in IDUs was 44% and in prison entrants 60%. The strongest association of HAV seropositivity among the IDUs on multivariate analysis was a history of imprisonment. There are high rates of exposure to HAV among prison entrants, whether with a history of IDU or not, and among IDUs who have a prison history. The role of sharing contaminated injecting equipment in transmission of HAV seems to be less important than institutionalization per se. With adequate resourcing, both populations are appropriate targets for HAV vaccination, especially in a context of continuing decline of transmission of HAV in the general community.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Comparative bioavailability of ferric polymaltose and ferrous sulphate in iron-deficient blood donors.

Absolute iron deficiency is treated by correcting the causative lesion and then, traditionally, administering sufficient amounts of ferrous salt to return the haemoglobin level to normal and replenish body stores. The bioavailability of ferric compounds has been questioned and accordingly their therapeutic role remains controversial. A special problem is posed by regular blood donation, where the frequency of phlebotomy is limited by the haemoglobin level, which, in turn, requires maintenance of an adequate supply of iron from dietary sources. Since this latter situation may not always occur, it would be of practical benefit to have a form of supplementation that is effective and can be taken without side effects. These issues were prospectively examined in a consecutive series of otherwise healthy blood donors who developed absolute iron deficiency anaemia and were then randomly allocated to receive 60 mg of this metal as ferrous sulphate twice a day (Group 1: n = 51), 100 mg as chewable ferric polymaltose daily (Group 2: n = 53), or the latter product twice a day (Group 3: n = 55). Serial studies showed that 80% of patients in Groups 1 and 3 had reached normal haemoglobin levels by 12 weeks, but this figure was only 50% in Group 2. Similarly, the proportion of patients improving their percentage saturation of transferrin to within the normal range was significantly better in Groups 1 and 3 than in Group 2 (P < .01). However, body iron stores, reflected in serum ferritin level, was significantly better in Group 1 (P < .01); there was no difference in this respect between Groups 2 and 3.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Anemia, Hypochromic↗
PubMed1992

Method for the safe and rapid pretransfusion warming of stored blood: an in vitro and in vivo evaluation of a radiofrequency (RF) instrument.

Inadvertent hypothermia due to massive infusion of stored blood can be prevented by pretransfusion warming. One approach is the heating of individual packs by means of electromagnetic conduction, which is a method safely used over the last 25 years. The prototype instrument, which has now been re-engineered, can effectively raise the temperature of a unit of blood to approximately 33 degrees C in less than 3 minutes. Using this new model, we found, in vitro, a modest increase in free plasma haemoglobin, but this was not accompanied by any change in potassium or lactic dehydrogenase levels and the mean red cell fragility was unaltered. In vivo, the survival of autologous red cells that had been stored for 33 days and then infused as a concentrate, having a mean haematocrit of 0.60, was measured at 24 hours and 21 days. Each donor acted as his own control. In paired studies, pretransfusion radiofrequency heating was shown to have no deleterious effect when compared to measurements using the unwarmed blood pack. It is concluded that this method can be recommended as safe.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Testing of saliva for antibodies to HIV-1.

To determine whether saliva is a potentially useful sample for screening for HIV infection when serum is not obtainable, saliva and serum samples from 50 HIV-infected and 50 uninfected subjects were tested for antibody to HIV-1 (anti-HIV-1) using a second-generation enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA; Abbott) and prototype antibody-capture ELISA (Wellcome). Of saliva specimens from HIV-infected people, six gave negative results on the Abbott and one on the Wellcome assays; all specimens from uninfected people were negative by both assays. Sensitivity for the Abbott assay was therefore 88.0% [95% confidence interval (Cl) 76.2-94.4%], an unacceptable level for screening purposes. Sensitivity for the Wellcome assay was 98% (95% Cl 89.5-99.6%), a more satisfactory level for population screening. Further validation of this technique is necessary, and of methods for collection of saliva specimens in particular.

AIDS Serodiagnosis↗