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Biomedical subjects

R D Hamstra

Publications and source records attributed to R D Hamstra.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

The effect of intravenous safflower oil emulsion on the clotting mechanism.

A new fat emulsion for intravenous use, derived from safflower oil (Abbott Laboratories), was studied. The clotting mechanism was compared with a battery of tests performed during the infusion of total parenteral nutrition (TPN) using glucose alone and during infusion of TPN using both glucose and fat. Five adult surgical patients underwent TPN with 7.0 per cent amino acid solution for ten days, receiving glucose as their only nonprotein calorie source on days one, two, nine, and ten (40 kcal/kg/day). On days three through eight, 10 per cent fat emulsion (600-900 ml/day) was given each day to provide one-third of the nonprotein calories. Simplate bleeding time, prothrombin time, activated partial thromboplastin time, fibrinogen (Biuret method), platelet count, platelet aggregation, serum functional antithrombin, and viscoelastic curves were measured on days one, three, six, and ten. Some of these studies were abnormal at baseline and during the study. No significant changes were seen with fat emulsion infusion. The patients did not exhibit any evidence of clinical bleeding. This new intravenous fat emulsion did not appear to be associated with alterations in the clotting mechanism. However, two of five patients showed increases in serum triglycerides and one patient died during the study.

Adult↗

Acute alcohol ingestion and platelet function.

A substantial number of severely injured patients are under the influence of alcohol, making it important to understand the effects of acute alcoholic intoxication on the clotting mechanism. Twenty healthy volunteers ingested commercial liquor over a four-hour period and were observed for another three hours. Peak blood alcohol levels were above 200 mg/dL in four subjects and between 100 and 200 mg/dL in 12. Platelet counts, platelet aggregation, and bleeding times were not significantly altered over the seven hours. This study demonstrates that acute alcoholic intoxication in healthy persons does not alter platelet function.

Adult↗

Intravenous iron dextran in clinical medicine.

Four hundred seventy-one adult patients and ten adult prisoner volunteers received 2,099 intravenous (IV) injections of iron dextran (Imferon), usually 250 to 500 mg at less than 100 mg/min. Intravenous iron supplies enough iron to permit RBC formation greater than 50 mL/day and repletion of tissue iron. Tissue iron did not always supply iron at an optimal rate. Hemoglobin production was higher after IV than oral or intramuscular iron if the hemoglobin level was less than 9 g/dL. Three life-threatening immediate anaphylactoid and eight severe delayed reactions were observed. There were no deaths. Delayed reactions were more frequent in women and collagen-vascular diseases and less frequent in pregnancy. Because anaphylactoid reactions are serious and unpredictable, IV iron dextran should be used only when iron deficiency anemia cannot be treated adequately with oral iron.

Administration, Oral↗

Macrocytic anemia, thrombocytosis and nonlobulated megakaryocytes: the 5q-syndrome, a distinct entity.

The clinical, hematologic and histologic characteristics of six patients with refractory anemia with deletion of the long arm of chromosome No. 5 are described. These patients had a distinct hematologic picture with macrocytic anemia of mild to moderate severity, normal to low leukocyte count and increased platelet count. The long arm of chromosome No. 5 was deleted in the majority of bone marrow metaphases. The main cause of anemia was underproduction with decreased erythroid precursors in the bone marrow and no increase in peripheral blood reticulocytes. Two of five patients responded transiently to the administration of androgens. In vitro evaluation of the bone marrow growth pattern in semisolid agar culture system was performed in three patients and was found to be normal and distinct from that in patients with preleukemia. In a follow up of up to five years, no patient had changed hematologically and in none had leukemia developed. The 5q-syndrome is a distinct hematologic entity and probably more common than hitherto realized. This diagnosis may have therapeutic and prognostic implications.

Adult↗

Medical technology education II: Evaluation of a classroom-laboratory program.

Data gathered on the graduates of the first three classes of the University of Colorado medical technology program student classroom-laboratory approach indicate that these graduates are successful medical technologists, although the program is nontraditional. The program includes lecture-laboratory sessions in a student laboratory setting with a shortened clinical education component. Questionnaires to evaluate 11 aspects of work performance were submitted to each graduate's immediate supervisor. Seventy-seven per cent of the evaluations were returned. Ninety per cent of those evaluated were rated as successful technologists (average performance or better). Following 7 to 12 months of job experience, graduates showed no significant change in work performance ratings. Therefore, using a classroom-laboratory setting prior to the clinical component appears to be an effective means of educating medical technologists.

Colorado↗