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Biomedical subjects

R J McConnell

Publications and source records attributed to R J McConnell.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1992

Abnormal thyroid function test results in patients taking salsalate.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate how the nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agent salsalate affects the results of routine thyroid function tests. DESIGN: In a cohort of patients taking salsalate for various rheumatic conditions, thyroid function tests were performed with patients on and off the drug. SETTING: Primary care of ambulatory patients in a university medical center. PATIENTS: A convenience sample of 14 euthyroid subjects, none of whom was taking thyroid hormone or other medication recognized to alter thyroid function. INTERVENTION: Treatment with therapeutic doses of salsalate for a mean period of 44 weeks. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum levels of thyroxine (T4), free T4, thyroid hormone binding ratio, free T4 index (the product of T4 and the thyroid hormone binding ratio), triiodothyronine, and thyrotropin. RESULTS: Serum T4 dropped from a mean baseline level of 96.7 nmol/L off salsalate to 53.4 nmol/L on it (P less than .001), and the free T4 index showed a parallel decline from 85.9 to 50.4 (P less than .001), with both values falling into the hypothyroid range. Similarly, free T4 levels and total triiodothyronine concentrations were low in several patients treated with salsalate. Serum thyrotropin levels declined transiently, falling from a mean of 3.2 to 1.7 mU/L (P less than .02) in patients treated for less than 3 weeks. Patients treated for longer periods had levels comparable to baseline. Despite these changes in the thyroid function test results, all subjects remained clinically euthyroid. CONCLUSION: Salsalate commonly produces abnormalities in routine thyroid function test results similar to those found in central hypothyroidism.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Increased urinary riboflavin excretion resulting from boric acid ingestion.

The urinary excretion of riboflavin (vitamin B2) was determined in 14 patients, both children and adults, after the ingestion of boric acid. These patients reported to the New York City Poison Control Center during a 2 1/2 year period. Riboflavin was determined by a modification of a previously described method which is based upon competitive protein binding. Boric acid ingestion was associated with greatly increased urinary riboflavin excretion in approximately two thirds of the patients. Most of the riboflavin appeared to be excreted within the first 24 hr after ingestion of boric acid. These data provide evidence of a previously unrecognized hazard of boric acid ingestion in patients.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1975

Defects of taste and smell in patients with hypothyroidism.

Taste and smell functions were measured in 18 unselected patients with untreated primary hypothyroidism, and in 15 of the 18 patients after treatment with thyroid hormones. Before treatment, 9 of the 18 patients (50 per cent) were aware of some alteration in their sense of taste, and 7 of the 18 patients (39 per cent) were aware of some alteration in their sense of smell. Distoritions of tase (dysgeusia) and smell (dysosmia) were frequent complaints among the untreated patients; dysgeusia was observed by 7 patients (39 per cent) and dysosmia by 3 patients (17 per cent). Median detection and recognition thresholds for four taste stimuli salt (sodium chloride), sweet (sucrose), sour (hydrochloric acid) and bitter (urea), and for two smell stimuli (pyridine and nitrobenzene), were determined in each patient before and after treatment with thyroid hormones. Before treatment, decreased taste acuity (hypogeusia) for at least one stimulus was observed in 14 of the patients (83 per cent); the most common abnormalities were in the detection and recognition of bitter stimuli. Median detection thresholds for both smell stimuli were also markedly elevated (hyposmia) before therapy. Treatment with throid hormones largely reversed both the taste and smell defects. In one patient, taste and smell abnormalities were completely corrected after 16 days of treatment with thyroxine. This study indicates that taste and smell defects are common clinical abnormalities in primary hypothyroidism, and suggests that these defects may contribute to the anorexia and lack of interest in eating which are frequently observed.

Adult↗