PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

Renee L Sato

Publications and source records attributed to Renee L Sato.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Antepartum seafood consumption and mercury levels in newborn cord blood.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to determine the level of fetal mercury exposure by measuring mercury levels in newborn cord blood and to analyze the association with fish consumption during pregnancy. STUDY DESIGN: A total of 308 women who met the eligibility criteria were enrolled in the study. Of these, 275 women completed a dietary survey; after delivery, cord blood was collected and analyzed for mercury levels. RESULTS: The mean mercury level in cord blood was 4.82 microg/L; 28.3% of the participants had measured mercury levels above the US Environmental Protection Agency's recommended reference dose (5.8 microg/L). A significant relationship was noted between the amount of fish consumed during pregnancy and rising mercury levels in cord blood. CONCLUSION: In an island state with high levels of fish consumption, women were 3 times more likely to have elevated cord blood mercury levels, compared with the national average.

Adult↗

Efficacy of superactivated charcoal administered late (3 hours) after acetaminophen overdose.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of superactivated charcoal (SAC) given late after a drug overdose. Acetaminophen was chosen as our overdose drug because it has relatively few side effects, serum levels are easily attainable and measurable, and it is generally a common drug overdose. Forty-six healthy adult volunteers participated in this randomized, controlled study. Acetaminophen was administered the morning after an overnight fast. Thirteen participants received 2000 mg acetaminophen and the remaining 33 received 3000 mg. After 3 hours, half of the participants (22 of 46) received 75 g of SAC (Requa, Greenwich, CT) orally as a slurry in 8 oz of apple juice. Serum acetaminophen levels were measured at 4 and 7 hours after the initial acetaminophen administration. There were significantly lower uncorrected and corrected acetaminophen levels in the SAC group compared with the control group at both 4 and 7 hours after ingesting acetaminophen. This randomized human experimental design trial demonstrates some detoxification benefit in administering superactivated charcoal 3 hours after an overdose.

Acetaminophen↗

Minimum clinically significant VAS differences for simultaneous (paired) interval serial pain assessments.

We conducted two studies to determine whether the minimum clinically significant difference in the visual analog scale (VAS) for nearly simultaneous and brief-interval serial assessments of pain is less than that for pain assessment at 20- to 30-minute intervals, using a 10-cm VAS. The first study was a blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled paired trial comparing the pain of intravenous cannulation in both hands (20-minute application of a eutectic mixture of local anesthetics v placebo) of study subjects. The second study was a non-blinded, randomized, paired trial of different treatments for jellyfish stings. In the first study, 37 of 40 subjects indicated that one hand experienced more pain than the other. Eleven of these 37 subjects (30%) indicated differences in VAS values of 1.0 cm or less, with a minimum value of 0.5 cm. In the second study, for all the VAS-based pain comparisons, VAS differences of <or=0.5 cm (other than zero) occurred 183 times, and in 171 of these instances (93%) subjects were able to recognize that there was a difference. On the basis of these findings, the minimum clinically significant VAS difference for paired comparisons that are simultaneous or occur within 5 minutes of each other is about 0.5 cm or less. This value is less than the 1.3-cm value determined for serial 20- to 30-minute pain comparisons. It is likely that other types of pain comparisons may have different minimum clinically significant VAS differences.

Administration, Topical↗

Acetaminophen levels 4 and 7 hours after 2000 and 3000 mg single doses in healthy adults.

PURPOSE: Therapeutic acetaminophen levels are not achieved at currently recommended doses. The purpose of this study is to determine acetaminophen levels in healthy adults after taking a single dose well in excess of the recommended dose. METHODS: 24 healthy adults received single 2 or 3 gram acetaminophen doses. Serum acetaminophen levels were drawn at 4 and 7 hours after the dose. RESULTS: The 2 gram doses (6 subjects) ranged from 23 to 40 mg/kg of body weight. The 3 gram single doses (18 subjects) ranged from 38 to 69 mg/kg of body weight. Mean 4-hour acetaminophen levels for 2 and 3 gram doses were 8.8 (SD 3.6, range 3-13) and 21.8 (SD 6.5, range 6-32) mcg/ml, respectively. Mean 7-hour acetaminophen levels for 2 and 3 gram doses were 1.5 (SD 1.4, range 0-3) and 7.7 (SD 4.6, range 0-17) mcg/ml, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Dosing by weight (i.e., mg/kg) appears to provide a more predictable dose-response relationship. Optimal adult dosing appears to be somewhere in the 20 to 30 mg/kg range based on the premise that the 4 hour level is a trough level that should be in the low therapeutic range.

Acetaminophen↗

A randomized paired comparison trial of cutaneous treatments for acute jellyfish (Carybdea alata) stings.

The objective of the study was to compare cutaneous treatments (heat, papain and vinegar) for acute jellyfish (Carybdea alata) stings. Healthy adult volunteer subjects received a single-tentacle jellyfish sting on each forearm. One forearm was treated with hot-water immersion (40-41 degrees C). This was compared with the other forearm, which was randomized to a comparison treatment of papain meat tenderizer or vinegar. Pain was measured at 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 15, and 20 minutes using a 10-cm visual analog scale (VAS). For 25 subject runs, the average VAS scores at t = 0 were 3.6 cm (hot water) and 3.7 cm (comparison treatment). At t = 4 minutes (2 minutes after treatment had started), the differences between hot-water and comparison group VAS scores were 2.1 cm versus 3.2 cm, respectively. The mean difference between hot-water and comparison treatments was 1.1 cm (95% confidence interval, 0.6 to 1.6). At t = 20 minutes (the end of the study period), the differences between hot-water and comparison group VAS scores were 0.2 cm versus 1.8 cm, respectively. The mean difference between hot-water and comparison treatments was 1.6 cm (95% confidence interval, 0.9 to 2.3). This study suggests that the most efficacious initial treatment for C alata jellyfish envenomation is hot-water immersion to the afflicted site.

Acetic Acid↗

Adverse effects of superactivated charcoal administered to healthy volunteers.

OBJECTIVES: Activated charcoal is frequently administered to drug overdose patients, who may experience nausea and vomiting secondary to the drug overdose. Drinking a charcoal slurry orally may be difficult for them necessitating a gastric tube. The purpose of this study is to report the frequency of adverse effects from oral superactivated charcoal (SAC) given to healthy volunteers. METHODS: Healthy adult study subject volunteers were given a single 2000 mg (first 13 subjects) or 3000 mg (remaining 35 subjects) dose of acetaminophen. Subjects were randomized to receive no charcoal (ctrl) or 75 grams of SAC administered orally in a slurry 3 hours following the acetaminophen dose. The adverse effects of both groups were recorded and compared. RESULTS: There were 48 study subject runs. The mean age was 27.4 years (SD6.5). SAC was administered to 24 subjects. Adverse effect rates were as follows (*one-tail p < 0.05): black stool* (SAC 22/ 24, ctrl 0), constipation or abdominal fullness* (SAC 12/24, ctrl 0), nausea* (SAC 5/24, ctrl 0), vomiting (SAC 2/24, ctrl 0), diarrhea (SAC 2/24, ctrl 0), anal irritation (SAC 2/24, ctrl 0), drowsiness/fatigue (SAC 2/24, ctrl 3/24), dizziness/lightheadedness (SAC 0, ctrl 1/24), headache (SAC 4/24, ctrl 0). 7 of 24 SAC subjects and 20 of 24 ctrl subjects experienced no adverse effects at all* (other than black stools for the SAC subjects). Acetaminophen may have been blunted some adverse effects. Two SAC subjects could not finish the charcoal. For the 22 subjects who finished the charcoal, SAC consumption took a mean of 10.9 minutes (SD 11.8, range 1 to 50 minutes). Thirteen subjects finished it in 7 minutes or less. Six subjects took 19 minutes or longer to finish it. The 12 heavier subjects (> 71kg) completed SAC consumption significantly faster than the 12 lighter subjects (18.7 vs 7.8 minutes, p = 0.04, single sided). This comparison included the two subjects (both lighter) who did not finish SAC consumption, so this difference was no longer significant when these two subjects were removed. CONCLUSIONS: Superactivated charcoal consumption is associated with significant adverse effects in some healthy volunteers, which may impede a drug overdose patient's ability to willingly drink charcoal slurry in a reasonable period of time.

Acetaminophen↗