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Biomedical subjects

S A Wilchins

Publications and source records attributed to S A Wilchins.

7 recordsLinked to original sources

Heterogeneous distribution of serum prolactin values in apparently healthy young women, and the effects of oral contraceptive medication.

Controversy over effects of oral contraceptives (OCs) on serum prolactin (PRL) levels from retrospective studies suggested performing a prospective study. Statistical analyses of PRL levels in 552 reproductive-age, nonmedicated women indicated a provisionally lognormal distribution of values less than 15 ng/ml, contaminated by a small number of abnormally high values less than or equal to 90 mg/ml. Truncated samples were used to estimate a "normal range" of PRL levels for three subsets of the study sample, classified according to number of weeks after pregnancy. Fifty-microgram estrogen-containing OCs doubled basal PRL levels at 5 to 8 weeks in those whose initial control values fell below 15 ng/ml, but the PRL elevation was no longer evident at 6 months of drug use. These OCs induced a small but significant lowering of PRL at 5 to 8 weeks in those with control levels of 15 ng/ml or higher. Thirty-five-microgram estrogen-containing OCs failed to alter PRL levels at 5 to 8 weeks in those with control values less than 15 ng/ml.

Age Factors↗

A model for thermal monitoring in cryosurgery.

A biological model was designed to test the feasibility of making cryosurgical measurements and to determine if the measurements coincided with a theoretical mathematical model. The object of these studies was to convert cryosurgery from a qualitative to a quantitative therapeutic modality.

Animals↗

Routine pregnancy test on admission to hospital.

A pregnancy test should be done routinely on all women of childbearing age upon their admission to any hospital. Some women do not suspect that they are pregnant and some conceal the fact; therefore many pregnancies are interrupted or aborted by procedures contraindicated in pregnancy. A questionnaire was sent to all hospitals of 200 beds or more in the United States and the replies were tabulated. Many do not routinely test for pregnancy.

Adolescent↗

Ill patient with unknown or hidden pregnancy.

Many pregnancies are inadvertently interrupted because diagnostic and therapeutic procedures that are potentially teratogenic are unwittingly instituted. To prevent this ever-present possibility, it is essential that the family physician as well as the hospital's admitting physician know for certain whether a patient in her childbearing years is pregnant. The simple direct question "Are you pregnant?" unfortunately does not always elicit a reliable answer. The patient may not know that she is pregnant, a common occurrence in early pregnancy, or for any of a number of reasons she may choose to conceal her pregnancy. A pregnancy test thus becomes an important diagnostic tool in the armamentarium of every conscientious physician. It should be given routinely to all women of childbearing age before instituting extensive diagnostic x-ray studies, radiation therapy, or chemotherapy that may be contraindicated in pregnancy. Because most contraindicated procedures are performed in a hospital, it is suggested that a pregnancy test on urine be made mandatory on a woman's admission to a hospital.

Adult↗