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Biomedical subjects

S Faye

Publications and source records attributed to S Faye.

9 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1988

A simplified scheme for the investigation of thyroid function in chronic liver disease.

The investigation of thyroid disease in the presence of chronic liver disease (CLD) is difficult. Conventional tests are influenced by chronic illness and abnormal concentrations of binding proteins. A three tier system is normally used; thyroxine (T4), then T3 or TSH and an index for binding proteins. The recently introduced TSH immunoradiometric assays (IRMA) offer the potential of a single test assessment of thyroid function. This was assessed by the measurement of T4, T3, THBC and the free thyroxine indices in subjects with CLD. Conventional tests showed a high number of abnormal T4 values but binding indices were normal. The TSH-IRMA results were all normal. TSH-IRMA assays are rapid, easy to use and cheap. They remove the uncertainties in assessing thyroid function in CLD and may be the test of choice.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

The relationship between theophylline, caffeine and heart rate in neonates.

Plasma theophylline and caffeine levels were measured in neonates receiving aminophylline for apnoea. Significant levels of caffeine were present in neonates with high plasma theophylline levels and particularly in those children who had been on theophylline for 6 days, or more. Caffeine levels in plasma decreased slowly compared to theophylline. Tachycardia did not occur in any infants even at theophylline values greater than 20 mg/L. For theophylline concentrations above 10 mg/L there was no relationship between heart rate and drug level. Heart rate alone cannot be used to predict toxic drug levels, and high drug levels will not necessarily cause tachycardia.

Aminophylline↗
PubMed1986

Rapid measurement of serum water to assess pseudohyponatremia.

Pseudohyponatremia is caused by an increased serum protein or lipid concentration producing a "space-occupying lesion" in serum water. Its presence and magnitude must be assessed in hyponatremic patients with, for example, paraproteinemia or hyperlipemic diabetic coma. In the absence of a direct-reading ion-selective electrode system, a method for measuring the water content of serum is required. We describe two rapid methods for measuring the diffusible water of serum: osmometry before and after dilution and chloride measurement before and after ultrafiltration. Either of these methods allows the true sodium status of a patient's serum to be determined.

Blood Chemical Analysis↗
PubMed1986

Is succinyldicholine the substrate of choice for the measurement of cholinesterase activity?

We have developed a succinyldicholine-based assay for serum cholinesterase (EC 3.1.1.8) to help establish whether patients with suspected sensitivity to drugs of this type have enzyme abnormalities that cannot be detected by conventional laboratory techniques. Although the method discriminates between cholinesterase activities of drug-sensitive and nonsensitive people as well as an assay involving propionylthiocholine does, it has not revealed cholinesterase abnormalities in patients who experienced prolonged apnea after succinyldicholine, in whom no enzyme defect could be demonstrated by other procedures. Of 50 individuals who were apneic for between 20 and 180 min, only one had a cholinesterase activity less than the mean for E1u homozygotes by more than 2.5 SD. We conclude that the number of patients who experience clinical problems due to enzyme abnormalities that at present go unrecognized is small. Consequently, although succinyldicholine might eventually become the substrate of choice for cholinesterase, its advantages over propionylthiocholine are not yet sufficient to encourage its use.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

A comparison of alternative arrangements for an out-of-hours chemical pathology service.

Until 1979, the out-of-hours chemical pathology service was the conventional on-call service in which the medical laboratory scientific officers (MLSOs) carried out analyses at the direct request of clinical staff. In 1980, during an industrial dispute, junior ward doctors were trained to use three simple instruments which are maintained by the chemical pathology department. In January, 1981, when the dispute was settled, the doctors continued to use these instruments. Analyses they could not make were done by the MLSO on call, but only after the requests were monitored by a chemical pathologist or biochemist. The result was an 80% reduction in the number of calls. When the monitoring was withdrawn in 1983, there was some increase in the number of MLSO calls, but this was still 35% less than that with the conventional system despite a 4-fold increase in the total number of analyses done out of hours between 1979 and 1984. Surveys in 1984 and in early 1985 revealed that most doctors preferred using the instruments to asking an MLSO to make the analysis.

Hospital Departments↗