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Biomedical subjects

S H Pedersen

Publications and source records attributed to S H Pedersen.

25 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Failure of orthoclone OKT3 retreatment in a pancreas transplant recipient with antimurine antibodies.

Orthoclone OKT3 is a murine monoclonal antibody that blocks the generation and function of T lymphocytes. It has been shown to be effective in reversing acute cellular rejection in solid organ transplants. However, potential development of antimurine antibodies restricts the duration that the drug can be used and the ability to reuse the drug. The case reported in this article illustrates the failure of retreatment with OKT3 when high titer (1:3200) antimurine antibodies are present. Lack of efficacy of the drug was documented by virtually undetectable circulating OKT3 levels in plasma, no decrease in T3 lymphocytes, and organ rejection. OKT3 should only be reused when immune monitoring (antimurine antibody status, lymphocyte subsets, and OKT3 plasma levels) is performed before, during, and after its use. Patients with high-titer anti-OKT3 antibody should not be retreated with OKT3.

Adult↗

Prevalence of hormone replacement therapy in a sample of middle-aged women.

A survey based on a postal questionnaire sent to a random sample of Danish women aged 40-59 yr living on the island of Fünen (n = 401, response rate = 79%) revealed that the overall prevalence of the use of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) was 16%, the highest rate being in the 50-54 age group (21%). Among post-menopausal women the rate was 21% and it was highest of all (37%) in those who had undergone an artificial menopause. The median age at the start of treatment was 44.3 yr among the artificial menopause and 48.9 yr among the natural menopause subjects. About half of the women were treated with natural oestrogen alone and over a third with cyclic natural oestrogen in combination with progestogens. Almost one-third of the women had consulted their doctor about climacteric complaints and two-thirds of these were current or past users of HRT. The women had ambiguous feelings towards HRT, approximately one third reporting a positive and one-third a negative attitude.

Attitude↗

Case fatality of meningococcal disease in western Norway.

In the period 1976-84, 211 patients hospitalized with meningococcal disease were examined for possible relation between various epidemiological parameters and fatality. The peak incidences were in the age groups 0-4 and 13-18 years, with teenage girls peaking 2 years ahead of the boys. The overall case fatality rate was 8.5%. In septicemic patients (without meningitis) hypotension and/or ecchymoses on admission correlated strongly with a poor prognosis. Most deaths occurred during the months of March and November, and none during the summer months. There was a significant clustering of deaths among patients admitted during the morning hours, probably due to delayed diagnosis and treatment during the night. Since almost all patients who died had skin bleedings on admission, frequent examination of the skin in cases with acute unexplained fever might have saved lives.

Adolescent↗