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S Needleman

Publications and source records attributed to S Needleman.

6 recordsLinked to original sources

Sevoflurane and the 885A field anesthesia machine: clinical report.

The Ohmeda 885A field anesthesia machine is equipped with a non-agent-specific, universal vaporizer that can be used with most volatile anesthetic agents. On a recent humanitarian medical mission to Honduras, the 885A was used to administer general anesthesia to 26 patients utilizing sevoflurane, a new inhalational anesthetic with a variety of clinical benefits, including less airway irritability, making it ideal for inhalation inductions. Flow rates for delivery of anesthetic agent were calculated by using the enflurane portion of the Verni-Trol flow calculator wheel, because sevoflurane and enflurane have similar vapor pressures. Calculated anesthetic concentrations were compared with measured concentrations using linear regression analysis and found to have a Pearson product moment of 0.995. We find that the use of sevoflurane in the 885A is an excellent alternative to other inhalational anesthetic agents and may have applications for use during both military conflicts and peacetime missions in remote areas.

Adolescent↗

The effect of naproxen on acute mountain sickness and vascular responses to hypoxia.

The role of prostaglandins in the pathogenesis of acute mountain sickness and two hypoxia-induced vascular responses was evaluated using the cyclooxygenase inhibitor naproxen. Eleven men spent 24 hours at sea level, followed by 34 hours of decompression to 428 mm Hg while receiving naproxen (N), 250 mg twice daily or placebo (P) in a double-blind crossover trial. Serum naproxen levels measured by high pressure liquid chromatography were not changed by hypoxia. The severity of acute mountain sickness (AMS) by the Environmental Symptom Questionnaire scores and observer assessment were unaffected by drug treatment. Retinal artery diameter measured from projected fundus photographs was increased after 27 hours at altitude (11.4 +/- .5 mm) vs. sea level (9.4 +/- .5 mm, p less than 0.05) during both trials. Upright mean arterial pressure fell after 6 hours at altitude (79 +/- 3 mm Hg during N and P vs. 92 +/- 3 at sea level, p less than 0.01). Minute ventilation, end expiratory alveolar PO2 and PCO2 did not differ between drug trials. This study suggests vasodilating prostaglandins do not have a major role in the genesis of AMS, hypoxia-induced retinal vasodilatation, or postural blood pressure responses in man.

Acute Disease↗

Evolution to eosinophilic leukemia with a t(5:11) translocation in a patient with idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome.

The idiopathic hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) comprises a diverse group of diseases that may ultimately lead to multiorgan dysfunction and death. We present a case of a man who was followed for over 9 years with HES that underwent malignant transformation to acute leukemia with eosinophilic features. The patient's clinical acceleration was accompanied by the development of a malignant clone that was identified with banding techniques as 46,XY,t(5:11)(p15;q13). Electron microscopy reaffirmed findings reported in earlier cases of eosinophilic leukemia. At no time during his illness were cytotoxic drugs administered. In addition to delineating the natural evolution and cytostructural details of the case, we emphasize the role of cytogenetics in the predicting of malignant variants of the hypereosinophilic syndrome and in identifying eosinophilic leukemia.

Aged↗