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S Schlesselman

Publications and source records attributed to S Schlesselman.

9 recordsLinked to original sources

The orthogonal electrocardiogram as risk indicator for the prediction of myocardial infarction and/or cardiac death.

In a prospective study on Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) orthogonal electrocardiograms (Frank) were recorded annually for ten years from 1,444 asymptomatic, middle-aged males with a mean age of 57.4 +/- 10.6 years. Cases with overt or suspected CHD were excluded. The purpose of the study was to identify risk indicators in electrocardiograms and to compare them with other known risk factors used for prediction of acute CHD events such as myocardial infarction (MI) and/or cardiac death (CD). Such acute events occurred in 88 cases. Pre-event ECGs of these acute events were compared with all others without events, using logistic regression analysis. Identified ECG risk indicators were then compared with other known risk factors such as smoking, blood pressure, cholesterol, age, weight, etc. The predictive power of the ECG, derived mainly from the ST-T complex, exceeded all others by a wide margin. The amplitude of the first 1/8 of the ST-T complex in lead x (similar to V5-V6) together with relative body weight proved best when one pre-event record was available. Prediction improved when ECG changes between two pre-event recordings were included. Precision of measurements by computer appeared essential for improvements in CHD prediction.

Adult↗

Penetrating war injuries of the basal forebrain: neurology and cognition.

We compared the neurologic and cognitive performance of 15 young veterans who suffered unilateral penetrating missile wounds to the basal forebrain 15 years ago in the Vietnam War with uninjured controls and patients with lesions elsewhere in the brain. The subjects performed worse on tests of episodic memory, reasoning, and arithmetic and had more prolonged unconsciousness after injury; but their performance usually compared favorably with that of uninjured controls on tests of intelligence, attention, and language and was not consistent with that of a demented patient. The data suggest that the basal forebrain is functionally related to the reticular formation and to the basal forebrain is functionally related to the reticular formation and to the limbic-hippocampal memory system.

Basal Ganglia↗

Phase I/II trial of thymosin fraction 5 and thymosin alpha one in HTLV-III seropositive subjects.

Forty-two male homosexuals and/or hemophiliacs with depressed helper/suppressor T-cell ratios were treated with one of three different doses of thymosin fraction 5 (TF5, 30, 60, and 120 mg), or a single dose of thymosin Alpha One (TA1, 600 micrograms), by daily subcutaneous (SQ) administration for 10 weeks, followed twice weekly for 4 weeks. No major toxicity was noted for any of the preparations tested, although three subjects treated with TF5 had to discontinue therapy because of severe local skin reactions. Of the doses and preparations tested, only 60 mg TF5 was capable of significantly improving (p less than 0.02) mean T-cell lymphoproliferative responses to alloantigens (MLR) for six HTLV-III seropositive subjects who were abnormal prior to therapy. Peripheral blood lymphocytes from subjects treated with 60 mg TF5 also exhibited a transient restoration of mean mitogen-induced interleukin-2 (IL-2) production to normal. No effects were observed with any of the four treatment regimens on absolute helper T-cell numbers, NK activity, antibody titers to HTLV-III, or in the expression of a variety of surrogate markers for acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Four of the six seropositive subjects treated with 60 mg TF5 exhibited a return to depressed baseline MLR, after switching to twice weekly injections. With a median follow-up time of 20 months, six cases of AIDS developed. However, none of the five subjects whose MLR improved following treatment progressed to AIDS. We recommend daily subcutaneous (SQ) administration of 60 mg (40 mg/m2) TF5 for use in combined modality trials, along with drugs capable of suppressing replication of HTLV-III.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗

Exercise radionuclide ventriculographic responses in hypertensive patients with chest pain.

The effectiveness of exercise-treadmill testing in diagnosing coronary-artery disease in hypertensive patients is limited by a high rate of false positivity. Exercise radionuclide ventriculography, however, relies on different criteria (ejection fraction and wall motion), and we have evaluated this procedure in 37 hypertensive and 109 normotensive patients with chest pain, using coronary arteriography as an indicator of coronary disease. In the hypertensive cohort there was no difference in the ejection fraction at rest between the 17 patients with coronary disease and the 20 without it. Neither group had a significant mean (+/- S.E.M.) change in ejection fraction from rest to exercise (-1.9 +/- 2 and - 1.4 +/- 1 per cent, respectively). A wall-motion abnormality developed during exercise in 5 of the 17 hypertensive patients with coronary disease (29 per cent) and in 4 of the 20 without it (20 per cent) (P = not significant). In the normotensive cohort, however, the peak-exercise ejection fractions were significantly different. The 71 patients with coronary disease had a mean decrease of 3.6 +/- 1 per cent, in contrast to the patients without coronary disease, who had an increase of 6 +/- 1 per cent (P less than 0.001). An exercise-induced wall-motion abnormality was seen in 35 of the 71 patients with coronary disease (48 per cent), as compared with 3 of the 38 without it, (8 per cent) (P less than 0.001). We conclude that exercise radionuclide ventriculography is inadequate as a screening test for coronary atherosclerosis in hypertensive patients with chest pain.

Adult↗

Extent of surgery for pelvic inflammatory disease in relation to duration of intrauterine device use.

The risk of a first episode of pelvic inflammatory disease resulting in extensive surgery was examined in relation to duration of intrauterine device (IUD) use in a case-control study. Extensive surgery for pelvic inflammatory disease was defined as hysterectomy or bilateral adenexal surgery, with pelvic inflammatory disease as the only gynecologic discharge diagnosis. Of 690 hospitalized pelvic inflammatory disease patients with no prior history of the disease, 55 had extensive (requiring surgery) disease. These were compared to 2569 controls who were hospitalized with nongynecologic conditions. Current IUD users (within 30 days of admission) were considered to be long-term or short-term users, depending upon whether the same IUD had been used for five or more years or less than five years. Past IUD users and never-users were considered to be nonusers. For long-term users as compared to nonusers, the relative risk of extensive pelvic inflammatory disease was about 5.4; for short-term users as compared to nonusers, the relative risk was only about 1.4. Continuous use of the same IUD for five or more years appears to increase the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease, requiring extensive surgery to a greater extent than use for less than five years.

Adult↗

Risk of uterine perforation among users of intrauterine devices.

Since 1965 there has been a substantial increase in the number of women in the United States who use the intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD). A collaborative multicenter case--control study was conducted to examine uterine perforation and uterine incarceration as well as several other suspected complications related to use of an IUD. To determine which attributes of the IUD and which user characteristics contribute to the risk of uterine perforation and incarceration, the authors analyzed 32 women with uterine perforation requiring transperitoneal removal, 106 women with uterine incarceration of an IUD which was removed transcervically, and 497 controls. Most important, women who were lactating at the time of IUD insertion were 10 times as likely to have had a uterine perforation as women with at least 1 live birth but who were not lactating at the time of insertion. An incarcerated IUD resulting in a difficult removal was 2.3 times as likely among women lactating at the time of insertion compared to women not lactating at the time of insertion. The likelihood of both uterine perforation and uterine incarceration were unchanged regardless of the type of IUD used.

Abortion, Induced↗

The relationship of genital tract actinomycetes and the development of pelvic inflammatory disease.

As a corollary to a case-control study evaluating the risk of pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) among users of an intrauterine contraceptive device (IUD), Papanicolaou smears were studied to detect the presence of actinomycetes. Forty-six PID case patients and 108 control patients were included in the corollary study. The presence of actinomycetes was noted only among current or past wearers of an IUD. Women with actinomycetes present on Papanicolaou smear had a 3.6-fold risk of hospitalization for PID, as compared to women without actinomycetes. This trend persisted when only IUD users were evaluated. Of patients with PID who had actinomycetes noted on the Papanicolaou smear, 87 1/2% had a tuboovarian abscess, compared to 28.9% of patients without actinomycetes. In addition, patients with actinomycetes present had PID treated surgically more frequently.

Abscess↗

Understanding oncologic emergencies.

Cancer can precipitate life-threatening complications. Since the onset of these conditions can be gradual or abrupt, nurses need to be aware of the potential occurrence and treatment options available. This article includes incidence, treatment modalities, and nursing implications of common oncologic emergencies.

Cardiac Tamponade↗