Biomedical subjects

S Warren

Publications and source records attributed to S Warren.

166 records · Page 10Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Health planners and local public finance--the case for revenue sharing.

Little attention has been paid by health planners or researchers to questions of local public finance. However, a review of the literature concerning general revenue sharing (GRS) funds indicated that about $400 million per year from this source is spent on health services and resources. GRS funds, about $6.4 billion per year, are distributed to more than 39,000 State, county, and city governments. The 1976 amendments to the General Revenue Sharing Act eliminated restrictions on the use of the funds, and they can be employed as matching funds for other Federal monies. An exploratory study of the use of GRS funds for health purposes was conducted in several localities, with particular attention to the health systems agencies. Its results confirmed that there are wide variations among localities in the use of revenue-sharing funds to support health services. Also, not only did the health systems agencies' officials have little impact on the allocation of revenue sharing funds, but only in one locale had an HSA official taken a direct role in the budgetary process. Health planners, who were interviewed during the study, described what they considered their agencies' proper role in local budgetary matters.

Budgets↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effect of pheochromocytoma and hypophysectomy on blood pressure and catecholamines in NEDH rats.

The New England Deaconess Hospital (NEDH) rat provides a valuable model with which to study pheochromocytoma (P); 59% of male rats 700 to 900 days old and 81% of those 900 days or older developed spontaneous P. One transplantable P (P259), when implanted into other NEDH rats, markedly increased plasma norepinephrine and dopamine as well as blood pressure, and usually caused death within 4 weeks. Even without P, about 83% of NEDH rats became hypertensive by 131/2 weeks of age and remained moderately hypertensive until 2 years of age when some animals developed spontaneous P and hypertension became severe. Whether a common mechanism is responsible for early appearance of hypertension and later development of P remains to be determined. Hypophysectomized NEDH rats remained normotensive or slightly hypotensive despite marked elevations of plasma norepinephrine and dopamine caused by P259 implantation; furthermore, survival was prolonged to 3 months. Catecholamine concentrations in plasma and RBC were usually quite similar, indicating that red blood cells play a significant role in inactivating circulating catecholamines. Unlike the normal adrenal, P259 in NEDH rats contains mainly norepinephrine and dopamine with little epinephrine; it appears that P259 is deficient in the enzyme phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT), which converts norepinephrine to epinephrine. Why hypophysectomy prevents hypertension and prolongs life in rats with P259 implants is unclear; adrenal cortical and thyroid deficiency may play a role. Preliminary observations indicate that hypophysectomy can prevent spontaneous development of P in NEDH rats.

Adrenal Gland Neoplasms↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Traumatic head and spinal cord injuries in Alaska (1991-1993).

Traumatic head and spinal cord injuries (SCI) are serious events, often leading to severe disability or death. Because these injuries are experienced most often by younger, more active people, they are associated with some of the most enduring physical, emotional, and financial costs. In order to describe several demographic and epidemiologic characteristics of traumatic head and spinal cord injuries in Alaska, a retrospective study was conducted using information collected from the Alaska Trauma Registry (ATR) for hospital trauma admissions in 1991 through 1993. Hospitalized traumatic head injury were identified in 2178 cases, for an average annual incidence rate of 129.5 per 100,000 population. For hospitalized traumatic SCI, 139 cases were identified, for an average annual incidence rate of 8.3 per 100,000 population. To analyze and assess the incidence of these injuries in Alaska, the following injury characteristics were explored through the Alaska Trauma Registry: demographics, mechanism of injury, work relatedness, use of safety equipment, involvement of alcohol, and discharge status.

Accidents↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Safe handling of tissue containing radioactive substances.

Patients recently treated with radioactive isotopes may present problems or even hazards during physical examination, operation or autopsy, especially following the use of iodine isotopes and 198Au. 32P is rarely a significant hazard. Contamination of victims of radiation accidents may be a problem initially, but they are usually promptly decontaminated. Guidance of the hospital's radiation safety officer is helpful, particularly with regard to handling of contaminated persons or materials. Long-lived isotopes, such as radium or thorotrast, are usually present in too low concentration to be dangerous. Projected use of artificial hearts powered by plutonium should not be hazardous because of adequate shielding of the source.

Autopsy↗