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Biomedical subjects

S de Boer

Publications and source records attributed to S de Boer.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Selective decontamination of the digestive tract: effect of cessation of routine application at an ICU.

BACKGROUND: Selective decontamination of the digestive tract (SDD) with non-absorbable antibiotics was extensively used at intensive care units (ICU) in Europe to prevent nosocomial infections in critically ill patients. After three recent meta-analyses in which it was demonstrated that SDD did not influence hospital stay and mortality in these patients several ICU's decided to stop the routine use of SDD. OBJECTIVE: To examine the effects of the cessation of SDD on nosocomial infections, mortality and hospital stay at an ICU in post-operative patients. DESIGN: Retro- and prospective follow-up. PATIENTS: Post-operative patients with mechanical ventilation (MV) for > or = 5 days at an ICU were included. The retrospective group (SDD group) comprised of 138 patients (mean age 66, range 10-91; 78% male) and the prospective group (non-SDD group) of 142 patients (mean age 67 range 18-85; 65% male). The SDD regime consisted of colistin, tobramycin and amphotericin B. Cessation of the SDD was accompanied by a shortening of the routine intravenous cefuroxime prophylaxis. RESULTS: There was a nonsignificant increase from an average 21 to 23 days ICU stay in the non-SDD group when compared with the SDD group (p > 0.05). Of the 280 patients 97 (35%) died on the ICU. The risk of death was lower in the non-SDD group (adjusted hazard ratio 0.7 with 95% Cl 0.5-1.1). There was a trend towards an increase in infections as a cause of death in the non-SDD group (38% of the ceased patients versus 20% in the SDD group) (p > 0.05). The incidence of respiratory tract infection (per 1000 person days) was 80 (95% Cl 48-113) in the non-SDD group versus 19 (95% Cl 8-22) in the SDD group (adjusted hazard ratio 4.5 (95% Cl 2.9-7.1)). CONCLUSION: The cessation of the routine application of SDD in post-operative patients mechanically ventilated for 5 days or more did nod adversely affect survival nor increased length of stay at the ICU. There may have been a shift to infections as a cause of death after cessation of SDD.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Effects of amphetamine and beta-endorphin fragments on maze performance in rats.

Fragments of beta-endorphin and amphetamine cause similar effects in some tests of maze behavior in rats. The present study served to compare the influence of amphetamine and two beta-endorphin fragments [beta-endorphin (beta E)-(2-9) and beta E-(2-16)] on maze behavior in more detail. In Experiment I no significant effects of amphetamine and the peptides on behavioral performance in three selected Davenport configurations were found. In Experiment II amphetamine increased the frequency of errors and of returns to the start box, but only in the first trial. This effect was dependent on the rats' experience and on the maze configuration. In the next 11 trials, amphetamine slightly decreased the overall frequency of errors and of returns to the start box. Therefore, the effects of amphetamine on maze behavior depend upon the extent of training experience and on the structure of the test mazes. The peptides did not significantly affect maze performance. It is concluded that the effects of amphetamine and the beta-endorphin fragments on maze behavior are not comparable in this maze test.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

Central 6-OHDA affects both open-field exploratory behaviour and the development of hypertension in SHR.

To investigate the possible relation between changes in behaviour and the development of hypertension in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR), the effect of intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of the catecholamine neurotoxin 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) on blood pressure and spontaneous behaviour was studied. In addition to an attenuation of the rise in blood pressure in SHR, 6-OHDA induced a marked decrease in rearing activity in the open field towards levels found in WKY. Other parameters were either not changed (stereotyped sniffing) or influenced in a comparable way in SHR and WKY (increase in locomotion). These results suggest that ICV 6-OHDA may simultaneously affect the development of hypertension and certain components of the changed behaviour of SHR. The exact relation between the two phenomena awaits further investigation.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

The cortico-medial amygdala in the central nervous system organization of agonistic behavior.

Previous studies suggested that the corticomedial amygdala is involved in agonistic behavior by affecting social learning processes. The present study shows that deficits in the avoidance of a dominant male rat conditioned by defeat were only observed after bilateral lesions restricted to the medial amygdala and not after destroying the cortical portion. These results are related to the specific afferent and efferent connections of the medial amygdala with other brain structures involved in the control of agonistic behavior. Within the corticomedial amygdala the medial amygdaloid nucleus was found to be a major recipient of afferents from the accessory olfactory bulb, but also a source of efferent projections to the ventrolateral aspects of the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus and the ventral premammillary nucleus. A strong reciprocity exists in the connections between ventromedial hypothalamus and premammillary nuclei with the medial amygdala. The connections between the ventromedial hypothalamic and dorsal premammillary nucleus with the midbrain periaqueductal grey suggest an important role for the periaqueductal gray in the descending output in the anatomical substrate for agonistic behavior.

Aggression↗