Hyperkalemia from baby food consumption. A case report.
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Aged↗
Biomedical subjects
T D Epperly
Publications and source records attributed to T D Epperly.
The value of needle aspiration in the management of cellulitis.
Needle aspirations from 103 young, healthy patients (mean age 22 years) with cellulitis were prospectively analyzed to determine the percentage yield and causative organisms. A standard technique of needle aspiration was performed using a 22-gauge needle, a 10-cc syringe, and 1 cc of sterile water. Aspirations were performed at the leading edge and midpoint of the cellulitis (halfway between the leading edge and the center of the cellulitis). Fifteen of the 103 patients (14.5 percent) had positive aspirates. Nine of the 103 aspirates were positive at the leading edge (8.7 percent) and 6 of 70 were positive at the midpoint (8.6 percent), giving a total aspiration positivity of 8.7 percent (15/173). The organisms recovered were Staphylococcus aureus (53 percent). Staphylococcus epidermidis (27 percent), alpha-hemolytic streptococci (13 percent) and Streptococcus pyogenes (7 percent). The low-percentage yield and predictable organisms recovered speak against needle aspiration being a necessary procedure in a young, healthy population. Similarly, the site of aspiration does not increase yield. Empiric treatment with antibiotics aimed at staphylococcal and streptococcal organisms is appropriate.
Adolescent↗
Varicella susceptibility and vaccination strategies in young adults.
BACKGROUND: Varicella infection causes substantial morbidity in young adults. Most military basic trainees are 18 to 21 years old, yet the Army has no varicella vaccination policy. We therefore determined varicella susceptibility in a population of Army basic trainees, examined variables that might predict antibody status, and developed a vaccination strategies model. METHODS: Fifteen-hundred ninety-five trainees completed a demographic and historical questionnaire. Varicella antibody status was determined on 1201 volunteers. These data plus information from the literature were used to construct a decision tree of vaccination strategies that was applied to the total population of Army basic trainees in 1995 (n = 65,298). RESULTS: Fifty (4.2 percent) of 1201 soldiers were antibody negative. Trainees who lived with no or 1 sibling while growing up were most likely to be seronegative (P < 0.01). The positive predictive value of a history of varicella was 98.5 percent, whereas the negative predictive value of a negative history of varicella was 23 percent. In the vaccination strategies model, serologically testing soldiers with a negative history of varicella and vaccinating those without protective antibodies was the most cost-effective approach. CONCLUSIONS: In young adults a positive varicella history accurately predicts immunity, but verification of a negative history with antibody testing is recommended before vaccination.
Adolescent↗