Malignant hyperthermia: normal muscle calcium uptake and abnormal caffeine and halothane contractures.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T E Elliott.
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Forty-eight patients with advanced gastric cancer and measurable areas of malignant disease were treated with etoposide (130 mg/m2/day X 3 days) plus cisplatin (45 mg/m2day on days 2 and 3). Both drugs were given by constant intravenous infusion and repeated every 4 weeks. Common toxic reactions included nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, alopecia, peripheral neuropathy, leukopenia, and thrombocytopenia. Most patients experienced severe but reversible toxic reactions. In 46 evaluable patients an overall objective regression rate of 28% was obtained with a median duration of regression of 4 months. Regression rates were only modestly reduced among patients with prior chemotherapy exposure (21%). Whereas this combination of etoposide and cisplatin does not appear to offer any major advantage over other single and combination regimens in the treatment of advanced gastric cancer, it shows definite activity and its lack of cross-resistance with other commonly used agents for this disease could indicate a possible role in new combination or sequential chemotherapy approaches. As an interesting sidelight, we found that 21% of our patients had elevated human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) levels, and among this group regression rates were higher than in HCG-negative patients. It would be of interest to extend these observations in other gastric carcinoma studies involving cisplatin regimens.
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The techniques described using paper tape in wound closure have been found to be cosmetically equal to or better than other forms of wound closure. Paper tape provides better support, is more versatile and care free, while being easier to use and less expensive than Steri Strips.
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A case report of a large pancreatic liposarcoma is presented showing a five-year survival with aggressive surgical excision as the only treatment. The medical literature of the subject is reviewed. This is the only reported case of retroperitoneal liposarcoma which is limited to the pancreas. A discussion of the current types of treatment for retroperitoneal liposarcomas is included.
Thalicarpine, a plant alkaloid of novel structure, was evaluated in a phase II clinical trial. Fourteen previously treated patients with advanced malignant disease were given thalicarpine at a dose of 1100 mg/m2 weekly as a constant 2-hour iv infusion. Common toxic effects included nausea, ECG changes, arm pain, and lethargy; less frequent effects included vomiting, tachycardia, hypotension, pain distant from infusion site, urticaria, chills, diarrhea, and mydriasis. There was no hematologic, hepatic, or renal toxicity. There were no complete or partial objective responses. Although the drug's true response rate in any given tumor type cannot be determined, its absence of activity in man, to date, and the recent closing of its IND, make further clinical investigation with thalicarpine unlikely.
A broad phase II study of cis-dichlorodiammineplatinum(II) was conducted. Eight patients with stage IVB Hodgkin's disease were studied. Four of these patients attained an objective partial remission of 7--19+ weeks' duration. The usual time to the occurrence of a greater than 25% response was 1 week. This drug is active in far-advanced Hodgkin's disease with a projected lower limit of response rate from 19% to 21%.
A 41-year-old female with TAR syndrome and a normal number of megakaryocytes in the bone marrow improved after splenectomy. There were no signs of a qualitative platelet defect. She was followed for nearly 2 years during which the bleeding time was increased without clinical bleeding, however.
Two cases of anastomotic stenosis after the use of the GIA Auto Suture Stapler are presented as examples of the potential problem that does exist in using this instrument. Possible causes and a suggestion for eliminating this complication have been outlined.
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PURPOSE: To date, effective cancer care and control intervention studies have been carried out largely in urban and suburban populations. This study was conducted to test innovative interventions, using experimental designs, to improve the care and outcomes of patients with cancer in rural settings. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: The Lake Superior Rural Cancer Care Project (LSRCCP) tested an innovative, multimodal, multidisciplinary intervention that involved rural healthcare providers and their healthcare system. An experimental design was used, with the rural community as the unit of randomization. Outcomes were measured at three levels: rural providers' knowledge of cancer management, providers' practice performance, and patient outcomes. This 5-year study was conducted in rural areas of northern Minnesota, Wisconsin, and the western part of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. RESULTS: Baseline data from the study are provided, and details of the design and methods are presented. The study outcomes are reported in part in "Lake Superior Rural Cancer Care Project Part II" in this issue and will be reported further in future issues. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: This article describes the hypotheses, design, and methods of the LSRCCP. The design and methods as well as the results of this study may be useful to cancer researchers and clinicians in rural areas across the United States.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this article is to report the main learning outcomes of the Lake Superior Rural Cancer Care Project. DESCRIPTION OF STUDY: The authors designed and tested a multimodal intervention directed at rural providers and their healthcare systems in a large rural area in the north central United States. An experimental design was used to randomize rural providers at the group level. The intervention consisted of providing increased education for rural providers with a number of approaches, including the use of clinical opinion leaders. The main outcome of the intervention was knowledge scoring on discipline-specific cancer management tests. RESULTS: Knowledge scores for providers in the experimental group significantly increased from pretest to post-test: 66 to 79 for physicians (and physician assistants) (P=.02); 58 to 71 for nurses (P=.01); and 54 to 64 for pharmacists (P=.01). At post-test, participating providers in the experimental group performed significantly better on the knowledge tests (P <.01) than those in the control groups. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: This study may be the first to test educational interventions to improve rural providers' knowledge about cancer practice using an experimental design. The intervention may possibly change provider practice behaviors and, thus, patient outcomes, data that will be reported in a future issue. Finally, this educational intervention may prove useful for providers in other rural areas.
This study's objective tested the utility of two quality of life (QOL) forms in a hospice setting. The compared forms were the McGill Quality of Life Questionnaire (MQOL) and the Hospice Quality of Life Index-Revised (HQLI). Using a crossover design, hospice nurses first administered one survey to eligible patients and then, in the study's second phase, administered the other survey to newly enrolled eligible patients. Nurses were interviewed regarding each form and possible changes in patient care that were made due to the assessment. Hospice care plans were reviewed looking for specific changes as a result of the surveys. The results showed that the QOL assessments were useful for the nurses in planning the care of the hospice patients and that the MQOL was preferred by the nurses over the HQLI.