PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

W Drane

Publications and source records attributed to W Drane.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Networked ICD-9 coding system for a radiology department.

OBJECTIVE. We describe a networked database system to implement a departmental list of International Classification of Diseases, 9th edition (ICD-9) codes for use by reporting radiologists. CONCLUSION. Our system is reliable, easy to use, and has increased coding accuracy and speed. In-house development allowed designing a system to specifically address the needs of the radiology group. The resulting list of codes accurately reflects the current practice environment and grows dynamically to suit changing needs.

Computer Communication Networks↗
PubMed1996

Intractable temporal lobe epilepsy: comparison of positron emission tomography with qualitative and quantitative MR.

PURPOSE: To compare the ability of qualitative fludeoxyglucose F 18 positron emission tomography (QPET), qualitative MR imaging (QMR), and quantitative MR imaging with hippocampal formation volumetric assessment (HV MR) to lateralize the seizure focus in patients with temporal lobe epilepsy. METHODS: Sixteen consecutive patients undergoing presurgical examination for temporal lobe seizures had QPET, QMR, and HV MR. The presence of temporal lobe epilepsy was confirmed by Engel class I or II outcomes at 1-year postoperative follow-up examinations. A QPET, QMR, or HV MR study was considered to be lateralizing if it matched the side of the seizure focus, nonlateralizing if it did not lateralize the seizure focus to either temporal lobe, or incorrectly lateralizing if it lateralized the seizure focus to the incorrect side. RESULTS: Of 16 patients with proved temporal lobe seizures, QPET was correctly lateralizing in nine (56%), nonlateralizing in six (37.5%), and incorrectly lateralizing in one (6%). QMR was correctly lateralizing in six (37.5%), nonlateralizing in six (37.5%), and incorrectly lateralizing in four (25%). HV MR was correctly lateralizing in all 16 patients (100%). Age at onset, seizure duration, and total number of seizures did not correlate with QPET, QMR, and HV MR lateralization. CONCLUSIONS: Our results show that each imaging technique yields useful information for seizure lateralization in temporal lobe epilepsy and that HV MR yields considerably more information that QPET or QMR.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Dexamethasone and severe head injury. A prospective double-blind study.

A prospective double-blind study of the effects of dexamethasone administration on the outcome of patients with severe head injuries was performed. Patients were stratified for severity of neurological injury and were treated with placebo, low-dose dexamethasone (16 mg/day), or high-dose dexamethasone (96 mg/day) for a period of 6 days. Outcome was evaluated at 6 months following injury. Of the 76 patients available for analysis, a good outcome was achieved in 37% of placebo-treated patients, 44% of low-dose-treated patients, and 29% of high-dose-treated patients. These differences are not statistically significant. Similarly dexamethasone administration had no statistically significant effect on intracranial pressure patterns or serial neurological examinations during hospitalization. Gastrointestinal bleeding occurred in only one patient. Good outcome was associated with age under 10 years, lighter depth of coma on admission, and the preservation of brain-stem reflexes upon admission. A recalculation of data in previous clinical series purporting to show an improvement in outcome as a result of corticosteroid therapy shows no significant difference in outcome when steroid- and placebo-treated patients are compared. In our series, 90% of all deaths were caused by recurrent intracranial hematomas, medical complications, or diffuse brain injuries with parenchymal hemorrhage and tissue disruption -- causes of death which cannot be affected by corticosteroid therapy. The study suggests that dexamethasone in either high or low dosages has no significant effect on morbidity and mortality following severe head injury.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1971

The effects of varying concentrations of colchicine on the progression of grasshopper neuroblasts into metaphase.

The effects of four concentrations of colchicine (2.5 x 10(-7), x 10(-5), x 10(-3), and x 10(-2)M) on the cell cycle of grasshopper neuroblasts have been determined by direct observations on living cells. The lowest concentration, 2.5 x 10(-7)M, does not completely disorganize the spindle but does retard its action. The three higher concentrations disorganize the spindle, so that all cells reaching metaphase are blocked in a c-mitotic condition throughout the period of observations (308 min at 38 degrees C, the minimum duration of the cell cycle in untreated neuroblasts). Continuous treatment with all concentrations reduces the rate at which neuroblasts enter metaphase, the extent of the reduction being a function of increasing concentration and time of exposure. After a short exposure to 2.5 x 10(-5)M colchicine, the neuroblasts recover from the inhibiting effects on progression through the cycle to metaphase, but they show no recovery from the inhibiting effects on spindle formation for more than 3 hr. Apparent stimulation of progression rate occurs early in exposure to all concentrations and during recovery from a short exposure to 2.5 x 10(-5)M. Morphological alterations in the chromatin of telophase, interphase, and prophase cells are induced by the higher concentrations of colchicine. The data indicate that caution should be exercised in the use of colchicine for determining cell cycle duration and/or the effects of physical and chemical agents on the cycle.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Classification methods for denominators in small areas.

Conventional methods fail to provide adequate assignments of individuals into appropriate subgroups for small area analyses, especially when studies cover only a portion of a county or use ecologic, descriptive variables. An unconventional aid to epidemiological investigations, such as a geographic information system (GIS), can aid public health investigators in determining denominators for studies of disease where overlays of environmental exposure and public health data define the geographic extent of the population being studied or where data must be analysed using a map. The basic functions of a GIS--to store, retrieve, transform and display data which have real earth-based co-ordinates--can facilitate this type of ecologic approach. In this paper, each denominator is chosen using the aid of a GIS to allow overlays of environmental elements with residential areas. A variety of methodological issues are associated with such studies, specifically the issue of thin cells (numerically). One solution is to avoid the use of denominators. Another involves careful classification rules for choosing the 'exposed' group. Each of these methods have relevance for environmental equity evaluations associated with environmental hazards.

Black or African American↗