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Biomedical subjects

A C Swift

Publications and source records attributed to A C Swift.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Mucosal-strip/uvulectomy by the CO2 laser as a method of treating simple snoring.

The effect of stiffening the soft palate by inducing scarring after removing a central strip of mucosa with a CO2 laser was investigated in 25 heavy snorers. The results were assessed using a series of Visual Analogue Score (VAS) assessment questionnaires completed by the partner over a period of 6 months. Of the 22 patients who had the laser-strip and uvulectomy, snoring improved in 18 (82%) (median improvement of 75% at 3 months). Four patients did not improve. Between 3 and 6 months, snoring increased in one patient and decreased in four (< 10% change on VAS). Snoring did not improve in the three patients who did not undergo uvulectomy. We conclude that the laser-strip/uvulectomy can reduce snoring to a tolerable level in eight out of 10 heavy snorers, but the procedure is painful for several days.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

A histopathological comparison of the uvula between snorers and non-snorers.

Snoring is a very common problem but there are few publications on the histological findings of the soft palate/uvula and these lack consistency. The relative proportions of tissue types in the base of the uvula removed from 17 adults who underwent uvulopalatopharyngoplasty for heavy snoring were therefore compared with 14 cadaveric specimens. The mean percentage of muscle from the snoring group was 12.1% compared with 7.2% in the control group (P < 0.05). The percentage of fibrous tissue was greater in the cadavers (52.8% vs 45.5% in the snorers, P < 0.05). The percentage of muscle was inversely related to the percentage of fibrous tissue in the snoring group (P < 0.02). We hypothesize that these changes are a consequence of the repetitive forces on the soft palate during snoring rather than being related to the pathogenesis of snoring.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Serious unexpected sinus infection discovered by CT scanning for presumed neurological disease.

Serious infection in the paranasal sinuses may present with symptoms suggestive of neurological disease and thus lead to delay in the diagnosis and subsequent treatment. We present three such cases in whom the initial diagnoses had been acute optic neuritis, a posterior communicating aneurysm and an intracranial space occupying lesion. The fourth patient had meningitis but the paranasal sinuses had not initially been considered as a possible source of infection. The current methods of diagnosing sinusitis are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1991

Primary mucosal malignant melanoma of the middle ear.

Only one case of primary malignant melanoma of the middle ear has been reported in the literature to date. We report a case of middle ear and nasopharyngeal malignant melanoma where the primary is likely to have arisen in the middle ear and discuss the relevant literature.

Aged↗
PubMed1990

Sinusitis and the acute orbit in children.

Acute orbital infection is an uncommon condition which is often secondary to acute sinusitis. Although it can present in any age group it is most prevalent in children and may cause impaired vision, blindness, intracranial complications and death. This paper documents the experience at the Royal Liverpool Childrens Hospital, Alder Hey, from 1973 to 1989. Clinical details were recorded retrospectively from the hospital case notes. Sixty-eight children had orbital sepsis of whom 30 had associated acute sinusitis. Of these 30 children, orbital sepsis was always unilateral with a preference for the left side; ten had diplopia of whom four had a sub-periosteal abscess which was subsequently drained. There were no serious complications although two children had diplopia for two to three months.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1988

Oronasal obstruction, lung volumes, and arterial oxygenation.

The effects were studied on lung volumes of partial (chronic) nasal obstruction, total overnight nasal occlusion with a nasal pack, and interdental wiring for 6-8 weeks. Total lung capacity, functional residual capacity, and residual volume decreased significantly with total nasal occlusion and with surgical relief of chronic nasal obstruction. All three volumes increased with interdental wiring. It is concluded that these effects are a result of changes in oronasal resistance: lung volume is enlarged by an overall increase in resistance and diminished by a decrease in resistance. These findings imply that the resistance to expiration provided by the nose helps maintain lung volumes and so may indirectly determine arterial oxygenation.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

The clinical significance of the gastro-oral pathway of intestinal bacteria after head and neck cancer surgery.

Intestinal aerobic gram-negative bacilli (IAGB) are considered to be important in the pathogenesis of wound infection following major head and neck surgery. These micro-organisms have been shown to originate endogenously from the stomach, in spite of broad spectrum chemoprophylaxis. We have attempted to interrupt this gastro-oral pathway by instilling an antiseptic (40% ethanol) into the stomach after surgery. We studied 16 patients who were randomly allocated to an 'alcohol' or control group. Alcohol was administered to 8 patients regularly via the nasogastric tube until the 5th postoperative day. The mouth, tracheostomy site and gastric aspirates were sampled on the 1st, 5th, and 10th days after surgery. No patients had IAGB grown from the mouth before surgery, but after surgery coliforms were prolific in all sites in both patient groups, and the administration of alcohol did not have any noticeable affect. However, even though coliforms were ubiquitous during the recovery period, wound complications were few, and their importance in the pathogenesis of wound sepsis is reconsidered.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Continuous transcutaneous oxygen measurement: reproducibility and trace analysis in healthy adults.

One hundred and fourteen transcutaneous oxygen traces were obtained from 46 adults using a mass spectrometer. Such traces usually rise to a plateau about which they fluctuate. To estimate the plateau level, here called the asymptote, two models are described--a time-series model and a growth model. If yt is the trace measurement at time t, for the time-series model. yt + 1 = m + alpha (yt-m) + epsilon t, and for the growth model dyt/dt = beta (m-yt), where parameters alpha and beta represent the rate of approach to the asymptote m. Least squares estimates of these parameters were determined for every trace. For every trace, the estimated asymptotes are similar for both models but the other parameters show less agreement. Considering the traces for each person in pairs, each trace pair is allocated to one of four groups according as the traces were recorded on the same or different sites and on the same or different days. The correlation coefficient (r) between the estimated asymptotes is greatest for traces recorded on the same site and day (r greater than 0.94, P less than 0.001) and least for traces from different sites and days (r greater than 0.71, P less than 0.001). The time series estimates of the asymptote are more credible than the growth model.

Adult↗