Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

A J Fedullo

Publications and source records attributed to A J Fedullo.

24 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Relationship of patient age to cost and survival in a medical ICU.

We examined the relationship between the reason for admission to the Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU), cost of care, and outcome of illness to patient age for 182 consecutive patients admitted to the MICU of a community hospital. The reasons for admission to the MICU for patients 70 yr and older did not differ greatly from those for patients 50-69 yr. Only 1 of 21 patients admitted with cardiopulmonary arrest occurring outside the MICU survived. If these patients admitted after cardiopulmonary arrest are excluded from analysis, 80, 87, 86, 67, and 79% of patients in the 5th through 9th decades, respectively, survived (p greater than 0.05). Of the 51 discharged patients older than 70 yr, 38 were alive after a mean follow-up of 19 months, 8 had died, and 5 were lost to follow-up. Total hospital costs, total hospitalization duration, duration of MICU care, laboratory, radiology, and respiratory therapy costs did not vary with patient age. Because the outcome of MICU treatment is similar for all age groups, and because cost of this care for younger and older patients is the same, age should not be a factor in determining whether or not a patient receives aggressive care in the MICU.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Pneumococcal adherence to the buccal epithelial cells of cigarette smokers.

Adherence to mucosal surfaces is necessary for bacterial colonization. The in-vitro adherence to type 25 Streptococcus pneumoniae to buccal epithelial cells was studied in 15 smokers, 15 nonsmokers, and 21 exsmokers. Background adherence in smokers and nonsmokers was similar, but smokers had a markedly increased pneumococcal adherence compared to nonsmokers (12.3 +/- 6.9 vs 0.7 +/- 0.4). This increase was not related to subject age or duration of cigarette use. Pneumococcal adherence in some exsmokers remained elevated for up to three years after smoking cessation. Incubation of nonsmokers' cells with smoker's saliva resulted in increased pneumococcal adherence to the nonsmokers' cells (1.1 +/- 0.099 to 8.2 +/- 4.4), suggesting mediation of pneumococcal adherence by a noncellular constituent of smokers' saliva. The increased pneumococcal adherence in cigarette smokers may promote oropharyngeal colonization and contribute to the increased risk of respiratory infection in cigarette smokers.

Adhesiveness↗
PubMed1980

Lung statics and connective tissues after penicillamine in bleomycin-treated hamsters.

Penicillamine was administered intraperitoneally to male golden hamsters for 30 days following a single intratracheal dose of bleomycin. Penicillamine treatment increased soluble collagen and decreased glycosaminoglycans in both normal and fibrotic lungs; total collagen and elastin were not significantly changed in normals but were lower in fibrotic animals. The proportions of the different glycosaminoglycans were not affected by penicillamine treatment. When related to body weight, the total lung capacity, vital capacity, and compliance both at low and high lung volumes were increased in animals that received only penicillamine when compared with animals that did not, but interpretation of these results is difficult because penicillamine-treated animals had low body weights. Lung statics were the same in animals that received penicillamine after bleomycin as in those that received bleomycin only, though penicillamine partially reversed the connective tissue expression of the bleomycin lung injury. We conclude that factors other than connective tissue levels are important in determining the mechanical behavior of fibrotic lungs.

Animals↗