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Biomedical subjects

B Bell

Publications and source records attributed to B Bell.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Thyroid function and metabolic state in chronic renal failure.

Thirty-eight patients with chronic renal insufficiency who were in a dialysis program underwent studies of thyroid function and metabolic status. Mean values for serum total and free thyroxine (T4) concentrations and thyroxine-binding globulin capacity were within normal limits. Although mean serum total triiodothyronine (T3) concentration was normal, 43% of the group had low serum T3 and 54% had low serum free T3 concentrations. Serum thyrotrophin (TSH) concentrations were normal in all but four subjects who had very slight elevations. Metabolic status was assessed by various metabolic tests; mean values for each of these tests were normal, and the clinical index scores indicated that all patients were euthyroid. Results of metabolic testing were similar in patients with low and those with normal serum T3 concentrations. Low serum T3 measurements did not accurately reflect metabolic state in patients with chronic renal failure, whereas serum free T4 and TSH concentrations were reliable indicators of thyroid state.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Determinants of variation between Fick and indicator dilution estimates of cardiac output during diagnostic catheterization. Fick vs. dye cardiac outputs.

Simultaneous Fick and duplicate dye cardiac outputs were done in 105 patients with various cardiovascular diseases during routine cardiac catheterization. Dye was injected into the pulmonary artery and sampled from the brachial artery. Nineteen patients had mitral and/or aortic valvular regurgitation. Eighty-four per cent of the duplicate dye cardiac outputs agreed within 10 per cent variation from the line of identity, and 98 per cent were within 25 per cent. There was no systematic difference between the Fick and dye methods. Seventy-five per cent agree within 20 per cent variation from the line of identity. However, individual variation ranged from -27 to +58 per cent. There was, also, no systematic difference between Fick and dye methods either with low cardiac index or valvular regurgitation. Variation between the two methods was less with low cardiac index and greater with higher cardiac index. The variation was not increased in the presence of valvular regurgitation. The variation in the two methods could partly be explained by errors in the measurement of arteriovenous oxygen difference and oxygen consumption. When the injection is made into the pulmonary artery and sampled from the brachial artery, dye outputs are valid irrespective of the level of resting cardiac index and valvular regurgitation as long as there are enough points to draw a straight line from semilogarithmic trace of the descending limb.

Cardiac Catheterization↗
PubMed1975

Muscial hallucinations in deafness.

Formed auditory hallucinations associated with acquired deafness have seldom been reported in the English literature. In the past year we have had the unusual opportunity of examining two deaf patients whose complaint when first seen was that of hearing music.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1975

Computer-aided management of hypertensive patients.

A computerized system has been developed which potentially enables a single expert physician to monitor a large number of hypertensive patients being seen at distant locations. The patients may receive their care directly from primary care physicians or nurse-physician surrogates. Primary care physicians can use the same data bank to monitor their own panels of patients. These goals are accomplished through a special purpose, interactive programming language which can be used to perform sophisticated data retrieval along different complexes of parameters. The physician is able to query the computer, via a terminal, about any group of patient he defines and have displayed to him the clinical data requested. The system is open-ended, enabling one query to lead to another. Four hundred and ninety-three patients have been entered into this program so far, including 29 patients with diastolic pressures greater than 115, 92 with diastolic pressures of 104 to 114, and 372 with diastolics of 90 to 104. Among patients who have been on therapy for at least six weeks, 80 per cent were at goal blood pressure. Ten to 14 weeks after therapy was initiated, 69 per cent of all patients in the program were at goal blood pressure. The system provides a useful means of monitoring a large hypertensive population of patients. Such a system can result in a more efficient utilization of medical personnel and can bring the consultative services of highly trained specialists to larger segments of the population.

Computers↗
PubMed1975

A longitudinal psychophysiological study of three-year-old Mauritian children: preliminary report.

The rationale for using the high-risk-group research design in the search for the aetiology of schizophrenia is described. A longitudinal study is being made of three-year-old Mauritian children who underwent a variety of physiological and psychological tests. Groups of these children, selected on the basis of their responses to electrodermal stimulation, are now attending nursery schools established on the island as part of this study. A control group of children do not attend nursery school. It is intended to follow-up these children over the next two decades. Mention is made of the benefits of this research to the development of para-medical and educational services in a developing country.

Child, Preschool↗
PubMed1975

Early detection and prevention of mental illness: the Mauritius project. A preliminary report.

The experimental manipulation method is in general not feasible in studies of the etiology of severe mental illness, whereas this method can be used in studies pertaining to primary prevention, because possible preventive methods would most likely be of a protective or beneficial nature. Preventive experimentation requires early detection of those individuals who will eventually become seriously mentally deviant. A study of children at a high genetic risk for schizophrenia is described. This study suggested certain autonomic nervous system variables as predictors of later serious mental breakdown. In a WHO-sponsored project in Mauritius the authors used these results for the selection of a group of children at risk for mental illness. 1,800 3-year-old Mauritian children were studied socially, psychologically, pediatrically and psychophysiologically between 1972 and 1973. 100 of these children were selected for experimental preventive intervention during their daily presence in two modern kindergartens. Members of this group were characterized by either abnormally fast autonomic recovery or autonomic nonresponding, or normal autonomic responding. A matched group of another 100 children served as a community control. The paper presents preliminary results from the screening of the 1,800 children.

Age Factors↗