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Biomedical subjects

D J Hunter

Publications and source records attributed to D J Hunter.

324 records · Page 18Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Extradural analgesia in labour when the breech presents.

A retrospective study was made of the course and outcome of labour in 226 patients in whom a singleton fetus presented by the breech. Patients with macerated stillbirths or who were delivered before the 28th week of gestation had been excluded. Of the 226 patients, 101 received extradural analgesia, 79 received parenteral analgesia and 46 underwent elective Caesarean section. There was no difference in the incidence of breech extraction or emergency Caesarean section in the first two groups of patients. The length of both first and second stages of labour in multiparae was prolonged in the extradural group, but not markedly so. The Apgar scores of the infants delivered vaginally were not significantly different at one minute in both groups but the five minute Apgar score in the infants of primiparae was significantly higher in the extradural group. The Apgar score at one minute in the group delivered by emergency Caesarean section was significantly lower after extradural block but the difference was not significant at five minutes. This study suggests that the management and outcome of labour when the breech presents is not adversely affected by the provision of extradural analgesia.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Tissue oxygenation and red cell 2,3-diphsophoglycerate in normal and abnormal pregnancy.

Maternal tissue oxygenation was reflected by the level of red cell, 2,3-diphosphoglycerate (DPG) was measured before, during and after normal pregnancy. Following an initial fall at the beginning of pregnancy there was a significant rise in the mean level of DPG during pregnancy with an abrupt fall in the puerperium. The mean red cell DPG level in the third trimester of pregnancies complicated by pre-eclampsia and diabetes was not statistically different from the normal but the mean value of all pregnancies in which the fetus was stillborn or growth retarded was significantly lower (p less than 0-001). The possible mechanism of the changes in normal and abnormal pregnancy is discussed and it is suggested that the measurement of red cell DPG in the third trimester of pregnancy may prove to be a useful parameter of placental oxygenation.

Diphosphoglyceric Acids↗
PubMed1976

Production of prostaglandins E and Falpha by corpora lutea, corpora albicantes and stroma from the human ovary.

This study has shown that corpora lutea, stromal tissue and corpora albicantes from human ovaries contain prostaglandin E (PGE) and PGFalpha, and that the two former tissues can synthesize these prostaglandins during incubation. Enhanced syntheses, especially of PGE, occurred on adding arachidonic acid to the incubation medium, and the presence of prostaglandin synthetase activity was conclusively demonstrated. In corpora lutea obtained during the early and mid-luteal phase, the mean concentrations of PGE and PGFalpha were 34.3 and 9l9 ng/g respectively (mean ratio PGE:PGFalpha = 3.7); similar values were found in three corpora lutea from women at 10-12 weeks of pregnancy. All these corpora lutea contained appreciable amounts of progesterone and oestradiol-17beta. Prostaglandin levels were generally lower in corpora lutea obtained during the late luteal phase, although the PGE:PGFalpha ratio had increased to a mean value of 8.4. In corpora albicantes, the concentrations of both PGE and PGFalpha were significantly higher than the levels found in corpora lutea (P less than 0.01), whilst the mean ratio of PGE:PGFalpha had fallen significantly to 1.8 (P less than 0.01). Prostaglandin levels in stromal tissue varied considerably between individuals. The mean values were significantly lower than those of the corpora albicantes (P less than 0.01) but not significantly different to corpora lutea at any stage. These findings are discussed in relation to the possible role of prostaglandins in ovarian steroidogenesis and corpus luteum regression in man.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

'Managing the cracks': management development for health care interfaces.

The realm of public policy (including health policy) is, in many ways, more complex than that of decision-making within the corporate organisations found in the private sector. The range of stakeholders is generally wider; many of the ways of influencing action are more subtle and indirect; and, arrangements for representation, accountability and consultation are correspondingly more elaborate. A future of this complexity in healthcare systems is the presence of numerous organisational and managerial interfaces. The paper considers three key sectors and the interfaces between them: primary health care, hospital care, and community care. Proposals for reforming the British National Health Service and community care services are destined to multiply the interfaces to be managed since they are predicated upon a split between purchasing services and providing them. The intention is to encourage a plurality of providers who will compete for contracts. The paper argues that the challenge posed by interface management is probably greater than any other in healthcare management. The requisite skills for successful interface management are reviewed. The paper concludes that these network skills are in short supply and that those responsible for management development in the NHS must tackle this lacuna as a matter of some urgency.

Administrative Personnel↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Predictors of AIDS knowledge, condom use and high-risk sexual behaviour among women in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania.

Reducing the number of sex partners and using condoms are the major means for individuals to protect themselves from STDs and AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. To identify predictors of having only one sex partner in the last year and to assess knowledge and use of condoms among women of reproductive age in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania, we interviewed 2285 women at 3 representative family planning clinics between February 1991 and June 1992. After interview, blood and genital specimens were collected for laboratory diagnosis of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). Although knowledge of sexual transmission of AIDS was very high, less than a half of the respondents (42.8%) mentioned use of condoms as an AIDS preventive measure. Younger and more educated women were more likely to mention use of condoms for AIDS prevention, however only 4.6% of women interviewed were regular users of condoms, while 19.8% were occasional users. The majority of women who had never used a condom (57.5%) reported not using condoms because 'men did not like them'. Condom use was positively associated with increasing level of education and increasing number of sexual partners. 14.8% of women reported having more than one sex partner in the last year; this behaviour was more likely among cohabiting women (increased by 210%); HIV-positives (increased by 120%); and among women with STDs (increased by 50%).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Knee osteoarthritis: the influence of environmental factors.

Osteoarthritis is a major source of disability in developed countries. As populations age, we can expect knee OA to become a serious public health problem. Preventative strategies to minimise the risk of both the development and progression of knee OA are therefore of paramount importance not only with respect to quality of life issues but the burdening costs of managing and treating this common disorder in the next few decades. The focus of preventative strategies should be on the modifiable risk factors for both incident and progressive disease. The aetiology of OA of the knee is complex and multifactorial. This review focuses on the modifiable environmental risk factors for knee osteoarthritis; namely occupation, physical activity, quadriceps strength, joint injury, obesity, diet, sex hormones, and bone density. Their contribution is well understood and the impact of altering their influence on knee OA outcome is also now being evaluated. Since they are modifiable, this has important implications for public health recommendations and treatment by health professionals.

Diet↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Fish consumption and cardiovascular mortality in Canada: an inter-regional comparison.

There is growing evidence from both experimental and epidemiologic studies to suggest that regular fish consumption reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease in humans. However, a crude analysis of Canadian descriptive data does not support this hypothesis. Age-adjusted mortality from ischemic heart disease and cerebrovascular disease is actually higher in the Atlantic Provinces than in the Prairies where fish consumption is much lower. Possible reasons for this, including the importance of the type of fish consumed, and the effects of methods of preparation are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Toenail trace element levels as biomarkers: reproducibility over a 6-year period.

We assessed the reproducibility over a 6-year period of 16 trace elements measured in toenails by comparing levels in paired specimens collected in 1982-1983 and 1988 from 127 women in the United States. The Spearman correlation coefficients for the reproducibility of toenail levels of selenium and arsenic (both known to reflect intake of these elements) were 0.48 and 0.54. Correlations for other elements ranged from 0.26 (copper) to 0.58 (zinc). In utilizing biomarkers to assess exposure in epidemiological studies of cancer and other chronic disease, random within-person variability in exposure leads to attenuation of measures of association between exposure and disease. We demonstrate the effect of such variability on odds ratios from a hypothetical case-control study. For a true odds ratio of 3.0 (for a comparison of the highest quintile versus the remaining 4 quintiles of exposure) the odds ratios which would be observed in the presence of the degree of within-person variability demonstrated in this study were 2.15 for toenail arsenic and 1.67 for toenail copper levels. Toenail concentrations of certain trace elements are useful biomarkers of exposure in which a single sample is assumed to represent long-term exposure. However, substantial attenuation in measures of association may occur.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Knowledge of AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases among women attending a family planning clinic in Nairobi, Kenya.

We interviewed 1,716 women attending a family planning clinic in Nairobi between January 1990 and May 1991 about their knowledge of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). When participants in the study were asked to name spontaneously the STDs they knew, more than 90% of the women named gonorrhea and AIDS, and 75.0% named syphilis; 65.4% could name two or more signs of AIDS; and 96.9%, 66.5%, and 58.3% mentioned sexual transmission, transmission via blood transfusion, and perinatal transmission, respectively, as routes of transmission of AIDS. Knowledge of most symptoms and routes of transmission of AIDS, as well as knowledge of gonorrhea and syphilis, was significantly positively associated with level of education. Unmarried women were significantly less likely to know symptoms and routes of transmission of AIDS than were married women. Level of knowledge of gonorrhea and syphilis was significantly positively associated with number of lifetime sexual partners. Although awareness of AIDS was very high, detailed knowledge of signs of AIDS and routes of transmission was deficient, particularly among less educated women. This positive association of detailed AIDS knowledge with level of education suggests a need to design AIDS prevention activities that are more accessible to, and better understood by, women who have little education.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗