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Biomedical subjects

D J Pollock

Publications and source records attributed to D J Pollock.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Acute osteomyelitis and septic arthritis in children. A simple approach to treatment.

A 12-month prospective study of 45 patients with bacteriologically proven acute osteitis and septic arthritis is presented. Sodium fusidate and erythromycin at the recommended dosage of 30 mg/kg/d for 3 weeks was found to be an effective first-line antibiotic regimen. The hazards of Haemophilus infection are emphasized. Immediate Gram staining is therefore strongly recommended. It was found that adequate drainage of a subperiosteal abscess without drilling of the bone always resulted in complete cure, while cases of septic arthritis consequent upon decompression of a contiguous metaphysitis were adequately treated by arthrotomy and irrigation alone. The authors believe that early limited surgery with adequate administration of antibiotics aided by early circumspect mobilization will provide a good functional and cosmetically acceptable result in most cases.

Acute Disease↗

Cutaneous carcinoma in psoriatic patients treated with PUVA.

Eight of 216 psoriatic patients treated at The London Hospital with photochemotherapy (PUVA) have developed a total of twenty-five skin carcinomata. The type and site of tumour are discussed with special reference to the importance of PUVA compared with other risk factors. We suggest that a history of previous skin carcinoma, arsenic therapy or radiotherapy are relative contra-indications to PUVA therapy for psoriasis.

Adolescent↗

Oncocytic hepatocellular tumour.

A case of hepatocellular carcinoma in a non-cirrhotic liver of a 51-year-old female is described. The macroscopic appearance is of a well circumscribed tumour measuring 20 X 10 cm with a central fibrous scar. Histologically, the tumour is an unusual variant of epithelial liver cell tumour characterized by polygonal cells set in a fibrous stroma and showing oncocytic change. Electron microscopy confirms the oncocytic features. Oncocytic change in liver cell and other tumours is discussed.

Adenoma↗

Iron overload in beta-thalassaemia minor. A family study.

23 descendents of a 74--year-old Englishman who had beta-thalassaemia trait, and died of hepatoma, were studied to discover whether thalassaemia minor alone could predispose to iron overload. Serum ferritin and HLA antigens were assessed in all members, and adults underwent radioiron investigations and liver biopsy. 2 members of the second generation and 1 of the third generation, all of whom had thalassaemia trait, had elevated liver iron concentration, indicating preclinical iron overload. This was not associated with any HLA type. None of the subjects had been treated with exogenous iron. The one member of the second generation who had thalassaemia minor but not iron overload was female, and the 5 members of the third generation with the trait, but with normal serum ferritin levels, were all under the age of 15 years. Members of the family without beta-thalassaemia minor had normal iron metabolism. It is possible that the development of iron overload in 4 members of this family was related to the presence of thalassaemia minor, and not to the inheritance of another abnormal gene causing idiopathic haemochromatosis.

Adolescent↗

The pathology and mineral content of lungs in cases of mesothelioma in the United Kingdom in 1976.

A study was made of 93 cases of mesothelioma who died in 1976 in the United Kingdom. Lung tissue was available for mineral fibre analysis from 86 of these cases, and also from 29 cases of cerebrovascular disease and 27 cases of bronchial carcinoma, matched for place of death, age and sex with the mesothelioma cases. It was observed that: (1) mesothelioma patients had more amphibole fibres in their lungs than did control cases; (2) chrysotile fibres were not present in greater numbers in the mesothelioma patients than in the control cases; (3) four of the mesothelioma cases had no amphibole fibres in their lungs; two of these had chrysotile fibres, and the other two had no asbestos fibres; and (4) 30 cases of mesothelioma had no chrysotile fibres in their lungs.

Adult↗

Iron overload despite partial gastrectomy.

Iron overload was found in 3 patients who had undergone partial gastrectomy: a 61-year-old woman developed iron overload because she may have had idiopathic haemochromatosis and had also been given parenteral iron; in a 62-year-old man with thalassaemia minor, iron overload may have developed because of increased oral iron ingestion, low serum folate, increased, albeit ineffective, erythropoiesis and sideroblastic anaemia; a 74-year-old man with thalassaemia minor developed iron overload without exogenous therapy and died from a hepatoma. These cases illustrate that partial gastrectomy fails to protect patients from developing iron overload, particularly if given uncontrolled iron therapy.

Aged↗

The liver in coeliac disease.

The pathology of the liver in 19 cases of malabsorption is reported. Five of these were proven to have adult coeliac disease, in the others that diagnosis was presumed by exclusion of other causes of malabsorption and by the coincidence of other conditions known to be associated with coeliac disease. Of these cases, three had liver changes of chronic hepatitis and two of these were in the proven coeliac group, including a case with cirrhosis and a hepatoma. In addition, less severe liver changes such as portal tract fibrosis and portal tract infiltration by inflammatory cells were present greatly in excess to that of the controls. The reasons for the occurrence of liver damage in coeliac disease are outlined and discussed in relation to the liver disorders associated with jejunoileal bypass used in the treatment of obesity. Possible mechanisms of liver injury in coeliac disease are described.

Adult↗

Myopathy in Whipple's disease.

We report a patient with Whipple's disease who developed a myopathy that improved during antibiotic therapy. The muscle biopsy showed mild type 2 fibre atrophy, type 1 fibre preponderance, variability in fibre size, and changes in the myofibrillar pattern of affected fibres. Interfascicular macrophages contained PAS-positive material. With the electron microscope these macrophages contained membranous inclusions and bacillary bodies, similar to those seen in the jejunal biopsy.

Biopsy↗

In-situ and invasive carcinoma of the colon in patients with ulcerative colitis.

Four cases are described in which ulcerative colitis was complicated by carcinoma and in which the extent of the accompanying in-situ carcinoma (precancer) was determined. The extent of the in-situ carcinoma was very variable and in all cases the rectum was spared in whole or part. Search for in-situ carcinoma in rectal biopsies will fail to indicate the development of malignancy in some patients with ulcerative colitis. Alternative methods of cancer detection in this group are discussed.

Adenocarcinoma↗

The effect on jejunal mucosa of withdrawing and adding dietary gluten in cases of idiopathic steatorrhoea.

Biopsy studies of the jejunal mucosa in patients with idiopathic steatorrhoea after periods on a gluten-free diet showed that the epithelium improved quickly in respect of surface cell height, mucosal thickness, and mitosis count, and more slowly in respect of villous height and width. In no case was recovery complete in every particular. Appearances seen through the dissecting microscope improved slowly and incompletely. Gluten loading after a period on a gluten-free diet partially reversed some of these mucosal changes in as short a time as five to seven days. Measuring such changes may help to hasten the diagnosis in some patients with suspected gluten-sensitive enteropathy in whom there is otherwise difficulty in assessing the clinical response to a gluten-free diet. The histological response of the jejunum to a gluten-free diet and to subsequent gluten loading may help to clarify the aetiological relationship between carcinoma and jejunal mucosal atrophy.

Adult↗