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Biomedical subjects

D L Morris

Publications and source records attributed to D L Morris.

At least 397 records · Page 22Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Metronidazole need not be combined with an aminoglycoside when used for prophylaxis in elective colorectal surgery.

A prospective randomized controlled study has compared prophylactic intravenous metronidazole alone with the combination of metronidazole and gentamicin in 100 patients having elective colorectal surgery. There was no significant difference in mortality, infection, dehiscence or postoperative stay between the antibiotic groups. Postoperative sepsis was almost entirely due to aerobic organisms but was associated with minimal morbidity. A significantly higher rate of anastomotic dehiscence and postoperative infection was seen where the quality of bowel preparation was judged to be poor.

Abscess↗
PubMed1983

Evaluation of mezlocillin in elective gastrointestinal surgery.

We report the interim results of two trials to evaluate the place of mezlocillin in elective intestinal operations. Sixty-four operations for gastro-oesophageal disease have been performed where patients were randomly allocated to mezlocillin or cefuroxime. Wound sepsis occurred in 19% of the mezlocillin patients compared with 3% of those receiving cefuroxime. Seventy-three operations have been performed for colorectal cancer in whom three doses of antibiotic were used for prophylaxis. Patients were randomly allocated to mezlocillin and metronidazole or cefuroxime and metronidazole. The rates of abdominal wound sepsis in the groups were 15% and 12% respectively. Post-operative Clostridium difficile colitis occurred in four of the cefuroxime patients, compared with none of those receiving mezlocillin. Mezlocillin appears to be a safe and effective antibiotic when used in combination with metronidazole in colorectal resections for cancer.

Cefuroxime↗
PubMed1983

Gastric partitioning for morbid obesity.

A consecutive series of 33 grossly obese individuals treated by gastric partitioning is described. There was no operative mortality. Weight loss at one year was 19% of original body weight and little loss occurred thereafter. Radiological assessment of the proximal compartment demonstrated progressive postoperative enlargement.

Body Weight↗
PubMed1982

Experimental design and statistical analysis considerations for in vitro mammalian cell transformation assays with BALB/3T3 cells.

Many mammalian cell assays testing for mutagenic activity have common features which cause statistical estimation and analysis problems. Such assays measure the number of cell alterations occurring in a plate containing an unknown number of cells at risk. The number of cells at risk can be estimated from a parallel cytotoxicity study. While the Poisson distribution has been assumed to apply to standardized frequencies, this is questioned. The failure of standardized frequencies to follow a Poisson distribution is attributed to the relatively small and dosage-dependent number of susceptible cells per plate. A minimum number of such cells per plate or random cluster of plates has been determined for each dose so that the measured variable approximates a Poisson distribution. A transformation is suggested to achieve reasonable normality and variance equality, thereby allowing the use of parametric analysis of variance and regression methods and an estimation of required sample size.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Deficient strongly adherent monocytes in the peripheral blood of cancer patients.

The numbers of strongly adherent monocytes in the peripheral blood of normal subjects and cancer patients were determined. The method used was to place peripheral blood mononuclear cells in microwells and culture them for 1 week. At the end of that period, adherent macrophages were counted in the Coulter counter after release. Adherent cells per milliliter of blood, per total cells, and per mononuclear cells or monocytes plated were markedly diminished in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 44 melanoma, 23 breast cancer, 18 lung cancer, nine colon cancer, and 27 leukemia patients. Median values were 14.8 X 10(4) adherent cells per ml peripheral blood for 86 normal subjects, as against 2.5 X 10(4) per ml in the peripheral blood of the 125 patients (P less than 0.001). There was a poor correlation between the adherent cell numbers and the peripheral blood leukocyte counts, but an excellent correlation of the different adherent cell counts with each other. The number of adherent cells in the peripheral blood varied inversely with age in the cancer patients, but not in the normal subjects (r = 0.29, P less than 0.005). When patients under age 50 were compared to the controls, the deficiency of adherent cells was slightly more severe in patients with stage IV lung cancer than in those with stage III lung cancer. In contrast, there was no difference in the degree of deficiency between patients with stage III melanoma and no evident disease and patients with stage IV disseminated metastatic disease. The implications of these results are discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Relationships among fertility, scrotal circumference, seminal quality, and libido in Santa Gertrudis bulls.

Forty Santa Gertrudis bulls were used to examine relationships among scrotal circumference, seminal quality, libido, and fertility [assessed as the percent pregnant of estrous females (PE rate) and the percent pregnant of females mated (PM rate)]. These bulls were selected from 220 two year old bulls to represent variations in scrotal circumference and seminal quality. Each of the 40 bulls were exposed to 100 cyclic Santa Gertrudis heifers for a 4-day (96 hr) breeding period. The number of estrous females available to each bull varied from 12 to 27. A breeding soundness examination (BSE) was conducted on each bull approximately 45 days prior to the 4-day breeding period and immediately after the 4-day breeding period. The three components of the BSE scroe (scrotal circumference, spermatozoal abnormalities and spermatozoal motility) were not significantly correlated with PE rate or PM rate at either evaluation. There was no significant correlation between PM rate and scrotal circumference; however, each of the 4 bulls having a scrotal circumference less than 30 cm had a PM rate below 31%. Relationships between seminal quality and PM rate were unclear and differed between the two evaluations. There was a trend for bulls having poor seminal quality at the first evaluation to improve by the second evaluation. Consequently, fluctuations in seminal quality between evaluations is one possible explanation for low correlations between seminal parameters and PM rate. Libido (number mated/number in estrus x 100) was positively correlated (r = 0.44) with PE rate. Using a stepwise regression procedure, the independent variables accounting for the most variation in PE rate (dependent variable) included libido, secondary spermatozoal abnormalities, and BSE score (r(2) = 0.44). Results of this study indicate that current methods of fertility evaluation did not accurately predict the fertility of individual Santa Gertrudis bulls as measured by PE rate and PM rate during a 4 day breeding period.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1981

Breast cancer in hospitalized psychiatric patients.

Elevated serum prolactin levels caused by antipsychotic agents have been suspected of increasing the risk of breast cancer. The authors reviewed all the cases of breast cancer in 1969-1978 among the female population of a large psychiatric hospital and compared the incidence and prevalence rates of this group to expected rates. The rates of breast cancer among these psychiatric patients were not higher despite their use of antipsychotic drugs.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Human xylazine overdose: a comparative review with clonidine, phenothiazines, and tricyclic antidepressants.

We report a case of horse tranquilizer (xylazine) overdose from oral ingestion in man, detail a gas-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometer method for xylazine assay in the blood and urine, and suggest the management of acute poisoning. We present a comparative review of some toxicological properties that xylazine shares with the pharmacologically related clonidine and with the structurally related phenothiazines and the tricyclic antidepressants.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Coagulopathy associated with hematin treatment for acute intermittent porphyria.

Hematin has been shown to be effective therapy for acute intermittent porphyria. Few complications have been found. We cared for a patient who developed a markedly prolonged prothrombin time, partial thromboplastin time, thrombocytopenia, mild hypofibrinogenemia, mild elevation of fibrin split products, and a 10% fall in hematocrit while receiving hematin. No other cause for the coagulopathy could be found. The abnormal coagulation variables returned to normal when hematin was discontinued. Patients receiving hematin for acute intermittent porphyria should be closely observed for signs of coagulopathy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1980

Is the emergency ambulance service abused?

Analysis of 1000 consecutive patients brought to the accident and emergency department of a busy district general hospital by ambulance after emergency "999" telephone calls showed that 51.7% of these journeys were unnecessary. Medical cases accounted for a greater percentage of necessary calls than did trauma and surgical cases. Medical education of the public is essential if the number of these calls is to be cut.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Altitude and ischemic heart disease in tricultural New Mexico: an example of confounding.

The relationship of male white ischemic heart disease (IHD) death rates to altitude falls to negligible levels when New Mexico populations are separated into Hispanic and Anglo. Low rates of IHD mortality characterize Hispanic males in New Mexico regardless of altitude. In comparison, New Mexico Anglo males have rates near the US average. The variable showing the most consistent positive relationship with altitude is per cent Hispanic. Mortimer et al. (N Engl J Med 296:581--587, 1977) reported a reduction in coronary heart disease mortality in New Mexico white males with an increase in altitude. The current authors claim that this is an example of confounding. They find that the relationship between IHD mortality and altitude is largely due to the intervening variable, per cent Hispanic. Ethnicity demands major attention in epidemiologic studies in tricultural New Mexico.

Altitude↗