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Biomedical subjects

D M Bell

Publications and source records attributed to D M Bell.

69 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1982

Herpes Simplex keratitis: epidemiologic aspects.

Review of medical records of 141 patients with acute epithelial herpes simplex keratitis (HSK) showed that recurrences, but not initial episodes, were more likely to happen from November through February than during other months of the year (P less than .04). Other findings included a high male to female ratio in patients older than 40 years of age (1.67:1.0; P less than .03) and a median time interval between episodes (in patients with recurrent disease) of 1.5 years. Although we identified no risk factors for frequent recurrences or for severe disease, our data support the hypothesis that nonherpetic viral respiratory infections may trigger recurrences of HSK.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Superfacial parotidectomy for pleomorphic parotid adenomas.

A personal series of 49 pleomorphic and monomorphic adenomas of the parotid gland were reviewed with regard to clinical features, the difficulty of diagnosis, operative management, complications and recurrence. Parotidectomy is contrasted with limited surgery and radiotherapy, with particular reference to the morbidity associated with recurrent tumour and the potential adverse effects of radiotherapy. It is suggested that the difficulty of pre-operative diagnosis and the overall morbidity including that due to radiotherapy and recurrent tumour, favour formal parotidectomy as the primary operative management for all parotid adenomas.

Adenoma↗
PubMed1981

Spectral distribution of the negative potential in the cichlid electroretinogram.

A negative potential occurring in the ERG of certain cichlid fishes shows a unique set of properties when evoked by monochromatic light. Spectral distributions determined for Cichlasoma octofasciatum and Hemichromis bimaculatus show a blue (460-478 nm) maximum. no Purkinje shift upon light adaptation, and secondary peaks correlated with the species' behavioral preferences in reproduction and parental care.

Animals↗
PubMed1981

Kawasaki syndrome: description of two outbreaks in the United States.

Investigation of two outbreaks of Kawasaki syndrome (KS) in the United States in 1979 and in 1980 revealed no evidence of person-to-person transmission or of a common-source exposure among patients. Questionnaire data showed that KS was more likely to occur in children of middle and upper socioeconomic status than in those of lower status (P less than 0.05 and P less than 0.001 for the respective outbreaks) and that patients with KS had a higher incidence of an antecedent, primarily respiratory illness than did controls matched for age, sex, and race (83% of patients in the first outbreak vs. 30% of one control group, P less than 0.01, and vs. 36% of another control group, P less than 0.02; and 56% of patients in the second outbreak vs. 32% of their controls, P less than 0.02). However, laboratory studies did not identify an etiologic agent for either KS or for the antecedent illness that may be a risk factor for KS.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1981

Combined cataract extraction and trabeculotomy; further experiences.

A procedure combining external trabeculotomy with intracapsular cataract extraction was performed in 40 eyes of 28 patients. 77.5% were controlled without medication and there was no final reduction in visual acuity due to complication from the combined operations. The procedure is advocated for patients with glucoma who must undergo cataract extraction.

Aged↗
PubMed1981

Patient nutrition education follow-up in the hospital setting.

Ideally, hospital patients should have the opportunity as outpatients for continued nutritional counseling by a dietitian or nutritionist. However, when this is not feasible, alternate methods can be developed to provide some follow-up and improve nutritional care. The outpatient nutrition education questionnaire is one such tool that can be implemented and utilized to give the patient an opportunity to ask for further help, while alerting the dietitian to patients needing further assistance.

Dietetics↗
PubMed1980

Listener agreement on articulation errors of four- and five-year-old children.

This study reported differences in agreement among four experienced listeners who analyzed the articulation skills of 97 four- and five-year-old children. Mean agreement percentages based on the identification of only misarticulated sounds were contrasted with mean percentages of agreement for decisions made on both correct and incorrect articulations of each sound for the entire population. In addition, the weighted average of the modal category of agreement for the specification of error type for misarticulated responses was determined for each sound tested over all subjects. Differences in agreement for evaluations of all responses, for error responses only, and for specification of error types were calculated and reported by place and manner of articulation, voicing characteristics, and syllabic function. Place and manner of articulation revealed differences of agreement, whereas voicing and syllabic function contributed little to agreement or disagreement.

Articulation Disorders↗
PubMed1979

A duration-dependent negative potential in the cichlid electroretinogram.

A negative potential can be evoked in the local electroretinogram of the cichlid fish Cichlasoma octofasciatum by light stimuli of duration longer than 70 msec. This response superficially resembles the proximal negative response, but differs in some waveform components and dependence upon stimulus configuration and duration.

Animals↗
PubMed1978

Monitoring corneal wound strength non-invasively.

Intensity of light scattered from 24 healing rabbit corneal incisions progressively increased during six weeks following the operation. After the first week, the mean value for scattered light intensity from the wounds was highly correlated with wound tensile strength measured in another group of rabbits. The correlation coefficient was 0.95 at the 0.05 confidence level. It is hoped that a simple and reliable method of measuring scattered light intensity may provide a non-invasive tool for assessing the strength of a corneal wound in the future.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A comparative pharmacokinetic study of intravenous and intramuscular midazolam in patients with epilepsy.

The pharmacokinetics of midazolam, a water soluble 1,4-benzodiazepine, has been studied in 12 patients (11 male, 1 female; age range 19-57 years) with epilepsy. All patients were taking hepatic enzyme inducing antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) on a regular basis. Midazolam (5 mg) was administered intravenously and 1 week later midazolam was administered intramuscularly, the dose used being dependent on the sedative response to the intravenous dose (10 mg, n = 2; 7 mg, n = 8; 5 mg, n = 2). Serial blood samples were collected at timed intervals for 5-7 h. After intravenous administration initial distribution was rapid with a mean half-life (t 1/2 alpha) of 0.06 +/- 0.03 h followed by a terminal half-life (t 1/2 beta or gamma) of 1.5 +/- 0.3 h. Volume of distribution was 0.62 +/- 0.27 l/kg. After intramuscular administration midazolam was rapidly absorbed with peak serum concentrations achieved at 25 +/- 23 min. Two patients showed delayed absorption. Mean terminal half-life was 2.8 +/- 1.7 h. The absolute bioavailability of intramuscular midazolam was calculated in 11 patients as 87 +/- 18%. Sedation was rapid (less than 1-2 min) but transient (7-75 min) after intravenous and slower (2-30 min) and for a longer period (20-120 min) after intramuscular administration. Since intravenous administration of AEDs including diazepam is not always feasible in status epilepticus there are obvious advantages in having an effective intramuscular formulation. Our data suggest that midazolam may be such a drug.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Different antiviral spectra of human macrophage interferon activities.

The antiviral activity of alpha-interferon (IFN-alpha) produced by human leukocytes in response to viral infection has been considered to be independent of the virus which induced its production. Recently, however, IFN-alpha has been found to include at least eight different subtypes, as indicated by measurement of antigenic variability, DNA hybridization and amino acid sequencing. We considered the possibility that interferon heterogeneity may play a part in enhancing host antiviral defence and now present data suggesting that purified human macrophages, when exposed to different viruses, produce interferons having differing spectra of antiviral activity. These findings may provide a functional correlation for IFN-alpha heterogeneity.

Humans↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A survey of occupational blood contact and HIV infection among orthopedic surgeons. The American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons Serosurvey Study Committee.

OBJECTIVE: To study the seroprevalence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) among orthopedic surgeons, and correlate the results with occupational and nonoccupational risk factors. Orthopedic surgeons are one of several groups of health care workers at risk for occupationally acquired HIV infection; however, few HIV seroprevalence studies in health care workers, and none in surgeons, have been performed to assist in estimating the extent of occupational risk. DESIGN: A voluntary, anonymous HIV serosurvey at an annual meeting. To assess the representativeness of participants, a mail survey of orthopedic surgeons was conducted 5 months prior to the annual meeting. SETTING: The 1991 annual meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons held in Anaheim, Calif. PARTICIPANTS: United States or Canadian orthopedic surgeons in training, in practice, or retired from practice who attended the annual meeting. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants' HIV serostatus and reporting of occupational and nonoccupational risk factors for HIV infection. RESULTS: Of 7147 eligible orthopedists at the annual meeting, 3420 (47.9%) participated. Compared with the 10,411 orthopedic surgeons responding to the mail survey, serosurvey participants had at least as many opportunities for occupational contact with blood and with HIV-infected patients. Among participants, 87.4% reported a blood-skin contact and 39.2% reported a percutaneous blood contact in the previous month. Among 3267 participants without reported nonoccupational risk factors for HIV infection, none was positive for HIV antibody (0%; upper limit of the 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.09%); among 108 participants with reported nonoccupational HIV risk factors, two were positive for HIV antibody (1.9%; upper limit of the 95% CI = 5.7%). CONCLUSION: Although these findings may not be generalizable to all orthopedic surgeons, we found no evidence of HIV infection among serosurvey participants without nonoccupational risk factors. The high rates of self-reported blood contact underscore the importance of compliance with infection control precautions and of development of new techniques and equipment to minimize the risk of exposures to blood during surgical procedures.

Adult↗