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Biomedical subjects

D M Harris

Publications and source records attributed to D M Harris.

At least 91 records · Page 5Linked to original sources
PubMed1974

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the general hospital: a six-year survey.

The incidence of infections caused by Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not increase significantly among general surgical and medical patients between 1967 and 1972, and the majority of such infections were trivial. Serious infections were virtually confined to the intensive care unit and the renal transplant unit, and were usually associated with major trauma, surgical mishap or immunosuppression. The majority of these patients had received prior antibiotic therapy. Persistent isolation of Ps. aeruginosa from surgical wounds was often associated with severe intra-abdominal sepsis, and antibacterial therapy was commonly ineffective in these cases. Apparently susceptible patients did not necessarily acquire infection, though the organism was present in their environment. It is suggested that this may reflect a variation of virulence among environmental strains of Ps. aeruginosa, and that further study of this aspect may contribute to improved control of infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1974

Evaluation of commercially available antisera for serotyping of Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Commercially available O antisera have been compared with a standard pyocine typing method in the investigation of 156 strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A third of the strains belonged to serotypes 3 or 6 and 42.3% to pyocine type 1. Good differentiation of strains belonging to the predominant serotypes was achieved by pyocine typing. Although routine use of both methods provides a more complete discrimination between strains, the simplicity of serotyping renders it more suitable for use in the smaller laboratory, where only one method may be feasible. If desired, pyocine typing can be reserved for the strains which cannot be distinguished serologically.

Agglutination Tests↗
PubMed1973

Staphylococcal infection in an intensive-care unit, and its relation to infection in the remainder of the hospital.

A survey of the staphylococcal infections occurring in a general hospital over a period of four and a half years showed that multiple-resistant strains of phage type 77 were endemic in the medical and surgical wards. Strains of this phage type were uncommon among patients attending the casualty department, and those found were usually either fully sensitive to antibiotics or resistant to benzylpenicillin only. Regular monitoring of patients admitted to the intensive-care unit showed that 58% of staphylococcal infections in such patients were present at the time of admission to the unit. Although the wards thus constituted a significant reservoir of infection for the intensive-care unit, there was no evidence to suggest that the return of patients from the unit to the wards was responsible for the transfer of infection in the opposite direction. The possibility of reducing the numbers of multiple-resistant staphylococci in the general wards, by the screening of all new admissions for the presence of tetracycline-resistant strains, appears to be impracticable in this area.

Bacteriophage Typing↗
PubMed1972

Comparison of beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol and prednisolone in reversible airways obstruction.

This paper describes a double-bond crossover trial of prednisolone and beclomethasone dipropionate aerosol in 38 steroid-dependent patients with reversible diffuse airways obstruction. Altogether there was no difference in the patient's preference of the two treatment groups or in the number of times they used their bronchodilator aerosol, or in the forced expiratory volume in one second, vital capacity, or peak expiratory flow rate in the two treatment groups. The plasma cortisol levels when the patients were on the aerosol were much higher than when they were on prednisolone. The use of inhaled aerosol steroids seems to be preferable as it eliminates the usual complications of oral steroid therapy.

Administration, Oral↗
PubMed1969

Staining of urinary leucocytes as an aid to the diagnosis of inflammation in the urinary tract.

Five hundred specimens of urine have been examined for pyuria and bacteriuria, the leucocytes being stained by the Sternheimer-Malbin method. Most urines contained either less than 1 or more than 10 leucocytes per cmm; a few specimens contained 1 to 10 cells per cmm, whatever their viable bacterial count. The presence of leucocytes in urine was usually related to the bacterial count, pyuria being commonest in urines showing ;significant bacteriuria'. However, urinary tract instrumentation caused pyuria in the absence of infection. Leucocytes with nuclei staining blue by the Sternheimer-Malbin technique were considered to be indicative of active inflammation, but the incidence of such cells appeared to be a reflection of the total leucocyte count of the specimen rather than of its viable bacterial count. In the majority of cases the diagnosis of infection can be made on the basis of the bacterial count and the degree of pyuria. The staining technique appears to have a limited use, restricted to the interpretation of cases in which the results of culture and conventional leucocyte counts are ambiguous.

Bacteriuria↗