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Biomedical subjects

D R Thompson

Publications and source records attributed to D R Thompson.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1994

The efficacy of barbiturate coma in the management of uncontrolled intracranial hypertension following neurosurgical trauma.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of barbiturate therapy as an adjunctive treatment for control of intracranial hypertension when conventional methods failed. To this end, a retrospective chart review was conducted on 21 neurosurgical trauma patients with uncontrolled intracranial pressure (ICP) admitted to a trauma/intensive care unit. In this patient population, the overall mortality was 48%. Control of ICP was achieved in 67% of patients. The survival of patients experiencing ICP control with barbiturate coma was better than those patients who failed therapy (71% vs 14%, p = 0.021). Thus, in a subgroup of neurosurgical trauma patients who are refractory to conventional management of elevated ICP, barbiturates appear to improve survival, suggesting that this therapy has an important role in the management of neurotrauma patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

Intravenous lorazepam as an amnestic and anxiolytic agent in the intensive care unit: a prospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and hemodynamic safety of intravenous lorazepam as an amnestic and anxiolytic agent in patients undergoing critical care procedures. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Trauma/intensive care unit and coronary care unit of a 524-bed, tertiary, teaching community hospital. SUBJECTS: Ten patients undergoing critical care procedures. INTERVENTIONS: Intravenous lorazepam was administered at an initial dose of 2 mg, 15 to 20 mins before the critical care procedure (procedures included both invasive and noninvasive techniques) was performed. Anxiety level and memory assessment were evaluated at baseline and at various points following lorazepam administration. Changes in hemodynamic status were evaluated regularly throughout the study. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: No significant changes in hemodynamic measurements were observed after administration of intravenous lorazepam. Significant differences were seen in anxiety scores and amnestic effects from preprocedure/pre-lorazepam to post-lorazepam evaluations (all p values were < .03). CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the beneficial anxiolytic and amnestic effects of lorazepam in a subgroup of patients undergoing critical care procedures. The study also substantiates the safety of this drug in this patient population.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Regionalization of critical care medicine: task force report of the American College of Critical Care Medicine.

OBJECTIVES: To review the existing literature and task force opinions on regionalization of critical care services, and to synthesize a judgement on possible costs, benefits, disadvantages, and strategies. DATA SOURCES: Pertinent literature in the English language. STUDY SELECTION: One hundred forty-six English language papers were studied to determine possible ramifications of regionalization of critical care or other similar services. DATA EXTRACTION: Information on possible influence on the care of the critically ill was sought and integrated with the opinions of task force members. Possible costs, benefits, as well as disadvantages to the patient, transferring and receiving institutions, and region as a whole were sought. DATA SYNTHESIS: Regionalization of critical care services was thought to be advantageous to the patient. The larger academic institutions tend to have more resources, better subspecialty availability, and expertise in the care of the critically ill. Efficiency and safety during transport need to be in place. Disadvantages of overutilization, possible costliness to both the referring institution as well as to the receiving institution were outlined. It was agreed that pediatric critical care medicine was a separate issue. CONCLUSIONS: Regionalization of critical care medicine probably is beneficial and the concept should be explored.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

A telephone survey of medical patients 1 week after discharge from hospital.

The telephone is an effective means of communication and its use is growing as a means of offering members of the public access to health-care agencies for advice and support. Acute hospital beds are at a premium and as lengths of stay in hospital continue to fall there is an increasing need for effective discharge planning and post-discharge support. Eighty-five patients (58 men and 27 women) were interviewed over the telephone 1 week after discharge from a medical ward. Over half of the patients reported health problems and one-fifth reported social problems. Almost half of the patients sought advice. Telephone follow-up would appear to be a useful means of monitoring a patient's progress and providing an opportunity for patients seeking, or nurses offering, advice and support.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Rainfall and breed effects on the efficacy of ivermectin jetting fluid for the prevention of fly strike and treatment of infestations of lice in long-wooled sheep.

An ivermectin-based jetting fluid was assessed for its efficacy in the prevention of blowfly strike and treatment of lice in long-wooled sheep. The ivermectin concentrate was diluted to 0.03 mg/mL and applied via a standard hand jetting technique. In insectary studies, using laboratory-reared Lucilia cuprina, sheep jetted with ivermectin were protected from induced breech and body strikes for 18 weeks after treatment. Merino and Corriedale sheep were equally protected, as were sheep subjected to 25 mm simulated rainfall at 1, 3 or 6 hours after jetting. Naturally occurring infestations of lice, Bovicola (Damalinia) ovis, were successfully treated with ivermectin jetting fluid in Merino and Corriedale sheep using a standard hand jetting technique. In addition, the efficacy of treatment was not affected by simulated rainfall at 1, 3 or 6 hours after treatment.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1994

Efficacy of ivermectin jetting fluid for the curative treatment of blowfly strikes in sheep.

A jetting fluid containing 7.5% w/v ivermectin, which was diluted to 0.03 mg/mL in water and applied using a standard hand jetting technique, was assessed for its efficacy in treating blowfly strikes on Merino sheep. Strikes were induced on sheep held under insectary conditions using laboratory-reared Lucilia cuprina. All struck sheep jetted at 28, 48 or 72 hours after exposure to flies were successfully treated. All 1st, 2nd and early 3rd instar larvae were killed within 24 hours of treatment.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1994

The efficacy of ivermectin jetting fluid for control of blowfly strike on sheep under field conditions.

Seventeen trials involving 5737 sheep were conducted to test the efficacy of ivermectin jetting fluid (30 ppm in water) for the control of blowfly strike when applied to sheep either by standard hand jetting or through an automatic jetting race. Sheep were observed for up to 14 weeks after treatment and all strikes recorded. The level of fly challenge varied between trials, resulting in strike rates in untreated sheep ranging between 0 and 94%. At 12 weeks after treatment there were 93% fewer strikes in hand jetted sheep and 84% fewer strikes in machine jetted sheep when compared with untreated sheep. At this time and point there was a 90%, 86% and 93% reduction in poll, body and breech strikes, respectively, when hand jetting was used, whereas machine jetting reduced poll, body, breech and pizzle strikes by 84%, 81%, 79% and 100%, respectively.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1994

Side effects with amiodarone therapy.

Amiodarone hydrochloride is increasingly being used in the treatment of ventricular and supraventricular arrhythmias. Although a highly effective anti-arrhythmic agent, its use is restricted by the high incidence of side effects. To elucidate the value of monitoring serum level of both the parent drug and its active metabolite in predicting the occurrence of side effects, the investigators examined 109 patients from a register of patients treated with amiodarone for the prevalence of known side effects of the drug. The register contained over 90% of patients treated with amiodarone at the Leicester General Hospital during the period of the study. The findings suggest cutaneous side effects and abnormal thyroid function tests (without overt gland dysfunction) are more likely to occur with increasing duration of treatment and cumulative dosage. However, neither the serum amiodarone level nor the serum metabolite level had any predictive power for the occurrence of side effects. In view of this finding, it is recommended that close attention be paid to the continued clinical monitoring of side effects and that there is utility in measuring the serum amiodarone level in each patient to avoid the prescription of unnecessarily high doses. This is necessary not only to lessen the occurrence of cumulative dose-related side effects, but also because the variable but very long half-life of the drug leads to difficulties in relating spot drug levels to long-term effects.

Aged↗
PubMed1993

Field trials to confirm the efficacy of ivermectin jetting fluid for control of blow fly strike in sheep.

Fifty-two field trials, involving 14,296 sheep, were conducted to confirm the efficacy and safety of ivermectin jetting fluid against blow fly strike in sheep in Australia. A total of 7143 sheep were treated by hand-jetting with a 0.03 mg ml-1 solution of ivermectin, while 7153 sheep were untreated controls. The percent reduction in the cumulative incidence of strikes within the treatment area for ivermectin-treated sheep in comparison with untreated controls, was 96.5%, 95.8% and 93.5% at 10, 12 and 13/14 weeks after treatment, respectively. There were no adverse reactions to treatment.

Administration, Topical↗
PubMed1993

Characterization of a New York ovine lentivirus isolate.

A lentivirus has been isolated from a Finnish ewe with ovine progressive pneumonia in a closed upstate New York flock. We demonstrated that the virus, designated ovine lentivirus strain CU1 (OLV-CU1), is biologically, biochemically and molecularly related to, but distinct from, previously described sheep and goat lentiviruses. Nine of 32 ewes (from the affected flock) with precipitating antibodies for ovine lentivirus also produced antibodies that were able to neutralize the infectivity of OLV-CU1. The virus replicated in cultured sheep fibroblasts and caused the formation of large multi-nucleated cells. OLV-CU1-specific RNA transcripts found in infected cells and virion antigenic proteins were similar to those of other small ruminant lentiviruses. However, the virus was distinguished from other isolates at the DNA level by nucleic acid hybridization, restriction endonuclease mapping and partial sequencing of the virus genome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1993

Efficacy of ivermectin jetting fluid against strike by some primary and secondary blowflies of sheep.

Merino sheep, which were hand jetted with ivermectin jetting fluid, and untreated sheep were challenged with larval implants of Lucilia cuprina, Lucilia sericata, Calliphora nociva and Chrysomya rufifacies at intervals of about 2 weeks from 6 to 16 weeks after treatment. Both Lucilia species produced strike rates of about 90% in untreated sheep; the respective rates were lower for Chr rufifacies (55%) and C nociva (60%). Strike rates for the treated group were about 17, 11, and 9% for L cuprina, L sericata, and Chr rufifacies, respectively. Only 1 implant site in the treated group was struck by C nociva. Treated sheep had significantly (P < 0.01) longer time to first strike than did untreated ones for each species of fly. L sericata, Chr rufifacies, and C nociva larvae implanted on treated animals had significantly (P < 0.05) longer time to first strike than did L cuprina larvae.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Treatment with ivermectin of sarcoptic mange in pigs.

Ivermectin injectable solution (1% w/v) was highly effective against Sarcoptes scabiei var suis when administered subcutaneously once to swine at 300 mcg/kg body weight. There were significantly (P < 0.05) fewer Sarcoptes mange mites counted on pigs treated with ivermectin than on untreated pigs at each count up to day 56 after treatment. The results indicate ivermectin should provide an efficient, practical means of control of sarcoptic mange in intensive piggeries.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Mercury concentrations in seabirds from colonies in the northeast Atlantic.

Total mercury concentrations were determined in samples of body feathers from a range of common seabird species breeding at Låtrabjarg, northwest Iceland, St. Kilda, Foula and the Firth of Forth, Scotland and Bleiksøy, Syltefjord, and Hornøy, Norway. Seabirds from Låtrabjarg generally exhibited the highest mercury concentrations, with a trend of decreasing mercury concentrations in a southwest to northeast direction in seabirds at the other colonies; seabirds at Hornøy were generally found to have the lowest mercury concentrations. Some species at the Firth of Forth exhibited relatively elevated mercury concentrations compared to those at Foula and Norwegian sites. Inter-colony differences in diet were thought to be relatively small for most species and unlikely to account for the range of mercury concentrations measured in the seabirds (Låtrabjarg: lowest arithmetic mean mercury concentration in common guillemots Uria aalge, 1.6 micrograms/g, s.d. = 0.6, n = 45; highest arithmetic mean mercury concentration in kittiwakes Rissa tridactyla, 5.5 micrograms/g, s.d. = 1.7, n = 36). The oceanic transport of mercury, together with the effects of anthropogenic inputs of mercury to the northeast Atlantic, and the removal of mercury from the water column via biological activity are discussed as influential factors determining the observed patterns of mercury concentration in seabirds.

Animals↗
PubMed1992

Metal concentrations in seabirds of the New Zealand region.

Concentrations of the heavy metals cadmium, copper, lead, zinc, mercury and, in some individuals, methyl mercury were determined in a range of tissues of 64 tropical, subtropical, subantarctic and antarctic seabird taxa mostly from the New Zealand region. Although apparently natural, levels of cadmium and mercury in some species greatly exceed those known to have toxic effects in some terrestrial birds. Copper and zinc levels exhibited less inter-species variation than the non-essential metals cadmium and mercury. Cadmium concentrations were highest in kidney tissues but uniformly low in feathers. Total mercury concentrations showed most inter-species variation. Mean methyl mercury levels in liver tissues of several large procellariiforms represented less than 5% of the corresponding mean total mercury level. Lead concentrations were generally low or below the limits of detection, but elevated levels were measured in some coastal or scavenging species. In a significant number of species, mean concentrations of liver cadmium and mercury and kidney cadmium were greater in adults than in young birds. The reverse was true for copper. Mean zinc levels in liver did not differ between adults and young. High levels of cadmium in some species seem likely to be due to diet, whereas high levels of mercury probably reflect more closely the moult intervals which constrain the ability of birds to eliminate methyl mercury.

Journal Article↗