Biomedical subjects
D R Tucker
Publications and source records attributed to D R Tucker.
Guidelines for the control and prevention of meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in healthcare facilities.
Meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) remains endemic in many UK hospitals. Specific guidelines for control and prevention are justified because MRSA causes serious illness and results in significant additional healthcare costs. Guidelines were drafted by a multi-disciplinary group and these have been finalised following extensive consultation. The recommendations have been graded according to the strength of evidence. Surveillance of MRSA should be undertaken in a systematic way and should be fed back routinely to healthcare staff. The inappropriate or unnecessary use of antibiotics should be avoided, and this will also reduce the likelihood of the emergence and spread of strains with reduced susceptibility to glycopeptides, i.e. vancomycin-intermediate S. aureus/glycopeptide-intermediate S. aureus (VISA/GISA) and vancomycin-resistant S. aureus (VRSA). Screening for MRSA carriage in selected patients and clinical areas should be performed according to locally agreed criteria based upon assessment of the risks and consequences of transmission and infection. Nasal and skin decolonization should be considered in certain categories of patients. The general principles of infection control should be adopted for patients with MRSA, including patient isolation and the appropriate cleaning and decontamination of clinical areas. Inadequate staffing, especially amongst nurses, contributes to the increased prevalence of MRSA. Laboratories should notify the relevant national authorities if VISA/GISA or VRSA isolates are identified.
The developmental record: reliability and validity in a clinical population.
Currently, the Developmental Record is widely used with developmentally disabled adults, at least in the midwestern and southwestern region of the United States. Since it inception in 1974, there have been no subsequent reliability and validity studies confirming its clinical usefulness. For the present study a total of 1,069 Developmental Record protocols were obtained from archival files of a large midwestern facility for mentally retarded persons. Analyses revealed high internal reliabilities, but questionable validity. Specifically, the subscale structure of the instrument was not confirmed by the factor analysis.
Visual compatibility of ciprofloxacin lactate with five broad-spectrum antimicrobial agents during simulated Y-site injection.
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Phenytoin therapy of recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa. Clinical trial and proposed mechanism of action on collagenase.
We administered phenytoin (diphenylhydantoin) by mouth to 17 unselected patients to assess its ability to reduce blistering in recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa (RDEB). Therapeutic response was correlated with blood levels of the drug. Although there was a decrease in blistering of 53 +/- 6 per cent (mean +/- S.E.) among all patients at levels of more than 8 microgram of phenytoin per milliliter, the response was variable, with 12 of 17 patients having a decrease in blistering of more than 40 per cent. Since increased collagenase in human skin has been implicated in the pathogenesis of blistering in RDEB, we examined the effect of phenytoin on this enzyme. Although the drug did not inhibit collagenase activity directly, its addition to human-skin explant and fibroblast cultures produced a 50 to 60 per cent decrease in collagenase activity and immunoreactive protein concentrations. These in vitro studies suggest that phenytoin inhibits synthesis or secretion of collagenase of both, and that the favorable clinical response can be explained by this inhibition.
Nephrology. Pattern of consultation in a general hospital.
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Fluid secretion in isolated proximal straight renal tubules. Effect of human uremic serum.
We have examined the effect of normal and uremic human sera on the transtubular flow of fluid in isolated perfused segments of rabbit proximal convoluted and straight renal tubules. Proximal convoluted and straight tubules absorbed fluid from the lumen when the external bath was normal rabbit serum. Normal human sera in the bath depressed net fluid absorption in both tubular segments, but more importantly, uremic human serum caused proximal straight tubules to secrete fluid into the lumen. Fluid secretion was also demonstrated indirectly by observing in nonperfused proximal straight, but not proximal convoluted tubules, that the normally collapsed lumens opened widely in uremic serum. Nonperfused proximal straight tubules developed expanded lumens even after a 25-fold dilution of human uremic serum with normal rabbit serum, whereas lumen expansion occurred only in undiluted normal human serum, on the average. Serum from acutely uremic rabbits possessed secretory activity but normal rabbit serum did not. The secretory effect of uremic sera in proximal straight tubules was inhibited by cooling and ouabain and probenecid. The secretory activity of uremic sera was removed by dialysis, but not by freezing or boiling. Para-aminohippurate and benzoate caused fluid secretion in proximal straight tubules but urea, creatinine, guanidinosuccinate, and urate did not. On the basis of these results, we suggest that the secretory factor in serum may be a substance or group of substances possibly related to the hippurate class of organic molecules that are accumulated to relatively high concentrations in renal failure. The secretory material in the serum of uremic patients may significantly influence the transport of salt and water in relatively intact residual nephrons.
Long-term effects of clofibrate (Atromid-S) on serum lipids in man.
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