Biomedical subjects
D S Thomson
Publications and source records attributed to D S Thomson.
Selecting the optimal dose of low-molecular-weight hydroxyethyl starch (Pentastarch) for granulocyte collection.
A new, rapidly excreted, low-molecular-weight form of hydroxyethyl starch (Pentastarch), is effective and safe in centrifugation leukapheresis. To define the optimal dose of Pentastarch, 12 subjects donated granulocytes by continuous-flow, centrifugation leukapheresis on three occasions at 3-week intervals. Each subject received approximately 250,500, or 1000 ml of Pentastarch according to a random sequence during procedures in which 81 of donor blood was consistently processed. Plasma Pentastarch concentrations (mean mg/ml) measured immediately after leukapheresis were 3.1, 6.7, and 12.7 for the 250, 500-, and 1000-ml doses, respectively. Total leukocyte and neutrophil yields with the 500- or the 1000-ml doses of Pentastarch were similar, and both were significantly greater (p less than 0.05) than those with the 250-ml dose. Neutrophil yields per concentrate (mean X 10(-10) were 0.74, 1.72, and 1.73 for the 250-, 500-, and 1000-ml doses, respectively. Pentastarch dose had little effect on lymphocyte and platelet yields. No serious adverse effects were evident for any dose of Pentastarch during 12 weeks of observation. In particular, the 1000-ml dose did not produce increased toxicity. Thus, a single 500-ml bottle of 10 percent Pentastarch produced maximal yields; efficacy was not improved by doubling the dose.
Graded neurologic scale for use in acute hemispheric stroke treatment protocols.
A standardized neurologic assessment scoring instrument was developed and tested for use in a multicenter trial of hypervolemic hemodilution in acute hemispheric stroke. Components of the neurologic examination pertinent to hemispheric stroke syndromes were emphasized. The scale was evaluated using 16 acute stroke patients for concurrent validity (Pearson coefficient r = 0.89 compared with global assessments by neurologists or neurosurgeons) and interobserver reliability (r = 0.95 interobserver reliability estimate). Such a scale should prove useful in quantifying neurologic deficits in hemispheric stroke and in following changes in neurologic status during multicenter acute treatment protocols.
Board meetings: open or closed?
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Guidelines for the proposal of an I.V. team.
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