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Biomedical subjects

E Carroll

Publications and source records attributed to E Carroll.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Patient dose variation investigated in four Irish hospitals for barium meal and barium enema examinations.

Four hospitals have been studied, intra- and inter-hospital variations examined and the mean DAP values recorded for barium enemas and barium meals. Mean DAP values for barium meals and barium enemas at 11.4 Gy x cm2 and 20.1 Gy x cm2 respectively have been shown. Differences between individual examinations for barium meals varied by up to a factor of 185 and for barium enemas, up to a factor of 19, with hospital means for barium meal and enema examinations each differing by up to a factor of 3. The data provided by this study have suggested that large variations in patient dose do exist in Ireland for barium meal and barium enema examinations. Fluoroscopy time was shown to be a major contributor to the variations reported, with number of images playing a minor role. Results have demonstrated the need for standardisation of technique throughout the country for these examinations.

Barium Sulfate↗
PubMed1999

Paroxetine open-label treatment of pediatric outpatients with obsessive-compulsive disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Paroxetine is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor with demonstrated efficacy in treating obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) in adults. This study evaluates the safety and effectiveness of paroxetine in pediatric OCD patients. METHOD: In a 12-week, open-label trial of paroxetine, 20 OCD outpatients, aged 8 to 17 years, were treated for OCD with daily doses ranging from 10 to 60 mg. Target symptoms were rated at regular intervals with the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (CY-BOCS), the Children's Global Assessment Scale, the Clinical Global Impression Scale, the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, and the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale. RESULTS: Paroxetine proved relatively safe in this brief trial with a small sample and appeared to be effective in patients with OCD; mean CY-BOCS scores decreased significantly (z = 3.49, p = .0005) from 30.6 +/- 3.5 to 21.6 +/- 6.8 on medication. The most common side effects (n > or = 2) were hyperactivity/behavioral activation, headache, insomnia, nausea, and anxiety. Paroxetine did not have to be discontinued in any of the patients because of side effects; the most serious side effects included hyperactivity/behavioral activation in 3 younger patients (< 10 years) necessitating dosage reduction but not discontinuation. CONCLUSIONS: Preliminary evidence suggests that short-term treatment of pediatric OCD outpatients with paroxetine may be relatively safe and effective.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

Adolescents' relationships to siblings and mothers: a multivariate genetic analysis.

Research has consistently demonstrated that children's behavior toward their siblings tends to resemble interactions occurring in the parent-child relationship. This study examined the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences to the covariation between sibling relationships and mother-adolescent relationships. Reported and observed family interactions were assessed for 719 same-sex sibling pairs of varying degrees of genetic relatedness. The covariance between mother-adolescent and sibling interactions was decomposed into genetic, shared, and nonshared environmental components. The overlapping effects of shared environment on the two relationship subsystems explained most of the covariance. Smaller but significant genetic and nonshared environmental effects were also found. The consistency of these findings with family processes, such as modeling, is discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Thermodilution measurement of cardiac output in patients with low output: room-temperature versus iced injectate.

BACKGROUND: Measurements of cardiac output with the thermodilution technique add to data for clinical decision making and therefore must be valid and reliable. However, the results of studies on the accuracy of values obtained with room-temperature and iced injectates, especially in patients with high or low cardiac output, have been conflicting. OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of the temperature of the injectate (iced or room temperature) on cardiac output values obtained with the thermodilution technique in critically ill adults with known low cardiac output. METHODS: A convenience sample of 50 subjects (41 men and 9 women) who had a cardiac index of less than 2.5 (calculated as cardiac output in liters per minute divided by body surface area in square meters) before the study had cardiac output measured by using a closed system and manual injections of room-temperature and iced injectates. RESULTS: A paired t test indicated no significant difference between iced and room-temperature injectates for cardiac output (iced, 3.62 L/min; room temperature, 3.71 L/min; t = 0.99; P = .327) and cardiac index (iced, 1.95; room temperature, 1.99; t = 0.71; P = .482). CONCLUSION: The findings support the practice of using room-temperature injectate to measure cardiac output in patients with low cardiac output.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Techniques for the measurement of the local myocardial extraction efficiency for inert diffusible contrast agents such as gadopentate dimeglumine.

We have previously shown that the concentration of Gd-DTPA as a function of time ([Gd-DTPA]t(t)) in the myocardium following an intravenous bolus injection of Gd-DTPA can be modeled using the Modified Kety Equation. Fitting this model to measurements of [Gd-DTPA]t(t) in a region of myocardium would allow the determination of myocardial distribution volume (lambda) and the product of flow (F) and extraction efficiency (E), i.e., FE. Thus, to measure F, E must be known. We describe here techniques developed to measure local values of E in normal and diseased myocardium. These techniques are valid for any inert diffusible MR contrast agent.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Measurement of the extraction efficiency and distribution volume for Gd-DTPA in normal and diseased canine myocardium.

We have previously shown that the myocardial Gd-DTPA concentration ([Gd-DTPA]t(t)) after a bolus injection of Gd-DTPA can be predicted by the Modified Kety Equation (MKE). If [Gd-DTPA]t(t) can be determined by MRI and the data fit to the MKE, then the distribution volume (lambda) of Gd-DTPA and the myocardial flow (F) times the extraction efficiency (E), i.e., the FE product, can be determined. Therefore F can only be quantified if E is known. We measured the global E in vivo in normal canine myocardium, and measured E and lambda, in vitro, locally in normal, acute ischemic (n = 5; coronary artery occlusion < 4 h), infarcted (n = 4; coronary artery occlusion, 6 days) and reperfused (n = 4; coronary artery occlusion 2 h, and reperfusion 2 h and 6 days) myocardium. Results indicate that E differs with F and with individuals and consequently, F cannot be quantified using the MKE unless the local E is also determined in vivo.

Animals↗
PubMed1993

Injury prevention instruction in the emergency department.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To describe preventable pediatric injuries and the proportion receiving documented injury prevention instruction by emergency department personnel. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: A rural Level I trauma center. TYPES OF PARTICIPANTS: All injured children aged birth through 15 years presenting to our hospital from January 1, 1987, through December 31, 1987. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: During the study period, 1,449 injuries presented to the trauma center. Motor vehicle crashes caused the largest number of preventable injuries (71), although the proportion of preventable injuries was higher among poisonings, burns, and pedestrian-automobile collisions. Among the 1,313 patients available to ED personnel at discharge, injury prevention instruction was indicated in 27% of cases but documented in the medical record in only 3%. ED personnel were more likely to document instruction for preventing poisoning than other causes of injury. CONCLUSION: Most preventable pediatric injuries treated and released by ED personnel do not receive documented injury prevention instruction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Swedish austerity: benefits at risk.

The Swedish welfare state is facing the greatest threat since its inception. Attacks stem from the country's sharp economic downturn since 1989 and the related currency crisis of September 1992. Politicians of the right and left have responded to the economic crisis by initiating cutbacks in social welfare programs and supporting policies that will lead to a massive transfer of income from working people to corporations. The focus on cutting social programs is misplaced. The Swedish economy flourished for decades with the network of social service programs in place; the welfare state cannot be blamed for economic problems that have only recently arisen.

Cost Control↗
PubMed1988

Inhibition of rabbit beta-globin synthesis by complementary oligonucleotides: identification of mRNA sites sensitive to inhibition.

We tested the effects of a series of synthetic oligonucleotides (hybridons) complementary to the 5' noncoding and coding regions of rabbit beta-globin mRNA on endogenous protein synthesis in a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free translation system. With highly purified hybridons inhibition was completely specific for beta-globin. The sites most sensitive to inhibition are the beginning of the 5' noncoding region and a sequence including the initiation codon and several upstream bases. The region between these was relatively insensitive to inhibition. The sites of maximum sensitivity coincide with known protein binding sites, suggesting that hybridons exert their effects in part by blocking the binding of proteins required for translation. Their effectiveness seems related to the ease with which they are displaced by ribosomes.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Platelet storage results in a redistribution of glycoprotein Ib molecules. Evidence for a large intraplatelet pool of glycoprotein Ib.

Platelet membrane glycoprotein (GP) Ib contains receptor for von Willebrand factor and thrombin. Its proteolytic fragment, glycocalicin, circulates in normal plasma. In this study, storage of platelet concentrates for 5 d resulted in a 221% increase in plasma glycocalicin (1.3 times the total amount of glycocalicin present on the surface of all platelets), an 8% overall increase in platelet surface GPIb, and the appearance of a surface GPIb-negative subpopulation of platelets. Total platelet GPIb content of fresh washed platelets, determined by gel electrophoresis and immunoassay of Triton X-100 lysates, averaged 159,740 molecules per platelet. There were 36,360 surface GPIb molecules per platelet, determined by immunoassay of the supernatant of fresh washed platelets whose surface GPIb had been completely plasmin-cleaved. In summary, these studies provide evidence for (a) a redistribution of GPIb molecules with platelet storage, and (b) a large intraplatelet pool of GPIb (approximately threefold larger than the platelet surface pool of GPIb).

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗
PubMed1988

The shortages of nurses in NSW: a motivation hygiene approach to identifying problems and solutions.

For a number of years public hospitals in NSW have experienced high turnover figures for nursing staff and have been unable to recruit sufficient numbers of registered nurses back into hospital employment. This paper outlines factors on both the demand and the supply side which contribute to the present shortage. It then goes on to argue that a greater appreciation of the causes of the shortage, and strategies for its resolution, can be gained by presenting the issues from the perspective of Herzberg's Motivation--Hygiene Theory. 'Motivation' factors, providing satisfaction to nurses, include achievement and recognition, the work itself, responsibility, advancement and potential for personal growth. 'Hygiene' factors, producing dissatisfaction, include physical working conditions, employer policies and administrative practices, interpersonal relations, salary. Discussion of the issues from this perspective indicates that strategies to resolve the crisis must proceed on two fronts. Continuing efforts must be made to promote job satisfaction among nurses while at the same time reducing the incidence of factors promoting job dissatisfaction.

Career Mobility↗
PubMed1987

Blood coagulation with a combination pill containing gestodene and ethinyl estradiol.

The coagulation effects of oral contraceptives are determined by the interaction of the estrogen and the progestogen components. Serial studies on the coagulation system were carried out in 120 randomly allocated healthy women to compare the effects of (1) triphasic gestodene/ethinyl estradiol and triphasic levonorgestrel/ethinyl estradiol and (2) monophasic gestodene/ethinyl estradiol and monophasic desogestrel/ethinyl estradiol. The triphasic study showed significant increases in factor VII, factor X, fibrinogen, plasminogen, and fibrinolytic activity. No significant differences were noted between levonorgestrel and gestodene except for factor VII, which was higher with gestodene. Antithrombin III and anti-Xa were unchanged, and platelet aggregation was slightly accelerated with gestodene. The monophasic study is still in progress: Significant increases of factor VII, factor X, plasminogen, and fibrinolytic activity and no changes in antithrombin III, anti-Xa, and platelet aggregation have been found with both monophasic gestodene and desogestrel. The results of the triphasic study indicate that the effect of gestodene on the blood coagulation system is similar to that of levonorgestrel and that both formulations increase fibrinolytic activity. The increased coagulation activity would appear to be counteracted by enhanced fibrinolysis, so protecting the dynamic balance between coagulation and fibrinolysis. Further data are required in the monophasic gestodene and desogestrel study before any conclusions can be drawn.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1985

Reconstitution of functional mRNA-protein complexes in a rabbit reticulocyte cell-free translation system.

A variety of evidence suggests that the cytoplasmic mRNA-associated proteins of eucaryotic cells are derived from the cytoplasm and function there, most likely in protein synthesis or some related process. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that protein-free mRNA added to a cell-free translation system should become associated with a set of proteins similar to those associated with mRNA in native polyribosomes. To test this hypothesis, we added deproteinized rabbit reticulocyte mRNA to a homologous cell-free translation system made dependent on exogenous mRNA by treatment with micrococcal nuclease. The resulting reconstituted complexes were irradiated with UV light to cross-link the proteins to mRNA, and the proteins were analyzed by gel electrophoresis. The proteins associated with polyribosomal mRNA in the reconstituted complexes were indistinguishable from those associated with polyribosomal mRNA in intact reticulocytes. Furthermore, reticulocyte mRNA-associated proteins were very similar to those of cultured mammalian cells. The composition of the complexes varied with the translational state of the mRNA; that is, certain proteins present in polyribosomal mRNA-protein complexes were absent or reduced in amount in 40S to 80S complexes and in complexes formed in the absence of translation. However, other proteins, including a 78-kilodalton protein associated with polyadenylate, were present irrespective of translational state, or else they were preferentially associated with untranslated mRNA. These findings are in agreement with previous data suggesting that proteins associated with cytoplasmic mRNA are derived from the cytoplasm and that they function in translation or some other cytoplasmic process, rather than transcription, RNA processing, or transport from the nucleus to the cytoplasm.

Animals↗