Biomedical subjects
E R Craven
Publications and source records attributed to E R Craven.
Agranulocytosis four months after cimetidine therapy.
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Consumption coagulopathy after intra-amniotic urea.
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An assessment of the value of the white cell count in the management of suspected acute appendicitis.
A prospective study of 100 consecutive patients was carried out to determine if a knowledge of the white cell count was a useful factor in determining the correct management of patients presenting with suspected acute appendicitis. A retrospective study of the differential white cell count and neutrophil morphology was performed to see if these investigations would provide more specific aids to diagnosis. These studies show that such haematological information is only of limited supportive value in the total assessment of these patients. Where the clinical findings are at variance with the white cell count, the clinical findings should take precedence.
Red cell abnormalities associated with sulphasalazine maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis.
Of 52 patients receiving a mean dose of 2.5g sulphasalazine/day as maintenance therapy for ulcerative colitis, 35 were found to have one or more drug-induced red cell abnormalities, which were not found in 50 normal controls or in 10 colitics not receiving sulphasalazine. Twenty-three of the treated patients had contracted red cells, an abnormality that is thought to result in mild haemolysis. Red cell contraction was related to the dose of sulphasalazine (P smaller than 0.01), the serum total sulphapyridine level (P smaller than 0.001), and acetylator status. Eleven of the treated patients had a macrocytosis, 21 had elevated levels of methaemoglobin, and one had Heinz bodies. A dose of 1.5 g sulphasalazine/day was not associated with red cell contraction, and is suggested as a safer maintenance dose for the asymptomatic colitic.