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Biomedical subjects

F J Collins

Publications and source records attributed to F J Collins.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

Measuring patient satisfaction: a case study.

Health care providers are under tremendous pressure to meet consumer demands in order to compete in the rapidly changing health care arena. Through evaluating patient satisfaction, health care providers can learn what the consumer wants from the health care system. This article informs the reader of issues surrounding patient satisfaction data collection instruments, especially the problem of lack of standardization. That is, each instrument measures satisfaction according to different standards. This article presents a case study analysis of one patient satisfaction data collection instrument entitled the Picker-Commonwealth Survey on Patient-Centered Care. Suggestions for revision and further work are addressed.

Adult↗

Blunt traumatic pericardial rupture.

A 28-year-old man presented with left chest, head and limb injuries following a road traffic accident (RTA). Increasing haemodynamic instability necessitated an emergency left thoracotomy at which a complete rupture of the pericardium and herniation of the heart was found. After repair, the patient made an uneventful post-operative recovery. The aetiology, investigation and management of this rare injury is discussed.

Adult↗

Increased levels of vaccenic acid in bronchogenic carcinoma tissue.

Employing capillary gas liquid chromatography the levels of palmitic, palmitoleic, stearic, oleic, cis-vaccenic, linoleic, arachidonic and docosahexaenoic acids were measured in lung tissue and lung tumours from 28 patients undergoing surgery for bronchogenic carcinoma. There were significant increases in the majority of fatty acids in tumour tissue compared to normal tissue when the results were expressed in absolute units. However, when the relative changes in fatty acid concentration were studied, the most consistent findings were a significant rise in vaccenic acid and a fall in palmitic acid in tumour tissue compared to normal tissue. This change in the vaccenic:palmitic acid ratio may reflect specific changes in fatty acid metabolism in bronchogenic carcinoma tissue involving a delta-9 desaturase.

Adult↗

Chemotherapy plus adjuvant surgery for local small cell lung cancer.

Eight patients with local Stage II (T2N1) and III (T3N0, T3N1, T2N2) small cell lung cancer received combination chemotherapy prior to elective surgery to assess the effectiveness of such a regimen in improving operability, preventing local relapse and extending survival. The regimen was well tolerated and prevented local relapse. However, the median time to recurrence of disease was 10 months and the median survival time 13 months, results which are similar to those achieved with chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Distant metastases, particularly in the brain, occurred predictably indicating that successful adjuvant surgery, despite preventing local relapse, may not afford additional survival benefit with currently available drug regimens.

Adult↗

Pressor effect of nalbuphine in hemorrhagic shock is dependent on the sympathoadrenal system.

Nalbuphine, an analgesic with opiate agonist and antagonist properties, increases heart rate, mean arterial pressure (MAP), and cardiac function following a moderate hemorrhage in the rat. The interaction between opiate receptors and the sympathoadrenal system was examined in control, beta receptor-blocked, and adrenal-demedullated animals. MAP and heart rate were measured continuously in chronically instrumented conscious animals. Hemorrhage decreased MAP in the control group by 50%, and nalbuphine (1 mg/kg) returned this to prehemorrhage values within 5 min. MAP remained significantly greater in the nalbuphine-treated animals for 120 min. Heart rate fell with hemorrhage and increased above prehemorrhage values in the nalbuphine-treated animals. The pressor response to nalbuphine was abolished in both beta-blocked and adrenal-demedullated animals. Plasma catecholamines were not significantly elevated in the nalbuphine-treated as compared to control animals, which suggests that nalbuphine effects do not result from an enhancement of central mediated sympathoadrenal discharge. The opiate receptor antagonist naloxone, in a concentration that was not by itself effective in alleviating the hypotensive effects of hemorrhage, prevented the pressor response with nalbuphine. These results suggest that nalbuphine's beneficial effects in hemorrhagic shock depend on an intact sympathoadrenal system and on an interaction with opiate receptor sites, possibly in the heart.

Adrenal Medulla↗

Concurrent oral surgery and orthopaedic treatment in the multiply injured patient: is there an increased incidence of orthopaedic sepsis?

Fifty-five patients requiring oral surgery and orthopaedic care were studied prospectively and compared to a control group. Six patients received no antibiotics and one developed an orthopaedic operative site infection due to a mouth organism. Seventeen patients had concurrent surgery and perioperative antibiotic usage and no infections occurred. Twenty-six patients required multiple operations and courses of antibiotic treatment and five developed infections. Enterobacter infections were common and emerge because they are resistant to first-generation cephalosporins. Treatment by a perioperative first-generation cephalosporin is recommended, followed by throat cultures and treatment by antibiotics specific for cultured organisms for patients requiring subsequent operations.

Adolescent↗

Chronic factitious illness: recognition and management of deception.

Factitious disease is often manifested in the head and neck region. It is only when the oral and maxillofacial surgeon is aware of the existence of this syndrome and has been unable to correlate a patient's history and signs and symptoms with known diseases that factitious illness may be suspected as the diagnosis. Three case histories that help to demonstrate the variety of ruses used by patients to feign illness are presented. The expertise of a psychiatrist will often help to substantiate the diagnosis, but in many instances the main aspects of treatment will remain in the hands of the original clinician. It is important for clinicians to realize that patients with chronic factitious illness are extremely manipulative and unwilling to admit to their fabrications.

Adult↗

A review of Burkitt's lymphoma. Importance of radiographic diagnosis.

Burkitt's lymphoma is a malignant proliferation of undifferentiated B lymphocytes that most often affects children. In endemic areas of Africa, the jaws are the sites most frequently involved. In non-endemic areas of North America, the jaws are involved in only 15-18 per cent of the cases. The oral and maxillofacial surgeon can play an important role in the early diagnosis of Burkitt's lymphoma by recognizing the clinical signs of multiple loose teeth and jaw tenderness coupled with the radiographic signs of generalized destruction of tooth crypts and diffuse disruption of jaw trabeculation. Successful treatment results from a combination of early diagnosis and controlled chemotherapy.

Adolescent↗