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Biomedical subjects

G W Mitchell

Publications and source records attributed to G W Mitchell.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources

Outpatient breast biopsies on a gynecologic service.

One hundred forty-six breast biopsies in 143 patients were done on outpatient basis, without general anesthesia, on a gynecologic service between 1975 and 1980. This procedure has advantages over in-hospital biopsy in terms of cost, time, reduced immediate risk, and patient acceptance. Greater long-term risk, if carcinoma is found, has not been substantiated. Gynecologists need this procedure as an adjunct to the management of benign breast conditions and should be trained to do it.

Ambulatory Care↗

Surfactants, L/S ratio, amniotic fluid optical density and fetal pulmonary maturity.

Optical density readings of amniotic fluids of 0.15 or greater at 650 nm have been noted to correlate with fetal pulmonary maturity. The amniotic fluid absorbance has been shown to be due not only to lecithin and sphingomyelin but also to other surfactants, including phosphatidyl glycerol and inositol. The addition of lecithin and sphingomyelin to previously centrifuged amniotic fluid (i.e., optical) density less than 0.001: L/S ratio, nondetectable) results in an increase in absorbance. At any simulated L/S ratio, the addition of phosphatidyl glycerol and/or phosphatidyl inositol results in a further increase in optical density. It is suggested that optical density readings represent more closely the surfactant composition of amniotic fluid than L/S ratios; therefore, it appears that optical density measurements are a better predictor of fetal pulmonary development than are L/S ratios.

Amniotic Fluid↗

A microtechnique for studying chemiluminescence response of phagocytes using whole blood and its application to the evaluation of phagocytes in pregnancy.

Previous investigators have demonstrated that polymorphonuclear neutrophils exhibit intense chemiluminescence (CL) during phagocytosis and the CL response can be used to study the cellular and humoral aspects of the phagocytic process. A microtechnique that used 10 microliters of whole blood as a source of phagocytes was developed and used to measure the phagocytic CL response during pregnancy. Increased sensitivity was achieved by the use of a high concentration of luminol (0.5 mM), prepared by sonication, as a CL amplifier. The high intensity of CL produced with luminol permitted the use of a scintillation counter in the IN coincidence mode, avoiding the necessity of dark-adapting the counting vials and reagents and working under subdued red light. The CL response was dose dependent on the number of phagocytes and/or particles (polystyrene spherules, opsonized zymosan, and E coli). The CL response was decreased by inhibitors that prevent particle uptake (iodoacetate and fluoride), inhibitors that prevent free-radical production (sodium benzoate and superoxide dismutase), and by inhibitors that inactivate myeloperoxidase (cyanide and azide). Results suggested that the phagocytic CL response in our assay system was dependent on O2 activation followed by the activated O2 species reacting with myeloperoxidase and chloride. The new technique was used to demonstrate a progressive increase with gestation in the phagocytic CL response in pregnancy and a rapid decrease to normal values at 1 week postpartum.

Female↗

Premature rupture of the membranes at term. A comparison of induced and spontaneous labors.

Analysis of 150 patients at term (greater than 36 weeks) with premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) was made. In the group followed conservatively, 87.5% (98 of 112) began labor within 48 hours, and only 3.6% (4 of 112) had a latent period of greater than seven days. The incidence of cesarean section in patients with induced and spontaneous labors was compared in corrected groups. The induced group had a 39% (15 of 38) cesarean section rate as compared to 12% (11 of 91) in the spontaneous labor group (p = less than 0.01). None of the patients in the study showed signs of sepsis by central cultures, and only 12.7% (19 of 150) showed febrile morbidity. A conservative approach to term patients with PROM and an unfavorable cervix for induction seems to decrease the incidence of cesarean section.

Cesarean Section↗

Complete duplication of the uterus and cervix with a unilaterally imperforate vagina.

Complete duplication of the uterus and cervix with a unilaterally imperforate vagina must be suspected when a unilateral pelvic mass terminates in a purpuric bulge of the lateral vaginal wall in a young woman with severely progressive dysmenorrhea. Intravenous pyelography will reveal renal agenesis ipsilateral to the imperforate vagina. The prompt and accurate diagnosis of this unusual anomaly should lead to transvaginal drainage of the retained menstrual fluids prior to irreversible damage of the pelvic viscera from chronic cryptomenorrhea.

Adolescent↗

The effect of cervical/vaginal secretions on measurements of lecithin/sphingomyelin ratio and optical density at 650 nm.

Free-flowing amniotic fluid collected vaginally can be used in a reliable way for determination of fetal pulmonary maturity. Lavaging the vaginal/cervical area with sterile saline and examining the lavage fluid for lecithin/sphingomyelin (L/S) spots showed no detectable spots in the supernatants (one exception) and barely detectable L/S spots in the sediment. Vaginal-cervical saline-wash fluids did not affect fluid L/S ratios. Lavaging the vaginal-cervical area with abdominal amniotic fluid did not affect the L/S ratio of the original amniotic fluid.

Amniotic Fluid↗

Quantitative transcervical uterine cultures with a new device.

This study was initiated to examine the ability of a new device to take transcervical cultures of the endometrial cavity in the normal and postpartum uterus. Quantitative bacteriologic assessments were made. The results show there is a millionfold increase in the mean concentration of bacteria cultured from the infected puerperal uterus when contrasted with cultures from nonpregnant women and those who have just undergone repeat cesarean section. The authors conclude that the new device obtains cultures transcervically with marked reduction in contamination; however, some method for quantification of bacterial populations must complement the culture so that results differentiate between colonization and infection.

Bacteriological Techniques↗

Removal of a presacral tumor via a Schuchardt incision.

Presacral tumors have been traditionally approached either abdominally or via a transsacral incision. We describe a perineal approach to these tumors. A patient with a presacral benign cystic teratoma is described. The tumor was removed through a Schuchardt incision with no difficulties or complications. The vaginal approach should be considered for the removal of selected presacral tumors.

Adult↗

Partial vaginal agenesis with a urinary-vaginal fistula.

A patient with partial vaginal agenesis and a urinary-vaginal fistula is presented together with a review of the 12 cases reported previously. This unusual anomaly presents with cyclically recurrent hematuria; hypothetically, it results from failure of formation or canalization of the primitive vaginal plate together with partial persistence of the urogenital sinus. Surgical correction, ideally performed after puberty, requires resection of the fistula and mobilization of the apical vaginal segment for its anastomosis to the inferior vaginal pouch.

Adolescent↗

Diagnostic and therapeutic modalities in women with galactorrhea.

Prolactin response to various pharmacologic agents was tested and hypocycloidal polytomograms of pituitary sellae were performed in 77 women with galactorrhea. Polytomographic findings of pituitary sellae and the results of hypothalamic-pituitary tests were analyzed retrospectively in 18 patients with pituitary adenoma. Of the patients with pituitary tumor, 94% had abnormal polytomograms of sellae turcica, 89% had serum prolactin levels greater than 160 ng/ml (range, 170 to 264 ng/ml), and 78% showed abnormal response to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test. Transsphenoidal excision of the tumor was complete in all 14 patients with microadenoma (10 mm or less in diameter) but was incomplete in 4 patients with macroadenoma and evidence of extrasellar extension. Galactorrhea ceased and normal ovulatory menses resumed after surgery in all patients with microadenoma. Twenty-five patients received bromocriptine. Twenty-three of them had hyperprolactinemia and 21 had normal sellar polytomograms. Galactorrhea ceased and normal menses occurred in 18; 6 patients conceived. Two patients with abnormal polytomography and euprolactinemia responded to bromocriptine treatment and 1 of them conceived. The findings suggest that serial prolactin levels and hypocycloidal polytomography of sella turcica are helpful in diagnosis of pituitary prolactinomas. The TRH stimulation test is also useful in evaluating these patients. Because the natural course of the prolactinomas and the long-term results of the surgical and pharmacologic treatments are unknown, ideal management has yet to be established.

Amenorrhea↗