Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

H Gerber

Publications and source records attributed to H Gerber.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

[Should antibiotic prevention be used in biliary tract surgery?].

A prospective, controlled, double-blind, randomized multicentre trial in Switzerland has been conducted to investigate the effectiveness of 5 g mezlocillin given during induction of anesthesia for prevention of infectious complications in biliary tract surgery. All adults undergoing elective or emergency surgery were included. Single-dose prevention reduces the incidence of wound infections from 10% to 4%, but does not reduce other kinds of infectious complications. The incidence of wound infections in the control group in Switzerland is only about half that in other countries. It is concluded that administration of single-dose mezlocillin to all patients in this type of surgery is justified. On the basis of risk factors it is impossible to predict reliably the patients who do not need protection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Mezlocillin single-dose prophylaxis in biliary tract surgery.

A prospective, controlled, double-blind, randomized multicenter trial including 12 Swiss hospitals with 358 patients was carried out. The aim of the study was to investigate whether a single-dose prophylaxis with 5 g mezlocillin given immediately before surgery can reduce not only the incidence of wound infections but other bacterial complications as well. Of the 324 correct protocols, 165 belonged to the placebo and 159 to the mezlocillin group. The two groups are comparable in all regards. The incidence of wound infections was 10% in the control and 4% in the treated group (p less than 0.05). The number of other infectious complications could not be reduced. No side effects due to the prevention were observed. Single-dose prevention with mezlocillin is proposed for all patients undergoing biliary tract surgery.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[Perispinal anesthesia and subcutaneous administration of low-dose heparin-dihydergot for prevention of thromboembolism].

The risk of haematoma formation in the spinal canal following spinal or epidural anaesthesia given in the presence of s.c. heparin-dihydroergotamine (DHE) for prevention of postoperative thromboembolic complications was examined. The data were obtained from a study that compared the effectiveness of s.c. heparin-DHE and i.v. Dextran 70. Heparin-DHE was administered two hours before anaesthesia and surgery and during the postoperative course. All patients underwent elective or emergency operations of the musculo-skeletal system. The s.c. heparin-DHE group consisted of 187 patients operated under spinal (82 patients) or epidural (105 patients, 66 of whom received an epidural catheter) anaesthesia. There were no clinical signs to suggest the presence of an epidural haematoma nor were there any neurological symptoms. The same was true in the dextran group. Specific neurological examinations were not carried out, but the clinical results were controlled by means of a questionnaire filled out by the patients 6 weeks postoperatively. We conclude that s.c. heparin-DHE or i.v. dextran 70 has been used safely in the presence of spinal or epidural anaesthesia in these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1982

Water turnover and the measurement of milk intake.

Physiologically acceptable methods for estimating milk intake in experimental animals area based on the measurement of rates of disappearance of 3H2O from their body-water. This work discusses the problems involved in using methods of this type when steady-states (constant trace inflow and outflow rates, and constant pool-size) do not exist. Theoretically sound techniques are developed and their use justified.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Equine leucocyte antigen system. III. Non-MHC linked alloantigenic system in horses.

A new, non-MHC linked alloantigenic membrane antigen on the equine lymphocytes is described. This antigen was characterized with alloantisera in the two-stage microcytotoxicity test and designated as ELy-1 antigen. The frequency of ELy-1 antigen positive animals in various populations is close to 50%. ELy-1 shows an autosomal, dominant inheritance. Since an allelic antigen (s) could not be demonstrated in family studies, it is assumed that only two alleles ELy-1+ and ELy-1- exist. The ELy-1 antigen in positive animals is expressed on both T and B lymphocytes but it is not present on erythrocytes and thrombocytes. The incidence of ELy-1 antigen positive animals is significantly higher in horse groups suffering from chronic bronchitis or from laminitis, compared to clinically healthy controls.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

The pathogenesis of "hot" and "cold" follicles in multinodular goiters.

The prominent characteristics of euthyroid and hyperthyroid human nodular goiters are the regional variability of iodine metabolism and the appearance of "hot" autonomous follicles. No explanation for the pathogenesis of the interfollicular heterogeneity of iodine turnover has yet been offered. We have investigated whether the recently demonstrated polyclonality of normal follicular epithelia could possibly be related to goiter heterogeneity. The present work demonstrates, by means of autoradiographic and histological techniques, that single cells or tiny cell families with widely differing metabolic properties are normally present within single mouse, rat, and human thyroid follicles. In animals, intercellular heterogeneity is demonstrated in respect to 1) iodinating capacity, 2) peroxidase content, 3) endocytotic response to TSH, and 4) proneness to replicate. Moreover, [3H] thymidine labeling of stimulated mice thyroids reveals that mitotic cells are not randomly distributed; some follicles contain large colonies of rapidly replicating cells, and these clonogenic cells give rise to new follicles. Since simple goiter formation invariably implies replication of normal thyroid follicles, we conclude that the large differences in iodine turnover among the follicles of simple goiters are a consequence of the generation of new, metabolically heterogeneous follicles from genetically distinct cell clusters existing with the epithelia of all normal mother follicles.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

Experimental conditions leading to a low degree of thyroglobulin iodination without loss in coupling efficiency.

The hormone content of in vitro iodinated thyroglobulin is a constant fraction of the iodine content of the protein under most, but not all, experimental conditions. In contrast, in vivo iodinated human thyroglobulin may contain as little as 10% or as much as 50% of its total iodine in the T4 molecules. Surprisingly, in some poorly iodinated thyroglobulins up to 30% of the iodine may be found in T4. The mechanism of the apparent dissociation between iodination and coupling efficiency (i.e. percentage of total iodine present as iodothyronines) may be dilution of pre-existing high iodinated thyroglobulin stores by non-iodinated prethyroglobulin. This hypothesis was tested by feeding rate PTU and KClo4 for 9 days and injecting T4 during the last 2 days. Thyroglobulin iodination dropped from 0.9 ot 0.13% but the coupling efficiency remained unchanged at 25.7 and 23.9%. The exchange of highly iodinated thyroglobulin molecules for non-iodinated ones is one of the two in vivo mechanisms suggested so far which can lead to an apparent dissociation of thyroglobulin iodination and coupling efficiency.

Animals↗
PubMed1982

[Investigations on epidural morphine. Efficacy, solvent, analgesic supplementation].

The effects of epidural morphine for pain relief after orthopaedic surgery of the lower extremity were examined in 60 patients. Intraoperative analgesia was achieved with epidural administration of 2% mepivacaine. The patients were divided in a double-blind, random fashion into 3 groups. Group I received 2 mg morphine base (2.63 mg morphine hydrochloride) in 10 ml 0.9% sodium chloride, Group II received 2 mg morphine base in 10 ml 5% glucose, and Group III, 10 ml 5% glucose as placebo. The quality of analgesia was judged by 1) the amount of i.m. pentazocine (0.5-1 mg/kg) required during the first 24 h, and 2) the analysis of a visual analog scale. The duration of epidural morphine analgesia was 13 +/- 9.4 h. For supplementary postoperative analgesia, the patients in Group I required a mean dose of 24 mg, Group II 18 mg, and Group III 48 mg of pentazocine (P less than 0.001 and 0.05 respectively) within the first 12 h. The solution (glucose or normal saline) had no influence on morphine effectiveness. The side effects were urinary retention in 8 patients (20%) and pruritus in one (3%). It is concluded that 2 mg of morphine base administered epidurally is an effective method of postoperative pain relief in orthopaedic patients.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Reaccumulation of thyroglobulin and colloid in rat and mouse thyroid follicles during intense thyrotropin stimulation. A clue to the pathogenesis of colloid goiters.

Since Marine's observations some 50 years ago, it has been generally accepted that colloid goiters invariably result from colloid repletion of originally hyperplastic goiters after cessation of the goitrogenic stimulus. However, clinical observations suggest that many goiters never go through a stage of hyperplasia, but are colloid-rich from the beginning. We have injected rats and mice with thyrotropin (TSH), three times a day for 4 d, while the animals were kept on an iodine-rich diet (HID). Additional groups of animals were fed an iodine-poor diet (LID) or a diet containing 0.15% propylthiouracil (PTU) or 1% sodium perchlorate (ClO4). At intervals, thyroid weight, DNA, iodine and thyroglobulin content, thyroglobulin iodination, and intracellular droplet formation were measured. Histologic sections were also prepared and stained with periodic acid Schiff. Furthermore, thyroxine concentration was measured in the serum. Thyroglobulin content dropped by approximately 30% in HID animals but by 60% in all other groups 1 d after starting TSH. Thereafter, thyroglobulin reaccumulation occurred and droplet formation correspondingly decreased despite continuous heavy TSH stimulation. The largest amount of thyroglobulin was reaccumulated in HID animals followed by the PTU/LID groups, whereas no reaccumulation was observed in the ClO4 group. Reaccumulation of thyroglobulin only occurred if there was concomitant organification of at least some iodine. The subsequent phases of depletion and reaccumulation of thyroglobulin were mirrored by the morphology of the follicular lumina, the staining properties of the colloid and the serum T4 concentration. These observations suggest that endocytosis gradually becomes refractory to continuous TSH stimulation if a certain minimal amount of iodine is available for organic binding. Thus, primarily colloid-rich goiters may form in the presence of continuously higher than normal thyrotropin levels without a previous stage of follicular hyperplasia. The view should be revised that accumulation of colloid and intense thyrotropin stimulation are mutually exclusive events.

Animals↗