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Biomedical subjects

J C Patel

Publications and source records attributed to J C Patel.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources

Prevalence of hypertension in Mumbai.

There are few reports on prevalence of hypertension in India. We are presenting a study of its incidence in OPD of hospital patients in Mumbai. Prevalence of hypertension was 7.82% in all subjects, however, it was higher in females 10.5% than in males 6.1%.

Adolescent↗

The efficacy of focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) as a screening tool in the assessment of injured children.

PURPOSE: Focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) is rapidly gaining acceptance as an effective and accurate way to determine significant abdominal injury. The authors analyzed their experience in 94 children with blunt torso trauma (BTT) to assess FAST accuracy in identifying operative lesions and utility in avoiding additional diagnostic studies. METHODS: The authors' pediatric trauma registry was queried to identify all children with BTT who underwent FAST as part of their initial trauma assessment. Accuracy was determined by calculating sensitivity and specificity using as true positives those children with lesions requiring operative intervention. Utility was analyzed by reviewing the need for additional diagnostic or therapeutic intervention in those patients with negative FAST findings and negative clinical examination findings. RESULTS: Three of these 94 children had lesions that required laparotomy. One was FAST positive (sensitivity, 33.3%). One of two FAST-negative patients was a child in extremis from a suspected thoracic aortic disruption, and the other was a child with an intestinal disruption in whom peritoneal signs developed 24 hours after injury. Of 89 FAST-negative children, 20 underwent abdominal computed tomography (CT) at the surgeon's request. Eight of these patients were found to have minor visceral injury that required no further treatment. The remaining 69 included the child with the aortic disruption and 68 patients whose hospital course was uneventful and required no additional intervention. CONCLUSIONS: From the practical perspective of indicating need for operative intervention in BTT, FAST has a high specificity (95%); however, it is not particularly sensitive (33%). This excellent specificity in combination with clinical examination underscores FAST utility by avoiding unnecessary diagnostic intervention in 72% of the patients in this study.

Abdominal Injuries↗

Can the surface electrocardiogram be used to predict myocardial viability?

OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether QRS morphology on the surface ECG can be used to predict myocardial viability. DESIGN: ECGs of 58 patients with left ventricular impairment undergoing positron emission tomography (PET) were studied. (13)N-Ammonia (NH(3)) and (18)F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDG) were the perfusion and the metabolic markers, respectively. The myocardium is scarred when the uptake of both markers is reduced (matched defect). Reduced NH(3) uptake with persistent FDG uptake (mismatched defect) represents hibernating myocardium. First, the relation between pathological Q waves and myocardial scarring was investigated. Second, the significance of QR and QS complexes in predicting hibernating myocardium was determined. RESULTS: As a marker of matched PET defects, Q waves were specific (79%) but not sensitive (41%), with a 77% positive predictive accuracy and a poor (43%) negative predictive accuracy. The mean size of the matched PET defect associated with Q waves was 20% of the left ventricle. This was not significantly different from the size of the matched PET defects associated with no Q waves (18%). Among the regions associated with Q waves on the ECG, there were 16 regions with QR pattern (group A) and 23 regions with QS pattern (group B). The incidence of mismatched PET defects was 19% of group A and 30% of group B (NS). CONCLUSIONS: Q waves are specific but not sensitive markers of matched defects representing scarred myocardium. Q waves followed by R waves are not more likely to be associated with hibernating myocardium than QS complexes.

Electrocardiography↗

Tetanus: study of 8,697 cases.

Records of 8,697 cases of tetanus seen over a period of 14 years are analysed. Overall mortality was 48.0%. Mortality in neonatal group was 86.38% whereas that in non-neonatal group it was 40.18%. Disease was seen more frequently in male than in female. Mortality in male was lower than in female. Incidence was highest in the first decade of life. Mortality was lowest (about 33%) in first two decades (excluding neonatal group). Mortality in neonatal group was highest (86.38%). Mortality was inversely related to length of incubation period. In cases with incubation period of 7 days or less, mortality was 58.26% in non-neonates and 94.15% in neonates. Mortality was very low (2.14%) in 2,100 cases who did not develop spasms. In cases with spasms mortality was inversely related to the length of period of onset. Temperature of 100 degrees F within first 24 hours of admission was an adverse factor and these cases had higher mortality. Cases were divided into five grades according to the severity. Mortality in each grade was significantly different from that in the other. Mortality was lower in otogenic tetanus while it was higher in post-abortion and post-injection tetanus. Tetanus following penetrating injury carried higher mortality whereas tetanus following abrasions had lower mortality. With head and face as the site of infection, mortality was low while it was high when the site of infection was a trunk. Results were similar with dose of A.T.S. ranging between 5,000 and 60,000 i.u. and tetanus immune globulin, whereas mortality was high with higher and lower dose of A.T.S. or with no A.T.S. Respiratory spasms, respiratory failure, respiratory complications and circulatory failure were the common causes of death.

Adolescent↗

A survey of the effectiveness of the assessment of the welfare of the child in UK in-vitro fertilization units.

Seventy-one clinics in the UK offering in-vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment were surveyed for their protocols on the assessment of the welfare of the children produced. A total of 44 (62%) responded. Of these, five (12%) did not have operational protocols, seven (16%) declined to provide their protocols, and 32 (73%) provided information used in the survey. The information was in the form of a protocol for only 16 (50%) of these clinics. The remaining clinics submitted as their 'protocols' letters to general practitioners, patient information, patient questionnaires and/or a copy of their policy on the assessment of child welfare. From the submitted material, it was possible to determine that 94% of clinics seek information on aspects of child welfare assessment, 78% have a procedure for making further enquiries where there is any cause for concern, 44 % include counselling opportunities explicitly in protocols, 30-38% of clinics see a full medical and social history from each prospective parent as part of the child welfare assessment, 16% include explicit consideration of the impact of multiple births on the welfare of the child, and 3% include consideration of the issue of disclosure of the mode of conception of the child on its welfare. Most clinics did not have clearly defined procedures on how to reach a decision on whether or not to treat. Eight clinics (25%) made explicit in their protocols any exclusion criteria. It is concluded that clinics are not currently producing completely effective protocols. Two possible reasons for this are considered: lack of technical knowledge about what constitutes an effective protocol, and lack of clear policy development and propagation underlying protocols within clinics. Possible approaches to improving the situation are considered.

Adult↗

Relationship of trauma patient volume to outcome experience: can a relationship be defined?

OBJECTIVES: Five years experience recorded in a multi-institutional pediatric trauma registry was analyzed to define the relationship between case volume and outcome as measured by mortality. METHODS: A total of 30,930 records with complete data were categorized by contributing hospital. Patients with fatal injury as indicated by an injury severity score of 75 or any abbreviated injury scale of 6 were excluded. Each center's experience was stratified by injury severity using injury severity score > or = 15 as indicative of severe injury. Centers were then classified as low volume (LV, 100-500 cases), mid volume (MV, 501-1,000 cases), or high volume (HV, > 1,000 cases). Proportion of patients with severe injury (injury severity score > 15) and mortality were compared among groups using the chi(2) test with significance accepted at p < 0.05. Using the Pediatric Risk Indicator to adjust for mortality risk, the combined hospital experience of each volume group was further analyzed to assess performance with specific levels of increasing injury severity. RESULTS: Findings demonstrated a trend of increasing mortality with increasing volume, despite a consistent proportion of severe injury. Risk adjusted mortality for each volume class indicates best outcome in the mid level group. CONCLUSIONS: Regardless of overall volume of patients encountered, there is a consistent proportion of severe injury. The increasing mortality with the most severe injuries seen in the high volume centers may reflect overdemand on resources.

Hospital Mortality↗

Prevalence of hibernating myocardium in patients with severely impaired ischaemic left ventricles.

OBJECTIVE: Severe impairment of left ventricular (LV) contraction is associated with an adverse prognosis in patients with ischaemic heart disease. Revascularisation may improve the impaired LV contraction if hibernating myocardium is present. The proportion of patients likely to benefit from this intervention is unknown. Therefore, the prevalence of hibernating myocardium in patients with ischaemic heart disease and severe impairment of LV contraction was assessed. DESIGN: From a consecutive series of patients undergoing coronary angiography for the investigation of chest pain or LV impairment, all patients with ischaemic heart disease and an LV ejection fraction (LVEF) < or = 30% were identified. These patients underwent positron emission tomography (PET) to detect hibernating myocardium, identified by perfusion metabolism mismatch. SETTING: A teaching hospital directly serving 500,000 people. RESULTS: Of a total of 301 patients, 36 had ischaemic heart disease and an LVEF < or = 30%. Twenty-seven patients had PET images, while nine patients were not imaged because of emergency revascularisation (three), loss to follow up (one), inability to give consent (four), and age < 50 years (one, ethics committee guidelines). Imaged and non-imaged groups were similar in LV impairment, demographic characteristics, and risk factor profile. Fourteen patients (52% of the imaged or 39% of all patients with ischaemic heart disease and LVEF < or = 30%) had significant areas of hibernating myocardium on PET. CONCLUSION: It is possible that up to 50% of patients with ischaemic heart disease and severely impaired left ventricles have hibernating myocardium.

Aged↗

Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis: the long-term perspective.

Ten years' experience with neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NNEC) was reviewed retrospectively to determine long-term survival and quality of life and to analyze risk factors associated with in-hospital mortality. Institutional records were queried to identify all neonates who required emergent surgical intervention for NNEC. These records were then reviewed and survivors' families interviewed by phone to determine patient status, persistent gastrointestinal problems, and overall quality of life. Once identified, long-term survivors (LTSs) were compared to in-hospital deaths by the analysis of birth weight, gestational age, time interval from birth to diagnosis, indications for laparotomy, and extent of intestinal involvement. Between 1986 and 1996, 69 patients required surgical intervention for NNEC. Eleven patients were lost to follow-up. Of the remaining 58 patients, 31 were ultimately discharged home, with 28 patients having survived an average of 4.18 years. The acute, or in-hospital, mortality rate was 39.1 per cent. Infants who died did so within an average of 23 days postoperatively, and those who were discharged home required an average of 121 days of inpatient convalescence. Twenty-one of the 28 LTSs achieved a normal quality of life with no persistent health problems. One patient required a hepatic-intestinal transplant, and another six had minor problems with frequent diarrhea. Average birth weight, age at NNEC diagnosis, and gestational age were not significantly different between LTSs and those with acute deaths. Aggressive in-hospital care is warranted for infants with NNEC. The excellent quality of life achieved in 75 per cent of survivors implies that the expense of heroic surgical care for these seriously ill premature infants is a worthwhile investment.

Birth Weight↗

Heat shock increases the association of binding protein-1 with initiation factor 4E.

The effects of heat shock on the regulation of the cap-binding initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and its inhibitory binding protein, 4E-BP1, have been examined in Chinese hamster ovary cells and in cardiac myocytes. Heat shock increased the association between eIF4E and 4E-BP1, and this was associated with a dephosphorylation of 4E-BP1. These effects did not appear to be due wholly to decreased activity of the p70 S6 kinase pathway, which is implicated in the control of 4E-BP1, and they were not mediated by the stress-activated p38 microtubule-associated protein kinase pathway. Increased binding of 4E-BP1 to eIF4E correlated with a decrease in the amount of eIF4G which co-purified with the latter. This could account for the previously observed impairment of eIF4F function during heat shock, and, since heat shock protein mRNAs are believed to be relatively cap-independent, could provide a mechanism for the selective up-regulation of the synthesis of heat shock proteins and other stress proteins during heat shock.

Animals↗