A macular hole after maxillofacial trauma: report of a case.
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Adult↗
Biomedical subjects
J Griffin
Publications and source records attributed to J Griffin.
Safety and cost-effectiveness of early discharge after primary angioplasty in low risk patients with acute myocardial infarction. PAMI-II Investigators. Primary Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction.
OBJECTIVES: The second Primary Angioplasty in Myocardial Infarction (PAMI-II) study evaluated the hypothesis that primary percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA), with subsequent discharge from the hospital 3 days later, is safe and cost-effective in low risk patients. BACKGROUND: In low risk patients with myocardial infarction (MI), few data exist regarding the need for intensive care and noninvasive testing or the appropriate length of hospital stay. METHODS: Patients with acute MI underwent emergency catheterization with primary PTCA when appropriate. Low risk patients (age <70 years, left ventricular ejection fraction >45%, one- or two-vessel disease, successful PTCA, no persistent arrhythmias) were randomized to receive accelerated care (admission to a nonintensive care unit and day 3 hospital discharge without noninvasive testing [n = 237] or traditional care [n = 234]). RESULTS: Patients who received accelerated care had similar in-hospital outcomes but were discharged 3 days earlier (4.2+/-2.3 vs. 7.1+/-4.7 days, p = 0.0001) and had lower hospital costs ($9,658+/-5,287 vs. $11,604+/-6,125 p = 0.002) than the patients who received traditional care. At 6 months, accelerated and traditional care groups had a similar rate of mortality (0.8% vs. 0.4%, p = 1.00), unstable ischemia (10.1% vs. 12.0%, p = 0.52), reinfarction (0.8% vs. 0.4%, p = 1.00), stroke (0.4% vs. 2.6%, p = 0.07), congestive heart failure (4.6% vs. 4.3%, p = 0.85) or their combined occurrence (15.2% vs. 17.5%, p = 0.49). The study was designed to detect a 10% difference in event rates; at 6 months, only a 2.3% difference was measured between groups, indicating an actual power of 0.19. CONCLUSIONS: Early identification of low risk patients with MI allowed safe omission of the intensive care phase and noninvasive testing, and a day 3 hospital discharge strategy, resulting in substantial cost savings.
Aged↗
An analysis of silicone gel-filled breast implants: diagnosis and failure rates.
This retrospective review analyzed 180 women who underwent explantation of 357 silicone gel-filled breast implants from September of 1991 to January of 1995. Implant status, including shell integrity and implantation times, was determined at the time of explantation. The age range of the patients was 25 to 75 years, with a mean age of 47 years. The age of the implants ranged from 0.5 to 24 years, with a mean age of 10.5 years. Of the 292 implants with known and documented integrity status, there were 102 intact, 76 unruptured with signs of leakage, and 114 ruptured. The frequency of implant rupture significantly increased with implant age. The average age of rupture was 13.4 years. The average age of signs of leakage was 10.1 years. There were no significant differences in failure rates among the implant types of four manufacturers. Analysis of both mammography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as diagnostic modalities for differentiating intact implants, implant leakage, and implant rupture was performed. Standard mammography was less reliable in diagnosing implant leakage or rupture (sensitivity, 55 percent; specificity, 69 percent) than MRI (sensitivity, 72 percent; specificity, 82 percent). In conclusion, implant rupture occurred at a significantly increasing rate with implant age (10 to 15 years). These findings were independent of implant type or manufacturer. Mammography alone is a below-average diagnostic tool for detecting leakage or rupture, whereas MRI is a more accurate modality.
Breast Implants↗
Lead levels in high-risk and low-risk young children in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area.
OBJECTIVES: To determine distribution of lead levels among children in a low-risk area; to validate a prescreening questionnaire; and to determine if universal lead screening is necessary in children in this area. DESIGN: Blood lead levels and questionnaires were obtained on eligible patients. Data were analyzed using stepwise regression analysis. SETTING: Community clinics and a health maintenance organization (HMO) in the Minneapolis-St Paul metropolitan area. PATIENTS: A total of 9603 children at well-child visits, age 6 months to 6 years at community clinics, and 6 months to 3 years at the HMO. OUTCOME MEASURES: Whole blood lead levels (WBLs) and questionnaires. RESULTS: The total sample rate of WBLs at >/=10 microg/dL was 12%, at >/=15 microg/dL was 31/2%, and at >/=20 microg/dL was 1.2%. At both 10 microg/dL and 15 microg/dL, the non-HMO group was at higher risk. For both groups, risk factors included living in the central cities, and living in housing built before 1950. For the non-HMO group a history of the child eating paint chips, or the child or a sibling having previous lead poisoning were also risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Not all children need lead screening. Children living in the central cities, or with the risk factors of living in housing built before 1950 or a previous history of lead poisoning should be screened.
Child↗
Delivering healthcare measurements: a turnkey approach to integrating information in healthcare.
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Case Management↗
The modern CIO: forging a new role in the managed care era.
The advent of managed care has helped forge new roles for healthcare professionals. Competitive pressures, the profile of the member community, and provider network design drive healthcare delivery via the managed care model. Careful analysis and design of the managed care model charts the success or failure of the health care delivery system--usually an integrated delivery system (IDS). Therefore, those healthcare organizations that have chosen to get on the managed care bandwagon must re-invent themselves, both culturally and technologically. The chief information officer (CIO) leads this technological revolution. To work effectively, the technological infrastructure of the IDS must be closely in line with enterprise goals and objectives. In the managed care environment the old information system (IS) approach of supporting the operational needs of individual departments simply will not work. The CIO's new role will be to master the concept of managed care to ensure that enterprise-wide needs for operational, clinical, and financial information are met, and that IS and enterprise goals are aligned. CIOs who have an intuitive grasp of the managed care environment--although their numbers are growing as managed care mushrooms--make up a minority group. They are a special breed with clearly definable qualities such as business savvy and an affinity for big-picture thinking. To an IDS, a CIO with these qualities is a rare gem indeed. This article introduces Don Winschel, the associate administrator and CIO of Johnson City Medical Center (Johnson City, TN) as an example of one such modern CIO.
Administrative Personnel↗
Mechanisms and results of balloon angioplasty for the treatment of in-stent restenosis.
Restenosis within tubular slotted stents is secondary to intimal hyperplasia and is usually treated with percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). Sequential intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was used to assess the mechanisms and results of PTCA for in-stent restenosis. Sixty-four restenotic Palmaz-Schatz stents were studied by IVUS imaging before and after PTCA. IVUS measurements of stent and lumen cross-sectional areas (CSAs) at 5 segments (proximal and distal stent edges, proximal and distal stent bodies, and the central articulation) were used to calculate intimal hyperplasia CSA (stent-lumen CSA). The results of the 5 segments were then averaged. Mean and minimum CSAs were compared before and after PTCA. Quantitative angiographic measurements showed a minimal lumen diameter increase from 1.05 +/- 0.63 mm (mean +/- 1 SD) before intervention to 2.77 +/- 0.51 mm after PTCA (p < 0.0001). Conversely, the diameter stenosis decreased from 63 +/- 19% to 18 +/- 12% (p < 0.0001). IVUS measurements showed a minimum lumen CSA increase from 2.3 +/- 1.3 mm2 to 6.1 +/- 2.2 mm2 (p < 0.0001) as a result of an increased minimum stent CSA (7.2 +/- 2.4 mm2 to 8.7 +/- 2.6 mm2, p < 0.0001) and a decreased intimal hyperplasia CSA within the stent (4.9 +/- 2.2 mm2 to 2.7 +/- 2.0 mm2, p < 0.0001). Of the total mean lumen enlargement, 56 +/- 28% was the result of additional stent expansion and 44 +/- 28% was the result of a decrease in neointimal tissue. The minimum lumen CSA after PTCA was significantly smaller than the minimum stent CSA before PTCA (presumably an accurate reflection of lumen dimensions immediately after stent implantation; p = 0.0002). The mechanism of PTCA for restenosis is a combination of additional stent expansion and tissue extrusion out of the stent; there is a relatively high residual stenosis (angiographic diameter stenosis of 18 +/- 12%).
Aged↗
Patterns and mechanisms of in-stent restenosis. A serial intravascular ultrasound study.
BACKGROUND: Studies have suggested that restenosis within Palmaz-Schatz stents results from neointimal hyperplasia or chronic stent recoil and occurs more frequently at the articulation. METHODS AND RESULTS: Serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was performed after intervention and at follow-up in 142 stents in 115 lesions. IVUS measurements (external elastic membrane [EEM], stent, and lumen cross-sectional areas [CSAs] and diameters) were performed, and plaque CSA (EEM lumen in reference segments and stent lumen in stented segments), late lumen loss (delta lumen), remodeling (delta EEM in reference segments and delta stent in stented segments), and tissue growth (delta plaque) were calculated. After intervention, the lumen tended to be smallest at the articulation because of tissue prolapse. At follow-up, tissue growth was uniformly distributed throughout the stent; the tendency for greater neointimal tissue accumulation at the central articulation reached statistical significance only when normalized for the smaller postintervention lumen CSA. In stented segments, late lumen area loss correlated strongly with tissue growth but only weakly with remodeling. Stents affected adjacent vessel segments; remodeling progressively increased and tissue growth progressively decreased at distances from the edge of the stent. These findings were similar in native arteries and saphenous vein grafts and in lesions treated with one or two stents. There was no difference in the postintervention or follow-up lumen (at the junction of the two stents) when overlapped were compared with nonoverlapped stents. CONCLUSIONS: Late lumen loss and in-stent restenosis were the result of neointimal tissue proliferation, which tended to be uniformly distributed over the length of the stent.
Aged↗
Intravascular ultrasound findings after excimer laser coronary angioplasty.
Intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) was used to study 104 lesions in 98 patients after excimer laser coronary angioplasty (ELCA). Lesion site external elastic membrane (EEM) and lumen cross-sectional areas (CSA) were measured; plaque+media (P+M = EEM - lumen) CSA and percentage of cross-sectional narrowing (CSN = P+M CSA/EEM CSA) were calculated; and the results were compared to a reference site. The lumen CSA (2.6 +/- 1.0 mm2) averaged 24% larger than the cross-sectional area of the largest laser catheter used, and 64 lesions (62%) fit the definition of arterial expansion (lesion EEM CSA > reference site EEM CSA). The residual percentage of cross-sectional narrowing averaged 83.8 +/- 8.8%. Dissections were present in 44% of lesions, and were more common in lesions with superficial calcium (59%) than in lesions with only deep calcium (31%) or no calcium (20%, P = 0.0102). Dissections of superficial calcified plaque had an unusual "shattered" or "fragmented" appearance. These findings suggest that excimer laser angioplasty causes forced vessel expansion with dissection, but limited atheroablation.
Angioplasty, Balloon, Laser-Assisted↗
Mechanisms and immediate and long-term results of adjunct directional coronary atherectomy after rotational atherectomy.
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to confirm the mechanisms and the immediate and long-term results of rotational atherectomy and adjunct directional coronary atherectomy. BACKGROUND: Rotational atherectomy is best suited for treating calcific stenoses, but the ability of rotational atherectomy alone to optimize lumen dimensions in large vessels is limited; this is only partly improved by adjunct balloon angioplasty. METHODS: We treated 165 lesions in 163 patients by use of rotational atherectomy and adjunct directional coronary atherectomy. Quantitative angiography and intravascular ultrasound were used for lesion analysis. A matched comparison with 208 lesions treated with rotational atherectomy and adjunct coronary angioplasty was performed. Patients were then followed up for at least 9 months, and target-lesion revascularization was assessed. RESULTS: In the 61 lesions imaged sequentially, lumen area increased from 1.7 +/- 0.8 (mean +/- 1 SD) to 3.9 +/- 1.1 mm(2) after rotational atherectomy, owing to a decrease in plaque plus media area from 16.8 +/- 5.0 to 15.2 +/- 5.2 mm(2) (both p < 0.0001). After adjunct directional coronary atherectomy, lumen area increased even more to 6.7 +/- 2.0 mm(2) (vs. 5.1 +/- 1.4 mm(2) after adjunct coronary angioplasty, p < 0.0001) as a result of both vessel expansion (18.8 +/ 5.3 to 20.8 +/- 5.7 mm(2)) and additional plaque removal (to 14.1 +/- 5.0 mm(2), all p < 0.0001). The total arcs of calcium decreased from 207 +/- 107 degrees to 166 +/- 93 degrees after rotational atherectomy and to 145 +/- 87 degrees after directional coronary atherectomy. Overall, procedural success was 96%, and final diameter stenosis was 15 +/- 17%. Target-lesion revascularization was 23%. The only independent predictor of target-lesion revascularization was a larger overall atherectomy index (84% vs. 59%, p = 0.048). CONCLUSIONS: There is a synergistic relationship between rotational atherectomy and directional coronary atherectomy in the treatment of calcific lesions. The immediate results show a high procedural success--lumen dimensions were larger and late target-lesion revascularization was lower in lesions treated with rotational atherectomy and directional coronary atherectomy than in those treated with rotational atherectomy and adjunct balloon angioplasty.
Aged↗
Intravascular ultrasound predictors of restenosis after percutaneous transcatheter coronary revascularization.
OBJECTIVES: This study sought to evaluate preintervention and postintervention intravascular ultrasound studies for potential predictors of angiographic restenosis and to use ultrasound predictors of restenosis to enhance our understanding of the pathophysiology of the restenosis disease process. BACKGROUND: Restenosis remains the major limitation of percutaneous transcatheter coronary revascularization. Although its mechanisms remain incompletely understood, numerous studies have identified some of the clinical, anatomic and procedural risk factors for restenosis. Intravascular ultrasound imaging of target lesions before and after catheter-based treatment consistently demonstrates more target lesion calcium, more extensive reference segment atherosclerosis, smaller final lumen dimensions, significant residual plaque burden and a greater degree of tissue trauma than is evident by angiography. METHODS: Intravascular ultrasound studies were performed in 360 nonstented native coronary artery lesions (final diameter stenosis 18 +/- 11%) in 351 patients for whom follow-up angiographic data were available 6.4 +/- 3.6 months later. Hospital charts were reviewed, and qualitative and quantitative coronary angiographic and intravascular ultrasound analyses were performed by independent core laboratories. Four dependent angiographic end points were tested: restenosis as a binary definition (> or = 50% diameter stenosis at follow-up) was the primary end point; follow-up diameter stenosis, late lumen loss and follow-up minimal lumen diameter were the secondary end points. RESULTS: Reference vessel size, the preintervention quantitative coronary angiographic assessment of lesion severity and the postintervention intravascular ultrasound cross-sectional measurements predicted the late angiographic results. In particular, the intravascular ultrasound postintervention cross-sectional narrowing (plaque plus media cross-sectional area divided by external elastic membrane cross-sectional area) predicted the primary end point (restenosis) and two of the three secondary end points (follow-up diameter stenosis and late lumen loss) and was therefore the most consistent predictor of restenosis. CONCLUSIONS: Intravascular ultrasound variables are more powerful and consistent predictors of angiographic restenosis than currently accepted clinical or angiographic risk factors.
Adult↗
Intravascular ultrasound identification of calcified intraluminal lesions misdiagnosed as thrombi by coronary angiography.
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Aged↗
Taxol content of Irish yews.
The average annual taxol content of shoots with dark green needles from Irish Yew (Taxus baccata var. fastigiata) was found to be 0.0075%. Maximum levels were recorded in April (0.010%) and minimum in February. Golden-leaved ("aurea") varieties contained only traces of taxol. Shoot growth took place mainly between May and July.
Analysis of Variance↗
Modeling the enterprisewide information architecture.
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Computer Systems↗
New paradigms for new problems: expanding information technology in healthcare.
As healthcare moves from individual fee-for-services and single hospital systems to capitated contracts and integrated delivery systems (IDS), and then into Community Health Information Networks (CHINs), implementing a data warehouse is a realistic way to collect and transform data into meaningful information. However, healthcare differs from other industries because of its complexity. The software is more specialized, and many vendors have adopted proprietary operating systems that hold critical data hostage. Even when available, data is not integrated and is more convoluted than in other industries. To have a complete patient profile, there can be 750 critical data elements in a healthcare transaction, as compared to an estimated 150 data elements in a financial transaction. Historical, behavioral, and diagnostic information is needed at multiple points along the continuum of care: physician's office, rehabilitation, pharmacy, emergency room, laboratory, and hospital. Additionally, these points along the continuum must communicate with the community they serve and the purchasers of healthcare. This article looks at data warehousing and the different technologies available for consolidating and integrating information in the healthcare environment.
Community Networks↗
Common myths about fat.
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Attitude to Health↗
Evaluation of HLA antibodies with the PRA-STAT test. An ELISA test using soluble HLA class I molecules.
HLA-specific antibody, present before or after transplantation, may adversely effect graft outcome. Antibody testing by cytotoxicity (CYT) is laborious, requires viable lymphocytes, does not differentiate non-HLA cytotoxic antibody, and cannot be used readily on specimens from patients being treated with cytotoxic antibodies. We have evaluated PRA-STAT, an antibody screening kit that uses an ELISA test with soluble HLA class I molecules as targets. We performed 219 tests on a variety of serum specimens, 128 of which were also tested by CYT. There was a highly significant correlation (r = 0.78, P < 0.001) between PRA-STAT (PS) and CYT for the detection of IgG antibodies. Of 66 sera reactive in both assays, 18% had identical specificities defined in both, 27% were more reactive in PS than in CYT, 8% were more reactive in CYT, and 47% had different specificities in the 2 assays, with overlap in slightly more than half the cases. Of 13 sera reactive only in PS, 2 were from non-transfused, nontransplanted males with no evidence of lymphocyte-reactive antibody by antiglobulin tests. PS uses an IgG-specific conjugate, therefore IgM class I-specific antibodies cannot be identified--however, their presence does affect test outcome. This, as well as the panel composition and interlot reproducibility, are areas we believe need to be addressed. The PRA-STAT system is rapid, does not require viable cells or complement, and can be automated in part. Resolution of the problems identified here and availability of an IgM-specific conjugate should make this test system a valuable tool in histocompatibility testing.
Antibodies↗