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Biomedical subjects

J J Rodriguez

Publications and source records attributed to J J Rodriguez.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1995

Flow cytometric analysis using digital signal processing.

Current commercial flow cytometers employ analog circuits to produce the feature values of the pulse waveforms that result from particle analysis. The use of analog pulse processing limits the features that can be measured to pulse integral, pulse height, and pulse width, and a large amount of potentially relevant information about the shape of the pulse waveform is lost. Direct digitizing of the waveform provides a means for the extraction of additional features, for example, pulse skewness and kurtosis, as well as the Fourier properties of the pulse. Here we describe a digital pulse waveform processing system that is compatible both with a commercial flow cytometer, and with a readily available computational platform. The performance of the digital and analog systems were compared through analysis of synthetic waveforms, and the waveforms produced by standard fluorescence microspheres and biological particles. The digital waveform processing system was found to be accurate and flexible, and the value of several of its unique attributes was demonstrated using biological cells. A protocol was designed in which digital pulse processing provided a means for the quantitative monitoring of the optical alignment of the flow cytometer. It was shown that digital pulse processing could be used to discriminate between particle classes which produce feature values indistinguishable through analog pulse processing, and to discriminate accurately single cells from doublets and larger aggregates.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Ophthalmological tests in patients with keratoconjunctivitis sicca with and without association of primary Sjögren's syndrome.

We compared clinical, laboratory and histological tests in patients with keratoconjuctivities sicca with and without association of primary Sjögren's syndrome. Rosa bengal staining, osmolarity and impression cytology had high specificity and sensitivity for a correct diagnosis of keratoconjunctivitis sicca with and without primary Sjögren's syndrome. Schirmer and breakup time (BUT) tests were not quite as specific or sensitive. Impression cytology was the only ocular test that showed significant differences between the two pathological groups.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Ectopic pregnancy. Nonsurgical, outpatient evaluation and single-dose methotrexate treatment.

Seventeen patients with suspected ectopic pregnancy (EP) were managed as outpatients with single-dose intramuscular methotrexate (MTX) in a community hospital. A nonsurgical method was utilized for evaluation based on transvaginal ultrasonography in combination with serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) determination and performance of dilation and curettage (D&C). The mean pretreatment hCG concentration was 3,320.9 mIU/mL, with a range of 158-12,420. Sixteen of 17 (94.1%) patients responded successfully to therapy, with a mean duration until hCG resolution of 26.4 days (range, 12-55). One patient experienced rupture 14 days after treatment. One of 17 patients (5.9%) complained of increased abdominal pain six days after treatment and was managed without intervention. There were no reports of adverse effects from the chemotherapy. This study demonstrated that nonsurgical evaluation for presumed EP in carefully selected patients may be performed without D&C and managed safely and effectively with well-tolerated, single-dose, systemic MTX. Our approach was designed for community hospitals.

Adult↗
PubMed1995

Vincristine for refractory autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura in pregnancy. A case report.

BACKGROUND: Autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura is a common disease during pregnancy. Newborns of affected mothers commonly develop thrombocytopenia. Standard therapy consists of corticosteroids, hyperimmune gamma globulin and splenectomy. CASE: Severe autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura was diagnosed in a 22-year-old woman, gravida 2, para 1, at 28 weeks' gestation. A sufficient response was obtained after vincristine was added to the treatment with corticosteroids, hyperimmune gamma globulin and danazole. A male infant weighing 2,545 g was delivered by cesarean section at 33.5 weeks' gestation. There were no maternal or fetal complications except for severe newborn thrombocytopenia, which resolved with medical therapy. CONCLUSION: Vincristine has been used in all trimesters of pregnancy, with favorable outcomes in most cases. This is the first reported case of successful vincristine treatment for autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura in pregnancy. Vincristine, when carefully used, offers an option for unusually refractory cases of autoimmune thrombocytopenic purpura before delivery.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Correlation between impression cytology and tear function parameters in Sjögren's syndrome.

We have compared clinical (Schirmer I test, BUT and rose bengal staining), laboratory (lysozyme and lactoferrin tear levels) and histological tests (impression cytology) in 165 eyes from 85 patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome and in 80 eyes from 40 control subjects. Impression cytology can provide the location of cellular alterations on the ocular surface and information on the severity of the disease. The upper bulbar and interpalpebral areas from patients with primary Sjögren's syndrome were shown to have cellular alterations early in the course of the disease, while the lower bulbar and lower palpebral areas were only affected in severe cases. Statistical analysis has shown that impression cytology and rose bengal staining are the most specific and sensitive methods for the diagnosis of primary Sjögren's syndrome.

Adult↗
PubMed1982

Efficacy of 67Ga-scintigraphy in predicting the diagnostic yield of transbronchial lung biopsy in pulmonary sarcoidosis.

Nineteen consecutive patients with clinically suspected sarcoidosis underwent 67Ga-scintigraphy prior to transbronchial lung biopsy (TBLB) to determine if 67Ga uptake in lung parenchyma would increase the diagnostic yield of the biopsy procedure. Biopsies were obtained from the areas showing parenchymal uptake on the 67Ga scan in 13 of the 19 patients. In the six patients not demonstrating uptake of 67Ga in the lung parenchyma, biopsies were obtained at random from the right lower lobe. There was no correlation between 67Ga uptake in hilar nodes or pulmonary parenchyma tissue and the diagnostic yield from TBLB. We conclude that 67Ga scanning is neither efficacious nor cost-effective in predicting the diagnostic yield of TBLB in sarcoidosis.

Biopsy, Needle↗