Biomedical subjects

J S Cason

Publications and source records attributed to J S Cason.

14 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed1984

Trial of a laminar air-flow enclosure for the control of infection in a burns operating theatre.

A series of 22 patients with full-skin thickness burns had skin grafting operations in a Piekenrood-Vinitex BV open-topped laminar air-flow enclosure, and a parallel control series of 18 patients were grafted in the same operating room without the use of the laminar flow unit; the operating room in which both series of operations were performed had standard plenum ventilation with 20 air changes per hour. None of the patients acquired on their burns Staph. aureus of phage types and antibiotic sensitivity patterns corresponding with those isolated from carriers who were in the theatre at the time of the operation; 16 patients acquired on their burns strains of types corresponding with those of strains isolated from burns of other patients in the ward. Settle plates exposed during operations showed a relatively small reduction in bacterial counts associated with the use of the laminar flow enclosure.

Burns↗

PubMed1982

Evaluation of phenoxetol-chlorhexidine cream as a prophylactic antibacterial agent in burns.

A controlled clinical trial was conducted to compare the value of a cream containing 2% phenoxetol and 0.2% chlorhexidine as a prophylactic agent against wound infection in patients with burns affecting up to 15% total body surface area. The acquisition of bacteria was similar in the two treatment groups but the incidence of Staphylococcus aureus in the burns treated with phenoxetol-chlorhexidine cream significantly lower. The incidence of gram-negative bacilli was low in the two treatment groups, and no wound yielded Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Unlike preparations containing silver, phenoxetol-chlorhexidine does not cause electrolyte imbalance or stain materials with which it comes into contact, and it did not produce adverse effects during this trial.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1981

Some aspects on prevention and treatment of infection in burns.

Formerly, death due to burns was usually caused by shock in 50% of the cases. Today only 5% of the deaths are caused by shock; 95% of all deaths are due to infection and half of these deaths are due to septicaemia. The treatment of infections depends on two factors: -- Prevention of contamination -- Prevention of bacterial growth. Contamination can be prevented by early skin grafts, a no-touch method when applying dressings, nursing in ventilated rooms and local antiseptics. The history of the use of various antiseptics starting with penicillin V and ending with cerium nitrate is discussed. For the prevention of bacterial growth chemotherapy, active and passive immunisation, and such general methods as the correct treatment of associated diseases and a high calory diet are necessary. Chemotherapy should only be given when there are definite indications. Indiscriminate chemotherapy is dangerous. The most useful immunisation methods are vaccinations against pseudomonas as these vaccinations are also active against other gram-negative bacteria. In children the diagnosis of septicaemia is often difficult. As septicaemia may develop very quickly in children, it is sometimes necessary to start chemotherapy blindly before the results of the blood culture are known.

Antisepsis↗

PubMed1979

Staphylococcal sepsis in a burns unit.

An outbreak of staphylococcal sepsis in a burns unit occurred between January 1976 and May 1978. Many patients and members of staff had boils, and a number of patients also developed septicaemia. Most of the boils in the early period of the trial and a large proportion of boils in patients during the later period yielded Staphylococcus aureus resistant to penicillin, tetracycline and erythromycin only (PTE), and were shown to be of phage type 95 in the early period while strains were phage typed. From blood cultures, most strains in the early period were of resistance pattern PTE and phage type 95, but in the later period other resistance patterns were predominant. Strains from burns were usually multiresistant (PTEKNML) and of the phage pattern 29/77, which had been endemic in the Unit, but during the early period of the outbreak there was an increased proportion of strains in burns with the resistance pattern PTE and of phage type 95. Staphylococcal sepsis has for many years been very infrequent in the burns unit. This outbreak seems to have been initiated by a strain of phage type 95 and resistance pattern PTE, but during the course of the outbreak the endemic strain of type 29/77 and some other staphylococci seem to have developed enhanced ability to cause clinical infections, conceivably by transduction from the epidemic strain of phage type 95.

Burns↗

PubMed1977

Burn excision by a caron-dioxide laser.

When the 'Sharplan' 50 W carbon-dioxide laser was used for burn excision, blood-loss was reduced compared with that experienced during scalpel excision. This advantage was more than offset, however, by the increased operating-time and increased physical effort required to maintain a firm, prolonged pull on the burned tissue during excision. A more powerful laser might overcome these disadvantages.

Adolescent↗

PubMed1977