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J S Huff

Publications and source records attributed to J S Huff.

41 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMedDate not supplied

Judicial outcome for the intoxicated driver admitted to a regional trauma center.

OBJECTIVE: To examine the judicial outcomes for intoxicated drivers who were admitted to regional trauma centers as a result of motor vehicle collisions (MVCs). METHODS: A retrospective review of the trauma registry of a Level I trauma center was conducted for the period from January 1, 1989, through December 31, 1990. Inclusion criteria for entry into the study were 1) identification of the patient as the driver involved in an MVC, 2) a blood alcohol content (BAC) above 0.10 g/dL, and 3) survival until discharge from the hospital. A total 245 patients from the trauma registry met the inclusion criteria. The number of persons from the submitted list who were later convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) was obtained from the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) of the Common- wealth of Virginia. RESULTS: Of the list submitted to the DMV, only nine individuals (3.7%; 95% confidence interval = 1.3--6.0%) were convicted of DUI during the MVCs that led to hospitalization during the study period. During the same time period, the statewide conviction rate for DUI-cited drivers was 85%. CONCLUSION: Admission to the trauma service at a Level I trauma center may provide a refuge from legal consequences for intoxicated drivers involved in MVCs.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Biochemical characteristics of middle ear effusions.

Biochemical composition of middle ear effusions (MEE) and serum was compared both in experimentally induced middle ear inflammation in squirrel monkeys and in otitis media in humans. The MEE and serum protein concentrations were similar in the animal experiments. In human MEE the total protein concentration of both serous and mucoid effusions was higher than the proteins of the serum. High concentrations of potassium and lower concentrations of glucose in human MEE than in serum were also observed. Activities of various oxidative (lactate dehydrogenase, malate dehydrogenase) and hydrolytic (leucine aminopeptidase, alkaline and acid phosphatase, and lysozyme) enzymes in MEE and serum were compared. The ratio of enzyme activity between MEE and serum (MEE/Serum) was greater than one in all enzymes studied. Mucoid MEE had higher activity of enzymes than serous effusions in general. Lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme patterns were compared on electropherogram. Isoenzyme fractions 1 and 2 were each smaller in MEE than in serum whereas 4 and 5 had a significantly higher activity in MEE than in serum. Higher activities of enzymes in MEE as compared with serum are consistent with the hypothesis that MEE results from inflammatory processes occurring in the middle ear cavity. The enzymes of MEE seem to have multiple origins, namely, 1) enzymes normally present in blood, 2) enzymes from the inflamed middle ear mucosa, and 3) enzymes from leucocytes present in effusions.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte function during otitis media.

Polymorphonuclear leukocyte (PMN) function was evaluated in children with serous (SOM) and mucoid otitis media (MOM) and in an experimental model of acute purulent otitis media due to Streptococcus pneumoniae using chinchillas. Twenty-three of 100 children with SOM or MOM had depressed peripheral blood PMN chemotactic, bactericidal or chemiluminescence activity. Depressed PMN chemotactic activity was observed in 17(18%) of 97 children. Children whose middle ear effusions cultured Hemophilus influenzae were more than twice as likely to have depressed PMN chemotactic activity as children whose effusions were sterile. Depressed PMN bactericidal activity was observed in seven (23%) of 30 children, and depressed PMN chemiluminescence activity was found in three (16%) of 19 children. Combined chemotactic and bactericidal dysfunction was observed in four (13%) of 30 children. All seven of the chinchillas with pneumococcal otitis media showed significantly depressed PMN chemotactic activity during the first week after inoculation, while only two of ten uninfected control chinchillas showed the same degree of chemotactic depression (P = .002). The association of H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae with depressed PMN function suggested that bacterial components of these microbes might have functional similarities. Both bacteria are surrounded by capsular polysaccharides which are known to persist in mammalian tissues for an extended period. It is possible that these or other components of H. influenzae and S. pneumoniae, or even host factors generated during middle ear infection and inflammation, impair the PMN response to middle ear infection resulting in delayed bacterial killing and persistent middle ear effusion.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Biochemical and immunochemical characteristics of middle ear effusions in relation to bacteriological findings.

Experimental otitis media was produced in chinchillas by eustachian tube obstruction or pneumococcal infection. Sequential changes in the histology of the middle ear mucosa and enzyme profile of the middle ear effusions (MEE) were studied. In serous otitis media (SOM) which followed tubal obstruction, the subepithelial space was widened by edema and capillary dilatation, and the middle ear space was filled with serous fluid. Slight hyperplasia of epithelial cells was also observed. The subepithelial space remained widened with mild fibrous change and capillary dilatation, and slight hyperplasia of epithelial cells persisted 42 days after obstruction. In purulent otitis media (POM), which followed inoculation of pneumococci into the middle ears, metaplasia of the epithelial layer from flat to columnar cells was observed. The subepithelial space was widened with loose fibrous connective tissue proliferation, vascular dilatation and inflammatory cell infiltration. Both lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and lysozyme levels in MEE were higher in the POM group than in the SOM group. When bacterial enzymes, hyaluronidase and lipase activity were measured in MEE and plotted together with the percentage of positive culture of the MEE at different times after the experimental infection, the enzyme activities decreased with the clearing of bacteria and along with the resorption of inflammatory changes of middle ear mucosa evidenced by histology. In human MEE studies, immunoglobulins (IgG, IgA, IgM) of MEE were higher than in serum except IgM in serous MEE. The IgG content of MEE in the culture-negative group was higher than in the culture-positive group. Possible mechanisms for this difference were discussed.

Animals↗