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Biomedical subjects

M Farrington

Publications and source records attributed to M Farrington.

67 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Prevalence survey of infection in a Hong Kong hospital using a standard protocol and microcomputer data analysis.

A 1-day prevalence survey of hospital infection was performed in June 1985 at a new general teaching hospital in Hong Kong. The 1980 British national survey protocol was used, and the results were analysed by microcomputer. The major part of the survey was carried out by nine people over a period of 3 days and was completed within 6 weeks. The rate of hospital-acquired infection was 8.9% and of community-acquired infection was 16.5%. Antibiotics were mainly used in infected patients. The British protocol is suitable for Hong Kong hospitals, and with microcomputer data analysis such surveys can be completed quickly and accurately even with limited resources.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1987

Changes in pituitary growth hormone cells prepared from rats flown on Spacelab 3.

Anterior pituitaries from "small" (250 g) and "large" (400 g) rats flown on the 7-day Spacelab 3 mission were pooled and trypsinized into two single-cell suspensions. Compared with ground-based controls, flight cells appeared to contain more intracellular growth hormone (GH) but release less GH over a 6-day culture period. After implantation into hypophysectomized rats, both sets of flight cells released only 50% of the GH compared with the control cells. Glands from large flight rats contained 44% somatotrophs compared with 37% for controls; small animals showed no difference. There were no striking differences in somatotroph ultrastructure between cells in the four groups. Western blot analysis indicated that there were no major differences in immunoactive GH variants. High-performance liquid chromatography fractionation of culture media indicated that small flight cells released much less of a high-molecular weight variant rich in GH bioactivity. The results suggest that GH cells from rats exposed to microgravity may experience secretory dysfunction. The possibility that this occurs directly at the pituitary cell level is discussed.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Study of cardiothoracic wound infection at St. Thomas' Hospital.

Wound infection occurred after 14.3 per cent of 433 open heart operations. In 309, saphenous veins were harvested for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and 8.7 per cent of sternal wounds and 12.9 per cent of leg wounds were infected. Only 1.6 per cent of the remaining 124 patients who had open heart operations without leg surgery suffered sternal wound infections. In the CABG group sternal infection was theatre-related and significantly associated with length of pre-operative stay, diabetes and re-operation. Similar organisms were isolated from both leg and sternal wounds which suggest that organisms were transferred from legs to sternum with the veins. No clinically relevant cross infection was demonstrated. Skin disinfection and surgical technique seem more important than antibiotic prophylaxis in the control of these infections.

Bacteria↗
PubMed1985

Chemistry and antitumor evaluation of selected classical 2,4-diaminoquinazoline analogues of folic acid.

A series of six 2,4-diaminoquinazoline analogues of folic acid which bear close structural resemblance to methotrexate, 1a, were synthesized by unequivocal routes. Three of these have not been described previously, while complete structural characterization of the remaining compounds is presented for the first time. Each of the compounds was a potent inhibitor of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) from rat liver or L1210 leukemia cells having I50 values in a range similar to that of 1a. However, a wide divergence in inhibitory activity toward the growth of human gastrointestinal adenocarcinoma or L1210 leukemia cells in vitro was observed. Compounds having a normal folate configuration at positions 9 and 10 were more inhibitory than their isomeric reversed-bridge counterparts. The N-formyl modifications were the least active of the compounds studied. Unsubstituted or N-methyl modifications competed effectively with tritiated 1a for uptake into L1210 leukemia cells, while N-formyl modifications did not. Against an L1210 cell line resistant to 1a by virtue of altered transport and overproduction of DHFR, partial but not complete cross-resistance was observed for certain analogues. Of the three compounds selected for in vivo evaluation against L1210 leukemia in mice, two had a similar level of antitumor activity to that of 1a. The compound 5,8-dideazamethopterin, 2b, however, was slightly more active than 1a but at substantially reduced dose levels.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1985

Flucloxacillin concentration in serum and wound exudate during open heart surgery.

Per-operative serum and wound fluid concentrations achieved by two flucloxacillin dosage regimens were measured in twelve patients undergoing open heart surgery. One 500 mg bolus dose given after the induction of anaesthesia in six patients resulted in adequate serum concentrations (means decreasing from 69 to 9 mg/l) during surgery, but low wound fluid concentrations (mean 4.6 mg/l, range less than 2-7.8 mg/l) at the time of closure. An additional 500 mg bolus dose given after bypass in six further patients gave more satisfactory wound concentrations (mean 16 mg/l, range 8.6-22.5 mg/l). Disc absorption is a useful technique for assaying antibiotics in wound fluid, but the results are difficult to interpret since they represent a sum of concentrations in a complex and changing mixture of interstitial tissue fluid, blood and cardioplegia solution.

Cloxacillin↗
PubMed1983

Vertebral osteomyelitis due to coccobacilli of the HB group.

Three cases of pyogenic vertebral osteomyelitis occurred in which unusual, fastidious, Gram negative coccobacilli belonging to the "HB" group were isolated. The organisms were Haemophilus aphrophilus in case 1, intermediate between H aphrophilus and Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans in case 2, and Eikenella corrodens in case 3. All HB bacteria are sensitive to a wide range of antibiotics.

Actinobacillus↗
PubMed1983

Legionella pneumophila seen in Gram stains of respiratory secretions and recovered from conventional blood cultures.

We report a fatal case of Legionnaires' disease in which Legionella pneumophila was easily visible in large numbers in Gram stains of clinical material and was recovered from conventional blood cultures after seven days incubation. The presence of many readily seen Gram-negative, pleomorphic bacilli in direct Gram stains of respiratory secretions should support a possible diagnosis of Legionnaires' disease.

Bacteriological Techniques↗