Search PubMed⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

M Lafferty

Publications and source records attributed to M Lafferty.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1996

Pruritus and skin hydration during dialysis.

BACKGROUND: Dry skin is frequently observed in uraemic patients and a link with the common complaint of pruritus has been suggested. Objective data on skin dryness in haemodialysed patients is sparse and equivocal. No such information exists for the many patients now receiving peritoneal dialysis. We assessed the prevalence and severity of both pruritus and skin dryness in a uraemic population receiving maintenance dialysis. METHODS: Forty-eight haemodialysis and 24 peritoneal dialysis patients were examined and skin dryness assessed by clinical grading and measurement of stratum corneum hydration using a corneometer. Forty age- and sex-matched controls were also assessed. Several biochemical parameters with possible relevance to pruritus were measured. Regular emollient therapy was prescribed to pruritic dialysis patients and efficacy assessed. RESULTS: Dialysis patients overall had clinically drier skin than controls, especially the peritoneal dialysis group. Stratum corneum hydration levels were significantly reduced in the peritoneal dialysis (P < 0.004), but not the haemodialysis, population. Twenty-seven per cent of haemodialysed and 54% of peritoneal dialysis patients complained of pruritus. Pruritic patients in each dialysis group had significantly lower hydration than non-pruritic patients (P < 0.05). Regular emollient use in pruritic patients produced a marked reduction in severity of pruritus, abolishing the symptom in nine of 21 patients treated. CONCLUSION: Reduced stratum corneum hydration correlates with pruritus in patients on maintenance haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis, and may be alleviated by simple emollient therapy.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

A descriptive study of immune status in patients undergoing colorectal surgery: lymphocyte phenotypes.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To describe immune status in patients prior to colorectal surgery for cancer, to establish values to serve as a baseline for subsequent analyses, and to describe a procedure for studying phenotypes of the immune system, elucidating its advantages. DESIGN: One component of a larger longitudinal survey. SETTING: Two large, inner-city university hospitals and two of their affiliated hospitals in the northeastern United States. SAMPLE: Patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer (N = 94). Subjects were primarily male (n = 57) and Caucasian (n = 85) and ranged in age from 26-88 years (mean = 63). Seventy-seven percent (n = 73) had cancer, 23% (n = 21) had benign diseases or conditions. METHODS: Flow cytometry analysis of lymphocyte phenotypes was performed on blood samples drawn from patients before they underwent surgery for colorectal cancer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The average absolute lymphocyte subset levels and the average relative lymphocyte subset levels of blood samples taken from patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer were compared (using t-tests) with the subset levels of two normal reference samples. FINDINGS: The average absolute lymphocyte subset levels and average relative lymphocyte subset levels of patients undergoing surgery for colorectal cancer fell within normal ranges. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that this sample of patients undergoing surgery has one essential element of an intact immune system--normal levels of lymphocyte subsets. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING PRACTICE: There is no indication preoperatively that this population is at a higher risk for infection or delayed wound healing. However, there may be other times in the illness trajectory when the immune system does become compromised, and these values prior to surgery will serve as a baseline to identify changes in patients' immune status over time. Further longitudinal studies are necessary.

Adult↗
PubMed1993

Prevalence of nephrotoxicosis associated with a four-hour saline solution diuresis protocol for the administration of cisplatin to dogs with naturally developing neoplasms.

We evaluated the development of nephrotoxicosis in 64 dogs with malignant neoplasia given cisplatin during 4-hour saline solution diuresis. Cisplatin (70 mg/m2 of body surface area, IV, q 21 d) was given to 8 dogs once, 22 dogs twice, 9 dogs 3 times, and 25 dogs 4 times. For each treatment, cisplatin was given over a 20-minute period after saline (0.9% NaCl) solution was administered IV for 3 hours at a rate of 25 ml/kg/h. After cisplatin infusion, saline solution diuresis was continued at the same rate for 1 hour. Before each treatment with cisplatin, the dogs were evaluated by conducting a physical examination, CBC; and analysis of serum urea nitrogen and creatinine concentrations, and in most cases, serum phosphorus concentration and urine specific gravity were determined. Exogenous creatinine clearance also was evaluated in 8 dogs prior to 1 (n = 8), 2 (n = 8), 3 (n = 6), and 4 (n = 4) treatments. Five (7.8%) of 64 dogs developed clinically evident renal disease after two (n = 3) and three (n = 2) doses of cisplatin. Two of the 5 dogs had preexisting diseases of the urinary tract prior to the start of treatment. Survival time in dogs that developed renal disease (median, 114 days; range, 26 to 273 days) was similar to that of all dogs in this study (median, 145 days; range, 5 to 586 days), with 30 dogs still alive at the conclusion of the study. Three of the 5 dogs that developed renal disease were alive at the conclusion of the study, 1 died of tumor-related causes, and another died as a direct result of nephrotoxicosis. There was a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in median neutrophil counts and a significant (P < 0.05) increase in median creatinine concentrations prior to the third and fourth treatments, compared with pretreatment values.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1975

Operation orphan.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Australia↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Resection of pulmonary metastases in canine osteosarcoma: 36 cases (1983-1992).

Thirty-six dogs underwent pulmonary metastatectomy for osteosarcoma. All patients had been treated for histologically confirmed osteosarcoma of the appendicular skeleton. Treatment for the primary tumor consisted of amputation or a limb sparing procedure in conjunction with adjuvant chemotherapy, local radiation therapy, or both. Significant factors in determining prognosis included the disease-free interval (DFI) between treatment of the primary tumor and development of pulmonary metastases and the number of metastatic nodules present at surgery. Dogs that developed pulmonary metastases 300 days or more after diagnosis of the primary tumor had a median DFI of 128 days after metastatectomy. Dogs that developed pulmonary metastases fewer than 300 days after diagnosis had a median DFI of 58 days. Dogs with one or two metastatic nodules removed had a median DFI of 95 days, whereas dogs with three or more nodules removed had a median DFI of 53 days. The results of this study indicate that prognostic variables exist for dogs with metastatic pulmonary osteosarcoma and can help predict survival after metastatectomy. These variables are similar to the prognostic variables that have been determined for human patients undergoing pulmonary metastatectomy because of osteosarcoma. Though a controversial procedure, pulmonary metastatectomy seems to be a valid treatment option for selected dogs with metastatic pulmonary osteosarcoma.

Animals↗