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Biomedical subjects

Michael T McDermott

Publications and source records attributed to Michael T McDermott.

11 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

Management of diabetes mellitus in hospitalized patients: efficiency and effectiveness of sliding-scale insulin therapy.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficiency and effectiveness of current prescribing practices relative to short- and intermediate-acting insulins in the prevention or treatment of acute hyperglycemic episodes in hospitalized patients with diabetes mellitus or hyperglycemia, and to identify clinical findings that influence the effectiveness of insulin therapy in these patients. DESIGN: Retrospective observational study. SETTING: University-affiliated hospital. PATIENTS: Ninety consecutive adult inpatients who had orders placed for as-needed subcutaneous regular or lispro sliding-scale insulin. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Medical records were reviewed for patients' clinical characteristics and responses to administered insulin that were recorded during each of the first 5 days of hospitalization in which sliding-scale insulin therapy was used. Despite the immediate or bedside availability of both computerized and manual means to record finger-stick blood glucose levels and insulin injections, uncertainties or missing information related to execution, timing, blood glucose levels, or insulin dose were present in approximately 30% of all anticipated points of care involving insulin. Ten episodes of hypoglycemia in six patients were associated with sliding-scale insulin. Appropriately timed, successive glucose measurements documented a decrement in elevated blood glucose values to within the target range of 90-130 mg/dl after 76 (12%) of 621 sliding-scale insulin injections. Glucose levels remained elevated, and insulin effects were therefore subtherapeutic after 523 injections (84%). Despite blood glucose levels that remained persistently elevated, corresponding adjustments in either the timing or the dose of insulin were made infrequently. Sliding-scale insulin regimens were never adjusted in 73 patients (81%). Through 5 days of therapy, the proportion of patients who attained good glycemic control ranged from 2-10% (mean 6%). The mode of overall glycemic control was poor, with 51-68% of patients in this category on any given day. Overall, treated diabetic and hyperglycemic patients were more likely to be poorly controlled than relatively well controlled. CONCLUSION: Our findings reveal outcomes associated with sliding-scale insulin that are widely variable, often ineffectual, and prone to deficiencies in monitoring, documentation, and prescribing soundness. Efforts to improve glycemic control in hospitalized patients are clearly needed.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMed2003

The management of subclinical hyperthyroidism by thyroid specialists.

Subclinical hyperthyroidism is a relatively common condition for which prospectively derived evidenced-based management guidelines do not exist. We have conducted a case-based mail survey to solicit opinions from members of the American Thyroid Association (ATA) about various issues that arise in the management of patients with this disorder. The survey was completed and returned by 185 of 300 (62%) of the original survey recipients. Four hypothetical cases varying in age, thyrotropin (TSH) level and underlying etiology were presented. The majority of respondents recommended further evaluation of all cases, most commonly choosing a radioactive iodine uptake (42%-71%), thyroid scan (39%-68%) and antithyroid (TPO/Tg) antibodies (49%-55%) as the additional tests to be ordered. The large majority (84%) recommended observation rather than active treatment for a young patient with a low but detectable serum TSH level. A small majority also recommended observation alone for a young woman with an undetectable serum TSH level (58%) and for an older woman with a low but detectable serum TSH value (63%). However, the majority (66%) favored treating an older woman with an undetectable serum TSH. When treatment was advised in the patients with subclinical hyperthyroidism, the respondents strongly favored anti-thyroid drugs when the etiology was Graves' disease and radioactive iodine when the etiology was toxic nodular thyroid disease. In the absence of adequate evidence-based guidelines, it is hoped that this survey of expert opinions may provide useful guidance for physicians providing care for patients with subclinical hyperthyroidism.

Antithyroid Agents↗
PubMed2003

Lack of diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis in men and women after hip fracture.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To determine whether men and women admitted to a university teaching hospital for a low-trauma hip fracture were diagnosed, evaluated, or treated for osteoporosis during admission or for up to 1 year after admission. DESIGN: Retrospective chart review. SETTING: University of Colorado Hospital, Denver, Colorado. PATIENTS: One hundred eighteen patients admitted with a low-trauma hip fracture from January 1993-December 1998. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Demographics, medical and social history, prescribed drugs, clinical outcomes, and information regarding the diagnosis, evaluation, and treatment of osteoporosis were abstracted from inpatient medical records for the index hip fracture. Similar data for the first year after the index hip fracture were abstracted from outpatient medical records of patients who had follow-up visits within the hospital system. Mean +/- SD age at the time of fracture was 70 +/- 15 years; 43 patients were men and 75 were women. Eighteen percent of patients had experienced a previous hip fracture, 4% had a history of vertebral fracture, and 6% reported a previous wrist fracture. The diagnosis of osteoporosis was noted in the charts of 14% of the patients at discharge and 26% of patients at follow-up. Only 4% of patients during hospitalization and 9% during follow-up received any evaluative tests for osteoporosis, including bone densitometry. Subsequent fractures occurred in 12.5% of patients. Documented treatment of osteoporosis was uncommon, with approximately 75% of patients receiving no therapy for osteoporosis on discharge or during follow-up. Women were more likely than men to receive a diagnosis of osteoporosis, bone mineral density testing, and osteoporosis drug therapy. CONCLUSION: In patients with hip fractures, osteoporosis is commonly not diagnosed or treated appropriately

Aged↗
PubMed2002

Calcium deposition with or without bone formation in the lung.

Pulmonary calcification and ossification occurs with a number of systemic and pulmonary conditions. Specific symptoms are often lacking, but calcification may be a marker of disease severity and its chronicity. Pathophysiologic states predisposing to pulmonary calcification and ossification include hypercalcemia, a local alkaline environment, and previous lung injury. Factors such as enhanced alkaline phosphatase activity, active angiogenesis, and mitogenic effects of growth factors may also contribute. The clinical classification of pulmonary calcification includes both metastatic calcification, in which calcium deposits in previously normal lung or dystrophic calcification, which occurs in previously injured lung. Pulmonary ossification can be idiopathic or can result from a variety of underlying pulmonary, cardiac, or extracardiopulmonary disorders. The diagnosis of pulmonary calcification and ossification requires various imaging techniques, including chest radiography, computed tomographic scanning, and bone scintigraphy. Interpretation of the presence of and the specific pattern of calcification or ossification may obviate the need for invasive biopsy. In this review, specific conditions causing pulmonary calcification or ossification that may impact diagnostic and treatment decisions are highlighted. These include metastatic calcification caused by chronic renal failure and orthotopic liver transplantation, dystrophic calcification caused by granulomatous disorders, DNA viruses, parasitic infections, pulmonary amyloidosis, vascular calcification, the idiopathic disorder pulmonary alveolar microlithiasis, and various forms of pulmonary ossification.

Calcinosis↗
PubMed2002

Congenital isolated central hypothyroidism caused by a "hot spot" mutation in the thyrotropin-beta gene.

Two adult siblings presented to our practice with a known history of congenital central isolated hypothyroidism. Their growth, development, and general health had been normal. Although the disorder was known to result from thyrotropin (TSH) deficiency, providers in the past had made multiple adjustments in their levothyroxine replacement doses in attempts to normalize serum TSH levels. This suggests a need for better education of providers who care for patients with central hypothyroidism. We performed DNA sequencing of the TSHbeta gene and identified a homozygous single base deletion in codon 105, on exon 3, resulting in a frameshift and a premature termination signal at codon 114. This same mutation (C105FS114X) has been previously reported in South America and Europe and appears to be the most common genetic mutation associated with congenital isolated TSH deficiency. The identification of this mutation for the first time in the United States suggests that this disorder, now described in patients from countries on multiple continents, is more common than previously appreciated and may be a mutational "hot spot."

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2002

Clinical comparison of whole-body radioiodine scan and serum thyroglobulin after stimulation with recombinant human thyrotropin.

Sensitive monitoring for thyroid cancer recurrence or persistence includes whole-body radioiodine scanning (WBS) and measurement of serum thyroglobulin (Tg) after endogenous or exogenous thyrotropin (TSH) stimulation. We reviewed our experience using recombinant human thyrotropin (rhTSH) in 83 patients to compare the clinical relevance of a positive WBS and/or Tg. Ten patients had a positive WBS; eight of these patients had activity limited to the thyroid bed. rhTSH-stimulated Tg was 2 ng/mL or more in 25 and 5 ng/mL or more in 13 patients. Of the patients with a negative WBS, 11 of 20 patients with a Tg 2 ng/mL or more and 7 of 9 patients with a Tg 5 ng/mL or more received therapy or further evaluation based on the Tg alone. Conversely, only 1 of 5 patients with a serum Tg less than 2 ng/mL received therapy or further evaluation based on a positive WBS alone. Three of the patients who did not receive therapy or further evaluation, had subsequent negative WBS 10-12 months later, suggesting lack of clinically significant disease. Twenty patients had a negative WBS and serum Tg 2 ng/mL or more. Eleven of 20 patients had a Tg less than 5 ng/mL and 4 of these patients had further evaluation with a neck ultrasound. One patient had a biopsy-proven recurrence (rhTSH-stimulated Tg 4 ng/mL). Subsequent evaluations (> or = 6 months later) have been negative for 8 patients. Of the nine patients with a Tg 5 ng/mL or more and a negative WBS, 7 had further evaluation and 6 of 7 had identified disease. In summary, rhTSH-stimulated WBS and Tg are complementary, but Tg is a more sensitive indicator of disease recurrence or persistence. In our practice, an rhTSH-stimulated Tg greater than 4-5 ng/mL often resulted in further evaluation, while a Tg less than 4 ng/mL rarely resulted in further immediate evaluation.

Algorithms↗