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Biomedical subjects

P Bjerregaard

Publications and source records attributed to P Bjerregaard.

At least 163 records · Page 9Linked to original sources
PubMed1983

Amiodarone induced cornea verticillata.

Among 30 patients (17 men, 46-76 years and 13 women, 15-70 years), treated with the antiarrhythmic drug amiodarone, 21 patients (11 men and 10 women) developed bilateral cornea verticillata. Total doses up to 494 g had been given and the duration of therapy was up to 113 weeks. In 14 patients samples of 50 microliters tear fluid were analyzed for aminodarone. No amiodarone was present in the tears at low serum concentrations but a rapid increase in tear concentrations was seen at serum values above 1.2 micrograms/ml (P less than 0.001). The grade of cornea verticillata was significantly correlated to total dose as well as to duration of treatment (P less than or equal to 0.001). On the day of examination at the eye clinic there was no significant correlation between se-amiodarone, tear-amiodarone concentration and the grade of cornea verticillata. One patient complained of coloured haloes. None had decreased visual acuity, fundus changes, cataract, exophthalmus, increased intraocular pressure, abnormal colour vision, or abnormal central corneal thickness, which could be attributed to the treatment of amiodarone.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1983

Housing standards, social group, and respiratory infections in children of Upernavik, Greenland.

During one year, contacts with the health service due to respiratory infections--including diseases of ear, nose, and throat--were studied in the 310 children of Upernavik town. 166 contacts were recorded. Children from low socio-economic groups had been expected to have a higher overall contact rate than other children, but this did not prove to be so. The disease pattern of these children was characterized by a low level of contacts due to certain acute respiratory infections and a high level of contacts due to chronic purulent otitis media, compared with children from higher socio-economic groups. The differences did not reach statistical significance, however.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1981

Correlation between propranolol in plasma and urine, renin-aldosterone system and blood pressure in essential hypertension.

Thirty patients with mild or moderate essential hypertension, and a fixed elevation of diastolic blood pressure, were randomly allocated to three groups and treated with propranolol 40 mg x 4 (Group 1), 80 mg x 4 (group 2) and 160 mg x 4 (Group 3). Blood pressure (BP), pulse rate (PR), plasma renin activity (PRA), plasma aldosterone concentration (PAC), total plasma propranolol (tPP), free plasma propranolol (fPP), and 24 h urinary propranolol excretion (UP) were determined at the end of four consecutive periods: (A) after four weeks without any treatment; (B) after two to three weeks during which the propranolol dose was gradually increased to the intended level; (C) after four weeks, and (D) after eight weeks of unchanged treatment. The maximum reduction in diastolic BP occurred after period B, and in systolic BP after Period C, for Groups 2 and 3, and for all groups together; for Group 1, however, the maximum diastolic BP reduction was first seen after period C. PR was reduced to the same level in all groups after period B. After period B, PRA an PAC fell in all groups, and remained reduced during C and D Group 1. After periods C and D, PRA and PAC in Groups 2 and 3 did not differ significantly from the levels after period A; tPP, fPP and UP were significantly correlated with the propranolol dose, and were lowest in Group 1 and highest in Group 3; UP was negatively correlated with systolic but not diastolic BP in Periods B, C and D. In contrast neither fPP nor tPP were correlated with systolic or diastolic BP. There was no significant correlation between PRA, PAC and changes in PRA or PAC on the one hand and tPP, fPP, UP, BP or changes in BP on the other. It was concluded that propranolol effectively reduced BP, but diastolic BP reduction was most rapidly obtained at 320 and 640 mg daily, that the activity of the renin -aldosterone system was initially suppressed in all group, but for unknown reasons it increased towards the control level after seven to eleven weeks of therapy with 320 and 640 mg/day, and that the reduction in systolic BP increased with higher doses of propranolol and with increasing urinary propranolol excretion.

Adult↗
PubMed1981

Cardiac involvement in juvenile amaurotic idiocy--a specific heart muscle disorder. Histological findings in 13 autopsied patients.

Juvenile amaurotic idiocy (JAI) is a rare disorder of autosomal recessive inheritance. It belongs to the so called ceroid lipofuscinoses and the central nervous system is the largest organ. Only very few reports refer to the accumulation of lipopigment in the heart of JAI patients. This study describes the morphology of the heart from all 13 patients with JAI in Denmark who died within a seven year period; electrocardiographic findings are related to structural changes. All compartments of the heart were involved, including the conduction system. Not only very substantial deposition of lipopigment was found in the myocytes, but we have also observed striking amounts of calcium and cholesterol compounds indicating a restrictive type of heart muscle disorder. These structural changes are uniform from case to case. Because of the nature of the disease only rather poor information of the cardiac state is available in JAI patients. 11 patients showed some cardiac enlargement. In 6 patients abnormal P-waves were recorded in the ECG suggesting increased atrial and ventricular diastolic pressure. 2 patients had bradycardia, probably due to sinus node involvement, and one patient developed complete right bundle branch block. However, in the 4 patients in whom the cardiac conduction system could be examined histologically no evidence of disturbance of cardiac impulse formation and conduction was seen in the few standard ECG strips available in spite of extensive deposition of abnormal material throughout the conduction system. There seems to be a discrepancy between the relatively minor functional disturbances observed and the heavy morphological changes of the entire heart. This aspect, however, may well be altered by an intensified clinical observation and examination of JAI patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Persistent left superior vena cava. Incidence, associated congenital heart defects and frontal plane P-wave axis in a paediatric population with congenital heart disease.

Among 3 671 patients aged 0-15 years with congenital heart disease diagnosed by cardiac catheterization and/or autopsy, 49 or 1.3% had a persistent left superior vena cava (PLSBC). The distribution of PLSVC among patients with various types of congenital heart disease did not suggest any causal relationship except in patients with pulmonary atresia and in patients with anomalous pulmonary venous connection, in whom PLSVC was found more frequently than expected by a mere chance relationship. Abnormal frontal plane P-wave suggesting ectopic pacemaker activity was found in 35% of the patients with PLSVC. The potential importance of PLSVC for the surgical risk during operation for congenital heart disease and for instability of the cardiac rhythm is emphasized.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Distortions in the ECG caused by instruments for ambulatory electrocardiography.

The frequency response and speed stability of a widely used tape recorder (Oxford Medilog) and arrhythmia computer (Reynolds Pathfinder) was evaluated and measurement in time and amplitude on the ambulatory ECG compared with correspondent measurement in the conventional ECG. The overall bandwidth was 0.15--33Hz (3 dB down) and the mean speed error +2% +/- 1.8%. There was no statistically significant difference between P-Q and Q-T intervals measured by the 2 methods, but a significant reduction in wave amplitudes in the ambulatory ECG. The demarcation of QRS complexes was often blurred in the ambulatory ECG and borderline complexes difficult to classify as normal or abnormal on QRS width alone. Artifical J point depression was a common finding in the ambulatory ECT, whereas horizontal or downsloping ST segment depression was faithfully reproduced.

Ambulatory Care↗
PubMed1979

Haemangioendotheliosarcoma of the heart. Diagnosis and treatment.

A case of haemangioendotheliosarcoma of the right atrium in a 28-year-old man is reported. The presence of a continuous murmur to the right of the sternum as a clue to the diagnosis is pointed out, and the usefulness of cardiac catheterisation and angiography in making diagnosis emphasised. Irradiation therapy with cobalt-60 had a palliative effect upon this malignant tumour.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Pediculosis capitis treated with quassia tincture.

454 patients were treated with quassia tincture for head lice. At examination one week later only three patients had hatched lice. There was firm evidence that these patients had been reinfested. The treatment procedure was acceptable both to patients and to staff and no side-effects were observed. As resistance to clophenothane has appeared, alternative cures are needed. This study confirms earlier reports on the effectiveness of quassia tincture, which seems to be a useful alternative to clophenothane. At present the recommended treatment is two applications with an interval of one week.

Chemical Phenomena↗