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Biomedical subjects

P Donald

Publications and source records attributed to P Donald.

8 recordsLinked to original sources

Tuberculous hydrocephalus: comparison of different treatments with regard to ICP, ventricular size and clinical outcome.

The effect of different treatment regimes on intracranial pressure (ICP), degree of hydrocephalus and clinical outcome was evaluated in 81 children with tuberculous meningitis. 24 children underwent CSF shunting, while 57 with communicating hydrocephalus were randomly assigned to three treatment groups: antituberculous drugs only; or additional intrathecal hyaluronidase or oral acetazolamide and furosemide in addition to antituberculous treatment. The addition of acetazolamide and furosemide was significantly more effective in achieving normal ICP than antituberculous drugs alone. No difference was found in mortality or number of disabled survivors between groups. Of those surviving, nearly two-thirds with stage II tuberculous meningitis were mildly disabled and nearly one-half with stage III were severely disabled at follow-up, emphasising the need for early diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis in the young child.

Acetazolamide

Problems in the measurement of blood pressure.

Several placebo-controlled trials have established the value of drug treatment in even mild hypertension. It is axiomatic, however, that prior to treatment of an individual patient it be known that blood pressure is consistently elevated. In addition, assessment of the value of any particular form of therapy depends upon the accurate measurement of blood pressure. Unfortunately current evidence would suggest that neither of these prerequisites pertain. This paper reviews the evidence for this and discusses ways of improving clinical practice.

Ambulatory Care

Immunisation.

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Humans

Lateral face reconstruction with the medial-based cervicopectoral flap.

The problem of reconstructing large defects involving the lateral facial skin following extirpative surgery for cancer was ideally addressed by the use of the cervicopectoral flap. It has proved reliable, easy to fashion, and cosmetically acceptable; yet it does not interfere with sound oncologic principles for carcinoma resection in the head and neck. It has received little exposure in the literature and we feel it is an underutilized flap. No major complications are reported with this flap in our series of six patients.

Aged

MR of childhood tuberculous meningitis.

MR imaging was performed on 27 children with stage II-III tuberculous meningitis for the specific purpose of examining the brainstem, as well as comparison with other CT features of the disease. In addition to defining the ischemic disturbances of basal ganglia and diencephalon more clearly, MR also demonstrates the frequent occurrence of parenchymal signal abnormalities in the brainstem and adjacent temporal lobes, which are invisible or uncertain on CT. Although the presence of brainstem abnormalities on MR correlated well with clinical findings of brainstem dysfunction, clinical staging on admission remains the best prognostic indicator in advanced TBM. We also review the MR features of basal exudation, hydrocephalus and tuberculoma.

Basal Ganglia

Intermittent protein-sparing fasting with abdominal belting.

In an attempt to minimize the weight regain that often follows effective weight reduction, a programme has been evaluated which involved the use of a nylon waist cord which could be readily tightened but not lengthened, during a regime of alternating periods of a liquid diet and a high-fibre natural diet combined with behavioural modification. Forty subjects completed the initial cycle of a liquid regime with an overall weight loss of 7.7 kg during the treatment period. Thirty-six of these subjects have been followed up for a mean of 12 months after the completion of the treatment programme. Five subjects are difficult to categorize having worn the cord for some but not all of this time. Fourteen have continued to wear the waist cord throughout and have achieved a further mean weight loss of 4.8 kg. This differs significantly from the 17 subjects who cut off the cord and who have regained a mean of 6.6 kg. The results suggest that an adjustable waist cord is a valuable aid to achieving successful and permanent weight reduction in some subjects.

Adult