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Biomedical subjects

R B Turner

Publications and source records attributed to R B Turner.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Pneumonia in pediatric outpatients: cause and clinical manifestations.

The cause and clinical manifestations of pneumonia were studied in 98 pediatric outpatients. A viral diagnosis was established in 38 (39%) of the 98 patients, and a bacterial diagnosis in 19 (19%). Ten (53%) of the 19 patients with bacterial pneumonia had a concurrent viral infection. No clinical, laboratory, or radiographic findings that would reliably differentiate viral from bacterial infection were identified. This study suggests that bacterial pneumonia is more common in pediatric outpatients than previously reported, and that the clinical, laboratory, and radiographic findings in patients with bacterial infection may be indistinguishable from findings in patients with viral infection.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1986

Sites of rhinovirus recovery after point inoculation of the upper airway.

Spread of rhinovirus infection in the nose was studied after point inoculation of 25 microL of rhinovirus suspension either under the right inferior turbinate via the test duct (26 volunteers) or onto the posterior nasopharyngeal wall (through the mouth under direct vision) (six volunteers). Epithelial brush samples obtained daily from the anterior and posterior portions of the inferior turbinate in both nasal cavities and the nasopharynx were cultured for rhinovirus. Point inoculation of rhinovirus produced a high infection rate, but the entire nasal lining was not infected at the time of peak symptoms. Virus was usually first detected at the nasopharyngeal site, with subsequent spread of infection anteriorly to one or both inferior turbinates. Spread to the left turbinate was not detected in seven of 17 volunteers during the first five days after right eye inoculation. Virus recovery from the mucosa declined by day 16 and ceased by day 21.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

Prevention of experimental coronavirus colds with intranasal alpha-2b interferon.

Fifty-five volunteers treated with either intranasal recombinant interferon (rIFN; 2 X 10(6) IU/day) or placebo for 15 days were exposed to coronavirus by direct intranasal inoculation on the eighth day of treatment. Symptom scores were recorded, and cultures of virus were taken daily for all volunteers for seven days after inoculation. Nineteen (73%) of the 26 placebo recipients met symptom-score criteria for a cold, compared with 12 (41%) of the IFN recipients (P = .02). The mean nasal symptom scores in the placebo and IFN groups were 9.2 and 5.4, respectively (P = .03), and the mean total symptom scores in the two groups were 23.2 and 9.4, respectively (P = .003). The mean number of days with a total symptom score greater than 4 was 1.6 in the placebo recipients and 0.5 in the rIFN recipients (P = .02). Prophylactic intranasal rIFN effectively shortened the duration and reduced the severity of coronavirus cold symptoms.

Administration, Intranasal↗
PubMed1986

Rapid detection of herpes simplex virus in clinical specimens by centrifugation and immunoperoxidase staining.

The effect of immunoperoxidase staining and centrifugation on the sensitivity and rapidity of herpes simplex virus detection in mink lung cell cultures was determined with 730 clinical specimens. In standard tube cultures, the use of immunoperoxidase staining resulted in detection of 31 (91%) of 34 positive cultures after overnight incubation, compared with 25 (74%) detected without the stain (P less than 0.05). The effect of centrifugation of specimens onto the monolayer followed by overnight incubation and immunoperoxidase staining was studied with 431 specimens. Of 107 positive specimens, 103 (96%) were detected by this method, compared with 91 (85%) detected in standard cell cultures observed for 5 days (P less than 0.02). Standard cell cultures that were examined after overnight incubation detected only 62 (58%) of the 107 positive specimens (P less than 0.001). Centrifugation of clinical specimens onto cell monolayers followed by overnight incubation and immunoperoxidase staining is more rapid and sensitive than are standard cell culture techniques for the laboratory diagnosis of herpes simplex virus infection.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Consequences of candidemia for pediatric patients.

The hospital records of 45 infants and children with one or more blood cultures positive for Candida species were studied retrospectively in an attempt to define the risk of Candida-related complications. Death of eight of the patients (18%) was related to Candida infection, and five additional patients (11%) had metastatic foci of infection but survived. No characteristics were identified that would predict patients who were at high risk for complications of candidemia. Eleven patients were treated with amphotericin B for longer than a week and were examined for evidence of nephrotoxicity. None had persistent abnormalities of blood urea nitrogen or serum creatinine concentrations develop during treatment; two patients had hypokalemia.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1984

Sites of virus recovery and antigen detection in epithelial cells during experimental rhinovirus infection.

Detection of infectious virus and viral antigen from selected sites in the nose was done in 20 volunteers with experimental rhinovirus colds and in 10 sham inoculated controls. For five days after virus inoculation, repeated samples were collected both by swabbing the nose and pharynx and by epithelial biopsy of localized areas in the nose with a sheltered cytology brush. All samples were cultured for virus. Cells in the biopsy specimens were examined with immunoperoxidase staining for detection of rhinovirus antigen in epithelial cells. Not all parts of the nasal lining were infected. While 60% of the nose/throat swabs samples were positive by culture, only 32% of the brush biopsies were positive. With the biopsy specimens, the number of positive cultures was lower in the anterior part of the nose (nasal septum) than in the middle part of the cavity (turbinates), and there was a tendency for an increased number of sites to become positive during the course of the illness. Eight (16%) of 51 specimens from infected volunteers had rhinovirus antigen detected in ciliated epithelial cells. These findings indicate that the entire nasal epithelium is not infected at the time of peak symptoms during experimental rhinovirus colds.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Histopathologic examination and enumeration of polymorphonuclear leukocytes in the nasal mucosa during experimental rhinovirus colds.

The histology of the nasal mucosa was examined by serial scrape and punch biopsies in 20 rhinovirus infected volunteers and 10 sham inoculated controls. No morphologic changes could be detected in the epithelial or subepithelial portions in the mucosa of specimens from infected volunteers. There was a significant increase in the number of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) in the nasal epithelium of the infected subjects early in the course of the cold compared to their pre-infection baseline. However, trauma to the nasal mucosa from repeated sampling led to an outpouring of PMNs into nasal mucus, making evaluation of the results difficult. The number of mast cells seen in the mucosal specimens of the infected subjects did not differ from that seen in controls.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

[A hypothesis: multiple sclerosis a systemic disease].

Metallochemical and biochemical studies completed in the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of California, Irvine, offer a new perspective in understanding MS. Low plasma zinc levels were observed in MS patients, and this has been confirmed in laboratories elsewhere in the world. Generalized malabsorption could not be demonstrated in MS patients when using a double-blind, randomized study of 72-hours fecal fat. A double-blind, randomized zinc tolerance test confirmed the low plasma zinc levels in fasting MS patients, but once an oral zinc load had been given, the 7-hour post treatment levels were elevated to that of control patients. Intracellular erythrocyte zinc concentration was measured in controls and in MS patients. The controls had no change over 7 hours despite a large zinc load with consequent elevation in plasma levels. However, MS patients demonstrated a gradual elevation of intracellular zinc concentration over the 7-hour period, with P less than 0.01. Thus, the erythrocyte membranes of controls were able to maintain the zinc gradient between the extracellular and the intracellular compartments, while MS patients were not, suggesting a functional abnormality in plasma membranes outside of central nervous system. Erythrocyte membrane-bound CNP was observed to be abnormality low in MS patients when compared to controls. The study has been confirmed by a different laboratory using a different substrate on MS erythrocytes. The rationale for considering MS as a possible systemic disease is presented.

Carbonic Anhydrases↗
PubMed1983

Counterimmunoelectrophoresis of urine for diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia in pediatric outpatients.

Thirty-eight pediatric outpatients with pneumonia were studied by counterimmunoelectrophoresis for the presence of Haemophilus influenzae type b or pneumococcal antigenuria. Of the 38 patients eight (21%) had H influenzae type b antigenuria and two (5%) had pneumococcal antigenuria. H influenzae type b antigenuria was detected more frequently in patients less than 2 years of age than in older children. Urine counterimmunoelectrophoresis appears to be a useful tool for the etiologic diagnosis of bacterial pneumonia and should facilitate further studies of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical spectrum of this disease.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed1982

Shedding of infected ciliated epithelial cells in rhinovirus colds.

Specimens of nasal mucus were collected from 17 volunteers experimentally infected with rhinovirus and from 10 uninfected control subjects. Ciliated epithelial cells (CECs) were found in the nasal mucus of 16 of the infected volunteers but of none of the control subjects. The CECs were shown to contain rhinovirus antigen by indirect immunoperoxidase and fluorescent antibody staining. The pattern of CEC shedding was similar to the mean nasal symptom score pattern of the volunteers. However, the amount of CED shedding for an individual was not correlated with the severity of the symptoms. This finding suggests that the symptoms of a rhinovirus cold may be produced in part by processes that are independent of the severity of direct virus-induced damage to the epithelium.

Cilia↗
PubMed1977

Cytomat-R: a computer-controlled multiple laser source multiparameter flow cytophotometer system.

A multiple illumination wavelength multiparameter flow cytophotometer system, using laser sources and controlled by a small, general-purpose digital computer, has been produced for use in the development of new flow cytometric techniques. Three different laser wave-lengths can be used simultaneously to illuminate different regions of the flow chamber; as many as five measurements of light scattering at various angles, extinction, and fluorescence at one or more wavelengths can be made at each illuminated station. Cells in suspension may be examined at rates of 1000 cells/sec, with seven correlated optical measurements being recorded for each cell. A library of programs for data manipulation and statistical analysis make it possible to use the system to develop and implement cell characterization, counting and classification procedures for basic and clinical research applications.

Blood Cells↗