Biomedical subjects

R Foster

Publications and source records attributed to R Foster.

149 records · Page 9Linked to original sources

PubMedDate not supplied

Children's use of PCA following spinal fusion.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) in relieving postoperative pain for children and adolescents following spinal fusion. DESIGN/SAMPLE: A one-group, descriptive design was used with a convenience sample of 93 children (ages 8 to 21 years) who had undergone spinal fusion over a 2-year period. METHODS: All of the patients were using PCA postoperatively with morphine sulfate, the most common opioid analgesic prescribed for use in the infusion pump. Data were collected for the first 4 postoperative days on four outcome variables: use of PCA, self-report of pain, observed pain-related behaviors, and satisfaction with PCA. FINDINGS: Despite aggressive pain management, findings showed that neither children's pain nor their analgesic use diminished significantly over time. Children continued to report moderate-to-severe pain over the 4-day measurement period. Likewise, children reported their satisfaction with PCA for pain relieve as "fair" to "good." CONCLUSION: The use of high technology and aggressive pharmacologic treatment alone may not be adequate for managing severe pain following spinal fusion. As proposed by the Gate Control Theory, pain stimuli produce not only physiologic, but also psychologic and emotional responses. Relief for severe pain, therefore, may require multidimensional therapies that include nonpharmacologic approaches together with precise titration of available pharmacologic agents.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Profile of blood elements in leprosy patients.

Blood levels of 40 elements in 14 leprosy patients and 5 control subjects living near Mukinge Hospital in the North Western Province of Zambia were determined by spectrophotometry. In patients, compared to controls, serum levels of titanium, silicon, potassium and platinum were significantly higher; red cell levels of phosphorus were lower but those of antimony, bismuth, nickel, titanium, yttrium, silicon and platinum were higher; and whole blood levels of phosphorus, selenium, antimony and silver were lower. There were also significant differences in levels of certain elements when histologically active and inactive patients were compared and between the polar forms of leprosy. The data are consistent with a hypothesis of metabolic and nutritional involvement in the etiology of leprosy.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[The possible therapeutic effect of deferoxamine in experimental infections of mice by Plasmodium berghei].

Deferoxamine is a compound with iron chelating properties. Body depletion of this mineral, according to some authors, might influence the metabolism of plasmodia that thrive in the erythrocytes. In order to verify this possibility, we administered daily doses of 300 or 1.000 mg/kg of the compound, for five days and again 15 days, to mice infected with Plasmodium berghei. The parameters used to check the activity of deferoxamine were mortality of the animals and the count of blood parasites. The results showed a progressive increase of mortality and of the parasitemia in all animals, without differences in relation to the controls. So, at least on hand of the present study, the mentioned substance cannot be considered useful for the treatment of malaria.

Animals↗

PubMedDate not supplied

[Evaluation of the usefulness of the Coprotest for parasitologic examination of feces].

"Coprotest" is a device used for parasitological examination of the stools that has been marketed in Brazil with no previous literature support. Therefore, we decided to evaluate the usefulness of the procedure using "Coprotest", comparing it with the routine methods by Hoffman et al., Faust et al., and Rugai et al. Taking into consideration only positive samples, we observed the following figures, according to each technique: Hofmann et al.--98 (47.34%); Faust et al.--119 (57.48%); Rugai et al., only for larva detection--21 (10.14%); "Coprotest"--115 (55.55%). We concluded that "Coprotest" in addition to its operational qualities, has the merits that allow its use together with other techniques for parasitosis diagnosis. Nevertheless it has not modified the previous situation, since more than one technique must still be used, as we have noted for detection of Strongyloides stercoralis larvae in this instance.

Evaluation Studies as Topic↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Acute toxicity during adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer: the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) experience from 1717 patients receiving single and multiple agents.

Since 1972, the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project (NSABP) has carried out a series of clinical trials evaluating the worth of adjuvant chemotherapy in the management of patients with primary breast cancer. This report provides information concerning (a) protocol compliance relative to drug administration and (b) acute toxicity encountered by patients in three separate trials who were given one-, two- or three-drug chemotherapy within 1 month of operation. The findings are derived from 1548 women who received 20,765 courses of chemotherapy, the most extensively documented experience yet reported. They indicate that despite the large number of physicians and the heterogeneity of the institutions participating, large cooperative efforts can be accomplished with credibility. Only 13 (0.8%) of the women failed to complete all courses of therapy for reasons directly related to nonprotocol compliance by physicians. Only 4.3% failed to complete therapy for miscellaneous reasons other than toxicity, treatment failure, occurrence of a second primary, or death unrelated to tumor. While almost all patients experienced toxic reactions during the therapy, only 3%--4% of recipients of melphalan (L-PAM; P) and 4%--5% of recipients of L-PAM + 5-FU(F)(PF) failed to complete 2 years of therapy because of toxicity. Of those patients receiving PF + methotrexate (MTX; M) (PMF), 15% did not finish their treatment for that reason. While there was little difference in hematologic and nonhematologic toxicity between those patients receiving P or PF, and such toxicity was generally acceptable to both patients and physicians, the addition of MTX (PMF) resulted in greater toxicity (vomiting, stomatitis, and alopecia) which was less readily accepted. Tolerance of any of these regimens was unrelated to patient age, despite the belief that older women are less tolerant of chemotherapy. The earlier toxicity occurred, the greater was the number of subsequent courses associated with toxicity, and the lower was the total amount of drug received. The extent of the toxicity produced by the NSABP regimens and the end results obtained with them, must be compared with the end results and toxicity obtained by other regimens before making a choice of the adjuvant therapy to be used.

Aged↗