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Biomedical subjects

R G Watson

Publications and source records attributed to R G Watson.

66 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

The effect of gastrin on gastric ulceration in pigs after bile duct ligation.

Pigs develop gastric ulceration spontaneously and after bile duct ligation. Despite increased basal acid secretion, serum gastrin levels are not elevated, and a possible 'protective' role of gastrin was proposed. Continuous intravenous infusion of synthetic human gastrin did not protect from gastric ulceration, but was associated with simultaneous duodenal ulceration. Another ulcerogenic mechanism must be invoked.

Animals↗

Open access gastroscopy--3 year experience of a new service.

We have audited the first 3 yr of a new open access gastroscopy service in the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast to assess service demands, patient demography and diagnostic trends. Over 3 yr there were 1872 referrals (800 from fundholding general practitioners), 8.8 per cent were non attenders and 5.4 per cent cancelled appointments. Endoscopic diagnostic categories showed no significant change over the 3 yr, 39 per cent non ulcer dyspepsia, 35 per cent gastro-oesophageal reflux disease (GORD), 17 per cent peptic ulcer disease (PUD), 6 per cent GORD and PUD, 1 per cent gastric erosions and 0.8 per cent carcinoma.

Adolescent↗

Rapid serological diagnosis of Helicobacter pylori: a need for caution and re-evaluation.

Screening for Helicobacter pylori in dyspeptic patients may improve selectivity for gastroscopy. Rapid serological tests based on ELISA technique are cheap, readily available and simple to use in the clinical setting. However local evaluation is essential in order to validate these techniques. Fifty-six dyspeptic patients (aged less than 45 yr) had a rapid serological test (Helisal) performed prior to gastroscopy. At gastroscopy H. pylori status was assessed using culture and histology. The Helisal sensitivity was 80 per cent, specificity 82 per cent. Screening patients with the Helisal test would have missed 6 patients with peptic ulcer disease and 2 with oesophagitis. The Helisal test did not perform satisfactorily as a screening test in selection of patients for gastroscopy.

Adolescent↗

The value of metastatic screening in early primary breast cancer.

Up to 25 per cent of patients presenting with "early" breast cancer subsequently develop distant metastases indicating that this group must have occult disseminated disease when initially evaluated. Routine pre-operative haematological and radiological investigation is recommended in order to identify these patients and alter their management accordingly. The aim of this study was to examine the outcome of a pre-operative metastatic screening programme in patients presenting with early breast cancer. Eighty-two patients underwent surgery for stage I-II breast cancer over a 5 yr period from 1990-1995. Before surgery all patients underwent screening tests for metastatic disease. These included a full blood count, liver function tests, chest x-ray, skeletal survey and abdominal ultrasound. Of the 82 patients, metastatic screening significantly altered management in only 1 patient who was found to have asymptomatic lymphangitis carcinomatosa on chest x-ray. The results of this study suggest that the number of patients restaged by screening for metastatic breast cancer may be small and questions the necessity for its routine use in the management of early primary breast cancer.

Adult↗

The research abstract: worth getting it right.

BACKGROUND: Scientific merit and clarity are critical in evaluation of quality in research. We hypothesised that avoidable errors of presentation adversely impact on abstract selection for scientific meetings. AIM: To prospectively evaluate compliance with abstract guidelines among abstracts submitted to a national surgical scientific meeting. METHODS: Compliance of all submitted abstracts with 13 instructions to authors was compared using ANOVA and Chi-squared tests. Results are expressed as mean (standard deviation, range). RESULTS: Of 45 abstracts submitted, only 8 (17%) complied with all guidelines. Rejected abstracts were less concise than accepted abstracts (280.5 +/- 73.8 words vs. 244.2 +/- 42.5; p=0.006) and were more likely to be rejected (chi2 = 8.67, 1 df, p<0.05). There was no significant difference between the number of errors in accepted (1.6 [1.43, 0-4]) versus rejected (2.4 [1.87, 0-7], ANOVA; p=0.217) abstracts. All late submissions (30%) were rejected. Nine abstracts (20%) contained statistical errors or omissions. CONCLUSIONS: Succinct presentation may reflect clarity of focus or increased writing experience. Reviewers favour concise abstracts. Concise presentation and timely submission are easily achieved and increase the likelihood of research acceptance for scientific meetings.

Abstracting and Indexing↗