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Biomedical subjects

R J Thomas

Publications and source records attributed to R J Thomas.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Urinary tract endometriosis.

Although endometriosis is a common gynecologic pathologic phenomenon, involvement of the urinary tract is relatively rare. The clinical presentation and course of urinary system disease is extremely variable, as illustrated by the seven cases presented in this report. Therapy primarily is surgical, but a thorough understanding of the disease process and a complete knowledge of the patient's history and desires for fertility conservation are necessary to plot the most appropriate treatment course. Bladder involvement is more common, and usually less devastating, than either ureteral or kidney involvement. No signs, symptoms, or physical findings are pathognomonic, and the clinician must maintain a high index of suspicion in all cases of advanced pelvic endometriosis.

Adult↗
PubMed1988

Control of gastrointestinal parasitism with an oxfendazole pulse-release anthelmintic device.

The efficacy of a pulse-release oxfendazole bolus (OPRB) against gastrointestinal nematodes was evaluated under field conditions and compared with a sustained release morantel bolus (MSRB). Three groups of 10 calves were grazed from May to September on adjacent, similarly contaminated 3-acre paddocks. One group was dosed at turnout with the OPRB, the second group with the MSRB and the third group left as nontreated controls. Pasture larval counts peaked at greater than 60,000 larvae/kg dry weight of herbage in September on the control paddock, associated with a mean egg count of 1040 eggs/g faeces and clinical symptoms. A low rise in larval counts occurred on the MSRB plot, and also low helminth egg counts. On the OPRB plot, pasture larvae and faecal egg counts were recorded only intermittently; the September egg counts were only 3.5% of those of the controls; serum pepsinogen data showed a similar picture. At the end of the experiment, the OPRB calves had a mean weight advantage of 40 kg over the controls, and 12 kg over the MSRB group. Feed intakes were highest in the OPRB group in July and September.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Feed intake of grazing calves exposed to trichostrongyle infection and treated with the morantel sustained release bolus.

Herbage intake was measured in two groups of 20 first-year grazing cattle. The animals in one group each received a morantel sustained release bolus at turnout to control nematode parasitism and the animals in the other group remained untreated. The latter group showed a mean peak faecal egg count of 655 eggs per gram (e.p.g.) in October associated with high serum pepsinogen concentration and clinical signs of ostertagiasis, compared with a peak of 119 e.p.g. in the treated group which remained in good health. In September the daily voluntary feed intake of the untreated animals was significantly depressed (94 g kg-1 body weight vs. 77 g kg-1 P less than 0.001), but no difference in digestive efficiency was recorded between the two groups. This difference in feed intake was associated with a 47 kg mean live weight advantage of the treated animals at housing.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

A Clostridium botulinum type B vaccine for prevention of shaker foal syndrome.

A toxoid was prepared from type B toxin of Clostridium botulinum by treatment with 0.6% formalin for 6 weeks. The toxoid was adsorbed to aluminium hydroxide and this vaccine was evaluated for safety in guinea pigs, mice and horses, and for immunogenicity in guinea pigs and horses. Neutralising antitoxin was demonstrated in adult horses receiving two 2 ml subcutaneous doses 6 weeks apart, and in a foal which suckled its vaccinated dam. Another vaccinated mare and the passively immunised foal were protected against subcutaneous injection of 1600 and 2000 mouse lethal doses of toxin per kg respectively.

Animals↗
PubMed1988

Eosinophilia, respiratory symptoms and pulmonary infiltrates in rubber workers.

This report describes a spectrum of respiratory illnesses associated with eosinophilia which occurred in a group of workers exposed to fumes from a synthetic rubber-based curing operation. Respiratory syndromes induced by this exposure included an acute sensitizing illness with dyspnea and wheezing in some workers and pulmonary infiltrates with eosinophilia in others. Another worker developed chronic obstruction of the airways with recurrent bronchitic illnesses. Mild to marked peripheral eosinophilia, up to 3,000/cu mm, was usually present in the symptomatic workers and in 11 of 30 asymptomatic workers. These cases illustrate the diversity of respiratory illnesses which may result from a common workplace exposure and reinforce the importance of considering occupational exposures in the differential diagnosis of peripheral eosinophilia.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1988

Current management of severe exercise-related cardiac events.

Severe cardiac events during either exercise testing or cardiac rehabilitation are described in five patients. The three events related to exercise testing involved patients with atypical chest pain which, in retrospect, probably reflected unstable angina pectoris or coronary vasospasm (or both). Prompt coronary angiography with subsequent percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty was performed. Two cardiac arrests (one fatal) occurred during participation in cardiac rehabilitation programs. One was caused by primary ventricular fibrillation. Electrophysiologic testing was used in determining the efficacy of the drug. The fatality was due to an acute myocardial infarction. On-site intravenous thrombolytic therapy might prove useful in similar events in the future. Comparisons of surveys published in the 1970s with those in the 1980s show that the mortality and morbidity during exercise testing remain low and that similar rates during cardiac rehabilitation are even lower; however, these cases exemplify that emergency situations can and do arise, necessitating prompt intervention and aggressive subsequent management.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Campylobacter hyointestinalis-associated enteritis in Moluccan rusa deer (Cervus timorensis subsp. Moluccensis).

A morphological and bacteriological study on a Campylobacter hyointestinalis-associated enteritis in adult Moluccan rusa deer is described. Necropsied deer were 2 to 2.5 years of age and had been scouring for 1 to 2 months. There was distension of the ileum and excessive corrugation of the mucosa. Microscopic lesions in the small intestine were confined to the ileum. Stunting and fusion of villi, patchy erosion of epithelium and a predominantly neutrophilic infiltrate were features. The inflammatory reaction in caecum and colon was much less severe. Light and scanning electron-microscopical examination of small and large intestine showed large numbers of Gram-negative curved rods colonizing surface mucus and moderate numbers in close association with gland epithelium. No salmonellae or other enteropathogenic bacteria were isolated on aerobically-incubated media. C. hyointestinalis was isolated from the faeces, ileum, caecum, colon and mesenteric lymph nodes from 2 cases and one farm-collected faecal sample.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

Forecasting parasitic gastroenteritis in lambs.

Incorporating estimated temperature data and assuming non-limiting rainfall, a simulation model was used to compare forecast and actual pasture counts of sheep nematode larvae over a 2-year period. The results indicate that the first possible date of the summer larval rise can be predicted up to 6 weeks in advance of its actual occurrence, enabling control measures to be planned and implemented. Rainfall variation had a marked effect on the degree of disparity between the predicted and actual timing of the rise, indicating the importance of this factor.

Animals↗
PubMed1987

High-dose photoirradiation of esophageal cancer.

Fifteen patients with locally advanced esophageal cancer were treated with phototherapy. Each patient had dysphagia and weight loss before therapy and could not be operated on because of the extent of the tumor or poor performance status. Patients received a photosensitizer (hematoporphyrin derivative) 72 hours before phototherapy and were then treated by light delivered by an argon pumped dye laser or gold metal vapor laser at powers up to 2.2 W and doses of 337 J/cm2. Fourteen patients received 24 treatments. The results were all patients achieved a tumor response. The depth of response depended on the dose and dose rate of radiation. There were four of 24 local complications (mediastinitis 3, bronchoesophageal fistula 1). These occurred in patients treated with a power of greater than 1.5 W. There were two complete pathologic remissions in patients with locally advanced cancer. In conclusion, phototherapy is an effective alternative to other forms of palliation and potentially may be an alternative to surgery in selected cases of locally advanced esophageal cancer.

Adenocarcinoma↗
PubMed1986

Pathological rupture of the spleen in transforming non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Two patients with an initial diagnosis of a poorly differentiated lymphocytic lymphoma suffered a pathological rupture of the spleen in association with the histological transformation of the disease to a large cell lymphoma and the development of a leukaemic phase. The value of computerized tomographic scanning of the upper abdomen in confirming the diagnosis of splenic rupture is demonstrated.

Aged↗
PubMed1986

Peripheral eosinophilia and respiratory symptoms in rubber injection press operators: a case-control study.

To evaluate a suspected association between an outbreak of acute respiratory illness and eosinophilia and employment as a rubber worker, we performed a retrospective review of medical records of rubber workers employed from September 1983 to July 1984 in a plant housing a thermoinjection process. Twenty-five workers met the case definition of a respiratory illness requiring a physician visit. The predominant respiratory illness was acute in onset with cough, chest tightness, and dyspnea. Peripheral eosinophilia, up to 40% of white blood cells in a peripheral smear, was seen in 10 of 18 (56%) cases. Twenty-one of 25 white males with respiratory symptoms were employed in the thermoinjection process (odds ratio = 22, p less than .001). Smoking and employment in this process contributed independently to an increased risk of being a case as determined by a logistic regression analysis. Return to the plant building caused recurrence of symptoms in most cases, and these workers have been transferred or left the company. We conclude that a strong previously unrecognized association exists between employment in this neoprene rubber thermoinjection process and the development of an acute respiratory illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

The application of a simulation model to control strategies in ovine gastro-intestinal parasitism.

A simulation model which describes the pattern of increase in Ostertagia circumcincta infective larvae on pasture grazed by ewes and lambs, was used to test the effect of anthelmintic treatment at different times in the grazing season. Treatment generally resulted in a delay in the rise to peak larval count, and marked differences were recorded in two successive years, which were related to a combination of time of treatment and weather conditions.

Animals↗
PubMed1986

DNA ploidy patterns and cytokinetics of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.

Flow cytometry studies for cellular DNA analysis were performed in 115 cases of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, 53 of which had not received any prior chemotherapy or radiotherapy. DNA content was measured in ethanol fixed cells stained with chromomycin A3. According to the criteria of the International Working Formulation there were 43 low grade, 58 intermediate grade, and eight high grade lymphomas; six cases were in the miscellaneous group. Seventy seven (67%) had only diploid DNA content. Thirty eight (33%) showed DNA aneuploidy; 20 of these had been previously treated with chemotherapy or radiotherapy, or both. DNA aneuploidy was seen as hyperdiploidy in all cases except one, and it varied from slightly hyperdiploid to tetraploid. The incidence of aneuploidy increased significantly with increasing histological grade (p = 0.0002) and was not related to previous treatment. The low, intermediate, and high grade lymphomas had 14% (six of 43), 47% (27 of 58), and 62.5% (five of eight) cases, respectively, that showed DNA aneuploidy. The percentage of cells in S phase increased significantly with a higher histological grade (p less than 0.0001). The median S fraction in the low, intermediate, and high grade lymphomas was 1.0 (0.5 to 10)% 4 (0.4 to 35)%, and 27 (4.6-56)%, respectively. There is a significant correlation between histological grade and S fraction and the presence or absence of aneuploidy. There is heterogeneity, however, within both histological grade and a histological subtype.

Aneuploidy↗
PubMed1986

Improved survival in esophageal cancer in the period 1978 to 1983.

The outcome of therapy of adenocarcinomas and squamous-cell carcinomas of the esophagus is so poor that the results of new approaches to therapy, such as the addition of radiotherapy or chemotherapy, are often compared with those achieved in historical controls. To determine the validity of this approach in cancers with a poor outcome, the results of therapy were analyzed at our institution from Jan 11, 1978 to Aug 9, 1981 (77 patients) and compared with the results achieved in the period from Aug 14, 1981 to Feb 19, 1984 (77 patients). The patients were evenly matched for prognostic factors. It was found that the median survival of the first group of patients (4 months) was significantly less (P less than .01) than that of the recently treated group (10 months). This was due to the better median survival of patients treated surgically from 4 months in the early group to 29 months at present (P less than .01). There was no change in the survival of the other patients. The major improvement in the outcome of surgery was due to the reduction of the perioperative mortality rate to less than 5%. There was no detectable change in patient selection for surgery. The results indicate that even in tumors with a very poor outcome, such as esophageal cancer, large changes in results can occur without a specific change in therapy, and that historical controls may be misleading.

Adenocarcinoma↗