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Biomedical subjects

R Norton

Publications and source records attributed to R Norton.

At least 109 records · Page 6Linked to original sources
PubMed1995

Sensory deficit and the risk of pedestrian injury.

OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between sensory deficit and the risk of child pedestrian-motor vehicle collisions. SETTING: The Auckland region of New Zealand. METHODS: A community based case-control study was conducted. Cases (n = 190) were all children (< 15 years) killed or hospitalised as a result of a pedestrian injury occurring on a public road between 1 January 1992 and 1 March 1994. Controls (n = 479) were a random sample of the child population. RESULTS: The risk of pedestrian injury for children whose parents reported abnormal vision was over four times that of children with reported normal vision (odds ratio = 4.25, 95% confidence interval 1.68 to 10.8). The risk of injury for children whose parents reported abnormal hearing was close to twice that of children with reported normal hearing (odds ratio = 1.73, 95% confidence interval 0.83 to 3.61). CONCLUSIONS: Children with sensory deficits constitute a high risk group for pedestrian injuries. Paediatricians caring for children with sensory impairments should be aware of this increased risk.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1995

Corynebacterium aquaticum septicaemia in a neutropenic patient.

Corynebacteria are a well recognised cause of sepsis in the immunocompromised patient. Corynebacterium aquaticum, however, is rarely seen in the clinical setting, being an environmental organism associated with fresh water. A septicaemic episode caused by this organism in a 74 year old neutropenic woman with an indwelling central venous catheter is reported. It is postulated that the source of the organism was untreated stored rainwater which she used for showering.

Aged↗
PubMed1995

Neuroprotective properties of the novel antiepileptic lamotrigine in a gerbil model of global cerebral ischemia.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Elevated glutamate levels are thought to be a primary cause of neuronal death after global cerebral ischemia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the potential neuroprotective effects of lamotrigine, a novel antiepileptic drug that inhibits the release of glutamate in vitro, with both behavioral and histological measures of global ischemia in gerbils. METHODS: The common carotid arteries of gerbils were occluded for either 5, 10, or 15 minutes. Twenty-one days after reperfusion, gerbils were tested for impairments in a spatial memory task (Morris water maze). After water maze testing the animals were killed, and damage to hippocampal pyramidal cells was assessed. The effect of lamotrigine on the behavioral and histological outcome of either 5 or 15 minutes of global ischemia was evaluated. RESULTS: Bilateral occlusion of the common carotid arteries for 5 minutes resulted in severe degeneration of hippocampal CA1 and CA2 pyramidal cells. Lamotrigine significantly prevented loss of hippocampal CA1 neurons when administered acutely (100 mg/kg PO) immediately after reperfusion or when administered in two equal doses of 30 or 50 mg/kg 2 hours before and immediately after reperfusion. Gerbils subjected to 5 minutes of ischemic insult were not impaired in their ability to solve a spatial memory task 21 days after cerebral ischemia. However, gerbils subjected to 10 and 15 minutes of carotid artery occlusion showed significant impairment in their ability to solve a water maze task. Lamotrigine significantly protected against the cognitive deficits associated with 15 minutes of cerebral ischemia. Histologically, increased durations of cerebral ischemia resulted in a progressive loss of CA1, CA2, and CA3 pyramidal cells. Lamotrigine completely protected gerbils exposed to 15 minutes of cerebral ischemia against CA3 cell loss and greatly reduced damage to the CA1 and CA2 cell tracts of the hippocampus. Lamotrigine also reduced the mortality associated with 15 minutes of ischemia. CONCLUSIONS: Lamotrigine had neuroprotective effects in a gerbil model of global cerebral ischemia. Lamotrigine protected gerbils against behavioral deficits resulting from 15 minutes of carotid occlusion and also prevented histological damage resulting from 5 and 15 minutes of global cerebral ischemia.

Animals↗
PubMed1995

Rapid diagnosis of chlamydial respiratory infection in children.

A study was undertaken to determine the incidence of chlamydial respiratory infection in paediatric patients during a 12-month period by antigen detection. Nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPA) from 514 patients were screened for genus-specific chlamydia antigen using the Pharmacia Chlamydia enzyme immunoassay (EIA) and Kallestad immunofluorescence (IF) assays. EIA screen-positive samples were confirmed by specific blocking antibody. Specimens which were EIA positive or IF positive were cultured for chlamydia. The NPAs from 7 patients were positive in the EIA and IF assays. Four of these patients were culture positive for chlamydia. Our results showed that the incidence of chlamydia respiratory infection by antigen detection was 1.4% or 0.8% if confirmed by culture.

Antigens, Bacterial↗
PubMed1995

Driveway-related child pedestrian injuries: a case-control study.

OBJECTIVES: To examine risk factors for driveway-related child pedestrian injuries. DESIGN: A community based case-control study. SETTING: The Auckland region of New Zealand. PARTICIPANTS: Cases (n = 53) were children killed or hospitalized as a result of a driveway-related pedestrian injury, in the Auckland region over a period of 2 years and 2 months. Controls (n = 159) were an age-matched random sample of the child population of the Auckland region. RESULTS: The absence of physical separation of the driveway from the children's play area was associated with a threefold increase in the risk of driveway-related child pedestrian injury (OR = 3.50; 95% CI 1.38, 8.92). Children living in homes with shared driveways were also at significantly increased risk (OR = 3.24; 95% CI 1.22, 8.63). The population attributable risk associated with the absence of physical separation of the driveway from the children's play area was 50.0% (95% CI 24.7, 75.3). CONCLUSION: The fencing of residential driveways as a strategy for the prevention of driveway-related child pedestrian injuries deserves further attention.

Accidents, Home↗
PubMed1994

Auckland children's exposure to risk as pedestrians.

AIM: To examine children's exposure to risk as pedestrians and to examine the extent to which child pedestrian exposure to risk varies by socioeconomic status and ethnic group. To identify factors which may influence child pedestrian exposure to risk. METHOD: A survey of 442 parents was conducted to examine how children travel to and from school and parental perceptions of the risk of pedestrian injury. RESULTS: There are considerable socioeconomic and ethnic differences in children's exposure to risk as pedestrians. The proportion of children who walked home from school in the lowest socioeconomic stratum (63.5%) was over twice that in the highest socioeconomic stratum (25.2%). A significantly higher proportion of Maori (61.2%) and Pacific Island children (74.6%) walked home from school compared with children of European origin (29.4%). For children from families without access to a car, the proportion who walk home from school (78.0%) was more than twice that for children from families with a car (36.7%). Parental perceptions of risk do not vary by socioeconomic status and ethnic group. CONCLUSION: The increased pedestrian injury rates for poor children and for Maori and Pacific Island children may be explained, in part, by the increased pedestrian exposure of these children. Increased pedestrian exposure is likely to reflect social and economic constraints, rather than differences in perceptions of the danger to children as pedestrians. Efforts to address the safety of children as pedestrians are urgently required.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1994

Prevalence of back pain among nurses.

AIM: To provide estimates of the occurrence of back pain among nurses employed in the public health sector in Auckland, New Zealand. METHOD: A cross sectional survey was undertaken of all nurses employed by the Auckland Area Health Board as at July 1992. RESULTS: The lifetime prevalence of back pain was 74.4%. The lifetime prevalence of nursing-related back pain was 62.3%; the annual prevalence was 36.8%; and the point prevalence was 11.6%. Pacific Island nurses had a higher annual and point prevalence of nursing-related back pain compared with New Zealand European and Maori nurses. The annual and point prevalence was also higher among those working on geriatric, medical, orthopaedic and rehabilitation wards compared with other nursing environments. CONCLUSION: This study found a high prevalence of back pain among nurses, and in particular, nurses working in four specific work environments were identified as having greatest risk. These findings provide support for the targeting of intervention strategies which focus on work organisational factors.

Adult↗
PubMed1994

Violence against women: priorities for public health research in New Zealand.

Violence against women is a significant public health problem. However, little is known about the most effective ways of reducing the consequent mortality, morbidity and disability. Given both the paucity of research in this area and limited resources, there is a need to identify priorities for research that have the support of caregivers, survivors of violence, policy makers and researchers. This paper presents the results of a national process of consultation, which was successful in identifying five priority areas for research in New Zealand. These areas are as follows: primary prevention; improving the responsiveness of health care professionals; economic costs of violence; incidence and prevalence; and secondary prevention.

Female↗
PubMed1994

Evidence that the acute behavioral and electrophysiological effects of bupropion (Wellbutrin) are mediated by a noradrenergic mechanism.

Bupropion (BW 323U66) has been considered a dopaminergic antidepressant based on its ability to inhibit the uptake of dopamine (DA) somewhat more selectively than it inhibits uptake of norepinephrine (NE) or serotonin (5-HT). This report describes new evidence that bupropion selectively inhibits firing rates of NE cells in the locus coeruleus (LC) at doses significantly lower than those that inhibit activity of midbrain DA cells or dorsal raphe 5-HT cells. The IC50 dose (13 mg/kg i.p.) for inhibition of LC firing produced plasma concentrations that were not significantly different from those generated by the ED50 in the Porsolt test (10 mg/kg i.p.). The fourfold higher dose needed to inhibit DA cell firing (IC50 = 42 mg/kg i.p.) was similar to the dose associated with locomotor stimulation in freely moving rats. Bupropion did not change the firing rates of 5-HT cells in the dorsal raphe nucleus at any dose. In both in vitro and in vivo tests, the metabolite 306U73 (hydroxybupropion), a weak inhibitor of NE uptake, was approximately equipotent to bupropion with regard to inhibition of LC cells. Another metabolite, 494U73, had no effect on LC firing rates over a wide range of doses. Because of species variation in metabolism, 306U73 was not detected in plasma of rats after i.v. doses of bupropion that inhibited LC firing. Only trace amounts of 306U73 were detected after bupropion dosing for the Porsolt test. Pretreatment with reserpine markedly depleted catecholamines and reduced (by 30-fold) the potency of bupropion to inhibit LC firing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Animals↗
PubMed1994

Environmental factors and child pedestrian injuries.

The aim of this study was to provide information on modifiable environmental factors at sites of child pedestrian injuries which would be useful for the design of preventive strategies. A total of 103 child pedestrian injuries was identified over a one-year surveillance period. Of these, 71 per cent occurred on public roads, 24 per cent occurred in residential driveways and 4 per cent occurred in car parks. For roadway injury sites, the median traffic flow was 635 vehicles per hour and the median speed was 49.0 kph. For 31 (42 per cent) roadway injury sites the median vehicle speed was in excess of the posted speed limit. The majority of roadway injuries occurred on residential streets. For driveway injuries there was no separation of the driveway from the children's play area in 75 per cent. Changes to the urban traffic environment which reduce traffic flows and vehicle speeds have the potential to prevent child pedestrian injuries. Controlled epidemiologic studies which examined the magnitude of the risks associated with modifiable environmental factors are required.

Accidents, Traffic↗
PubMed1993

Firearm related deaths in New Zealand 1978-87.

AIMS: To identify the role of firearms as a public health issue in New Zealand and to consider this information in the context of international research on potentially effective interventions for the prevention of firearm deaths. METHODS: National data on firearm related mortality for the period 1978 to 1987 were abstracted to identify all firearm deaths categorised as unintentional, suicide, homicide and of undetermined intent. RESULTS: Over this 10 year period, there were an average of 91 firearm deaths annually, accounting for 0.3% of all deaths. Suicides accounted for 75.5% of these deaths, unintentional deaths for 11.6% and homicides for 10.6%. No significant temporal changes were observed. CONCLUSIONS: While deaths from firearms are not a major public health problem in New Zealand, there is still a need to identify strategies likely to lead to reductions in the current levels of firearm deaths. Appropriately targeted legislative and educational strategies may be effective in reducing such deaths.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Outbreak of adenovirus type 4 conjunctivitis in South Australia.

An outbreak of adenovirus type 4 conjunctivitis occurred in South Australia between April and November 1992. Eye swabs were submitted by general practitioners and ophthalmologists who had seen patients with clinical conjunctivitis or keratitis. Apart from interfamilial spread, there were no other common epidemiological factors. Adenovirus was isolated from the eye swabs of 38 patients. Isolates were typed by neutralisation tests and restriction endonuclease cleavage patterns and found to be adenovirus type 4. This report serves to illustrate an infrequent cause of epidemic conjunctivitis, namely adenovirus type 4. There was no demonstrable focus of the outbreak.

Adenovirus Infections, Human↗