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Biomedical subjects

R Sandler

Publications and source records attributed to R Sandler.

At least 37 records · Page 2Linked to original sources
PubMed1985

The rise in readmissions to psychiatric hospitals.

The progressive increase in readmissions to psychiatric hospitals in South Africa is causing concern. Readmissions now amount to 42% of total admissions, and in some cases their number exceeds that of first admissions. The phenomenon has been identified as occurring overwhelmingly among short-stay patients. Factors associated with readmissions have been examined as the first part of an ongoing investigation. Among these are a decline in available beds, an increasing shortage of psychiatric staff, differing readmission rates for different population groups, and the tendency of certain types of psychiatric disorders to relapse more frequently (schizophrenia and affective illness). The inability of the present psychiatric outpatient and community services to lower the readmission rate has been demonstrated. Factors which may have a bearing on the situation such as socio-economic conditions, substance abuse, compliance with medication and rehabilitative services are discussed.

Black or African American↗
PubMed1985

Outcome after discharge from a psychiatric hospital. A retrospective study evaluating demographic factors as predictors of risk of readmission.

The deinstitutionalization process has confronted psychiatry with the challenge of maintaining patients in the community. This problem is reflected in the ever-increasing rates of readmission to psychiatric hospitals. The ability to predict patients at risk of readmission would aid in improving services by enabling attention to be focused on vulnerable groups. Past psychiatric history has been shown to be the most consistent predictor of readmission. This study verifies this finding among coloured patients discharged from Valkenberg Hospital, Cape Town.

Deinstitutionalization↗
PubMed1985

Purification of human B cell growth factor.

Human B cell growth factor (BCGF, 12,000 to 14,000 daltons) has been purified from lectin-stimulated, peripheral blood mononuclear cell-conditioned medium. The purification procedure involves a series of column chromatographic steps incorporating ion exchange, affinity binding, and gel filtration. This procedure is centered around a relatively high yield single chromatographic step, for the removal of co-eluting cytokines from BCGF, that is based on differential binding characteristics to the weak ion-exchange matrix, hydroxylapatite. Reverse-phase high-pressure liquid chromatographic separation on a C18-Bondapak column effectively separates the BCGF and TCGF moieties, yet is characterized by poor yields. High-pressure liquid chromatographic procedures on anion exchange and size exclusion provided the final purification step for BCGF, at an analytical level, resulting in a single band with a m.w. of 12,000 on a SDS-polyacrylamide gel.

Chromatography, Affinity↗
PubMed1984

Tardive dyskinesia--prevalence and subtypes at Valkenberg Hospital, Cape Town.

A survey of 278 White long-term inpatients at Valkenberg Hospital, Cape Town, revealed a 17% incidence of tardive dyskinesia. The heterogeneity of this condition is discussed and the incidence of the various subtypes is given. The relationship between tardive dyskinesia and certain risk variables such as age, duration of hospitalization and concomitant administration of anticholinergics, while clinically suggestive, was found to be not statistically significant.

Aged↗
PubMed1982

Strongyloidiasis presenting as depression: a case report.

A case is described in which an occult parasitic infection. Strongyloidiasis, presented with symptoms suggestive of hypochondriacal depression. The diagnosis had been missed in several extensive medical evaluation and was made belatedly by stool specimen following unsuccessful treatment with antidepressant medication. Clinical features of this common infection are reviewed.

Aged↗
PubMed1976

Recurrent hyperthyroidism in an acromegalic patient previously treated with proton beam irradiation: Graves' disease as probable etiology based on follow-up observations.

A 56-year-old woman presented in 1973 with hyperthyroidism and partial anterior pituitary insufficiency. Three years before she had undergone pituitary irradiation for acromegaly and hyperthyroidism, the latter was attributed at the time to excessive TSH secretion because of elevations in plasma TSH. During the present 11/2 years of observation, TSH levels were appropriately low and did not respond to iv TRH when the patient was hyperthyroid. Moreover, they did not rise during treatment, even as the patient became borderline hypothyroid. It is concluded that hyperthyroidism probably has always been due to Graves' disease.

Acromegaly↗
PubMed1975

Hypoglycemia and endogenous hyperinsulinism complicating diabetes mellitus. Application of the C-peptide assay to diagnosis and therapy.

Described here is a patient with insulin-requiring diabetes mellitus in whom spontaneous fasting hypoglycemia developed. Endogenous hyperinsulinism was considered after the systematic exclusion of other causes of hypoglycemia, and this possibility was confirmed by measurement of serum C-peptide reactivity (CPR), an indicator of beta cell secretory function. Subtotal pancreatectomy relieved the fasting hypoglycemia, and was associated with a marked decline in CPR levels. The pancreatic islets showed hyperplasia and the beta cells were degranulated.

Blood Glucose↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Delayed cerebral ischemia following arteriography.

Cerebral ischemic events associated with arteriography are usually attributed to catheter-induced emboli. We present three patients with cerebral ischemia occurring 6 to 48 hours post-arteriography. We suspected that alternate pathogenic mechanisms were in effect. To evaluate the possibility that sustained platelet activation occurs in association with arteriography, we measured the platelet-specific protein beta thromboglobulin (BTG) prior to and 24 hours following arteriography in two groups of patients. Group I had arteriography performed shortly after venipuncture, while Group II patients did not have arteriography between samples. Seven of eight Group I patients had an increase of BTG on day two, compared with two of eight group II patients (p less than 05). When compared to Group II changes, Group I had a significant increase of BTG on day two (p less than .05). We conclude that cerebral ischemic events associated with arteriography may occur on a delayed basis, and that platelet activation, manifested by increased BTG levels, may be one mechanism contributing to this phenomenon.

Adult↗