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T Ashcroft

Publications and source records attributed to T Ashcroft.

50 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1973

The optical and electron microscopic determination of pulmonary asbestos fibre concentration and its relation to the human pathological reaction.

The quantitative extraction of asbestos fibres from asbestotic lung by alkali digestion has been refined by maceration of the tissue without prior drying, the minimum use of centrifugation, and the adoption of phase contrast microscopy. Preliminary experiments suggested that, using this technique, asbestos fibre counts were accurate to within at least +/- 20% and in most instances to within +/- 10%. The method was used to assess asbestos concentrations in lung tissue showing various degrees and forms of fibrosis. The results, as determined by light microscopy, indicated that uncoated fibres generally outnumbered coated fibres. In mild and moderate asbestosis there was a progressive increase in concentration of asbestos fibres, both coated and uncoated, with increasing severity of fibrosis, whereas in severe asbestosis no correlation existed between the fibre concentration and the form or the extent of the pathological reaction. It is suggested that the severe fibrosis results from the supervention of non-specific inflammatory processes. Asbestos fibre diameter distributions, gauged by electron microscopy, were fairly constant irrespective of the degree of fibrosis. Optically visible fibres constituted between 12 and 30% of the total, so that an optical count may be said to give an approximate indication of the total asbestos concentration and, so far as asbestosis is concerned, may well serve for comparative purposes. The relation between asbestos and neoplasia will, however, require identification and quantitation of particular types of the mineral by microanalytical techniques.

Asbestos↗
PubMed1968

Asbestos bodies.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Asbestosis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Bed rest from the perspective of the high-risk pregnant woman.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the experience of prolonged bed rest from the perspective of women during high-risk pregnancies. DESIGN: A focused ethnographic study that used interviews, participant diaries, and field notes as data sources. SETTING: Participants were obtained from an acute-care hospital antepartum unit and an antepartum home care program. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four women with complications of pregnancy requiring prolonged bed rest (range, 7-50 days). RESULTS: A model of the stress process in pregnant women on bed rest emerged from the data analysis. Stressors were grouped into situational (sick role, lack of control, uncertainty, concerns regarding fetus's well-being, and being tired of waiting), environmental (feeling like a prisoner, being bored, and having a sense of missing out), and family (role reversal and worry about older children) categories. Two main mediators of stress were social support and coping. Families, friends, and professionals were perceived as sources of support. Women used coping strategies, such as keeping a positive attitude, taking it 1 day at a time, doing it for the baby, getting used to it, setting goals, and keeping busy. Manifestations of stress were evidenced by adverse physical symptoms, emotional reactions, and altered social relationships. CONCLUSIONS: Prolonged bed rest is a stressful experience for pregnant women at high risk. Understanding the stress process in pregnant women confined to bed rest may assist nurses in developing interventions to reduce stressors and enhance mediators.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Research utilization in maternal-child nursing: application of the CURN model.

Nursing administrators, educators and clinicians are continually striving to incorporate research into practice. A number of research utilization models have been developed to help meet this challenge. This article describes how the Conduct and Utilization of Research in Nursing (CURN) approach was used in a maternal-child area of a Canadian tertiary care hospital. One patient care problem was identified by practising nurses that required acquisition and application of recent research findings. A thorough literature search and critique was conducted based on this patient care problem and research results were used to develop nursing care guidelines for this priority concern.

Maternal-Child Nursing↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Prophylaxis and management of cytomegalovirus pneumonitis after lung transplantation: a review of experience in one center.

Our experience was reviewed to assess the incidence and severity of cytomegalovirus disease after lung transplantation. Between 1987 and 1992, 74 lung transplantations were performed. Donor and recipient sera were tested for cytomegalovirus immunoglobulin G at the time of transplantation; in the event that an organ from a positive donor was transplanted into a negative recipient, a course of hyperimmune globulin was given. Significant pyrexial episodes were thoroughly investigated by bronchioalveolar lavage and transbronchial biopsy, where appropriate. Antiviral therapy was given only if progressive pneumonitis or a disease affecting more than one organ system was present. Fifty-nine patients survived more than 28 days after transplantation; organs from antibody-positive donors were transplanted into nine sero-negative recipients. Cytomegalovirus pneumonitis was diagnosed histologically in five of these patients; four were treated with ganciclovir therapy, and two underwent reventilation. All but one patient survived; the role of cytomegalovirus in the outcome of this patient remains uncertain. No recurrent infections have been seen. Of these nine patients, all but one was seroconverted to immunoglobulin M. Although frequently found to be excreting virus, of the 35 patients who were antibody positive before transplantation, pneumonitis was diagnosed histologically in five patients, two of whom required both treatment and reventilation and who subsequently died despite early treatment. Our findings, compared with historical data, suggest that the prophylactic use of high-titer immunoglobulin may reduce the incidence of pneumonitis in the mismatch group. The role of specific prophylaxis in patients who were antibody positive before transplantation requires further evaluation.

Cytomegalovirus Infections↗