Diagnosis and management of work-related asthma.
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Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to T Klassen.
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BACKGROUND: Tissue adhesives have been used for many years to close simple lacerations as an alternative to standard wound closure (sutures, staples, adhesive strips). They offer many potential advantages over standard wound closure, including ease of use, decrease in pain and time to apply, as well as not requiring a follow-up visit for removal. Many studies have compared tissue adhesives and standard wound closure to determine the cosmetic outcome as well as these other secondary outcomes in their respective study populations. However, due to the wide variation in study parameters, there are no generalisable, definitive answers about the effectiveness of tissue adhesives. No study has been adequately powered to assess differences in complications, which are rare. OBJECTIVES: To summarize the best available evidence for the effect of tissue adhesives in the management of traumatic lacerations in children and adults. SEARCH STRATEGY: We searched the Cochrane Controlled Trials Register (CD ROM 2001 Issue 4), the Cochrane Wounds Group Specialized Trials Register (Nov 2001), MEDLINE (1966 to Oct 1, 2001), and EMBASE (1988 to Sept 1, 2001) for relevant randomised controlled trials (RCTs). We also searched the citations of selected studies, and we contacted relevant authors and manufacturers of tissue adhesives to inquire about other published and unpublished trials. SELECTION CRITERIA: We included RCTs comparing tissue adhesives versus standard wound closure or tissue adhesive versus tissue adhesive for acute, linear, low tension, traumatic lacerations in an emergency or primary care setting. Trials evaluating tissue adhesives for surgical incisions or other types of wounds were not considered. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: Data from eligible studies were extracted by one reviewer and checked for accuracy by a second reviewer. Two reviewers independently assessed masked copies for quality. Outcomes of cosmesis (subgroups of age, wound location and need for deep sutures), pain, procedure time, ease of use and complications were analysed separately for two comparisons: 1) tissue adhesive versus standard wound care; and 2) tissue adhesive versus tissue adhesive. MAIN RESULTS: Eight studies compared a tissue adhesive with standard wound care. No significant difference was found for cosmesis at any of the time points examined, using either Cosmetic Visual Analogue Scale (CVAS) or Wound Evaluation Score (WES). Data were only available for subgroup analysis for age; no significant differences were found. Pain scores (Parent VAS WMD -15.7 mm; 95% CI -21.9, -9.5) and procedure time (WMD -5.6 minutes; 95% CI -8.2, -3.1) significantly favoured tissue adhesives. No studies reported on ease of use. Small but statistically significant risk differences were found for dehiscence (favouring standard wound care NNH 25 95% CI 14, 100) and erythema (favouring tissue adhesive NNH 8 95% CI 4, 100). Other complications were not significantly different between treatment groups. Only one study was identified that compared two tissue adhesives (butylcyanoacrylate (Histoacryl TM) versus octylcyanoacrylate (Dermabond TM)) for pediatric facial lacerations. No significant difference was found for cosmesis using CVAS at 1-3 months, or using WES at 5-14 days and 1-3 months. Similarly, no significant difference was found in pain, procedure time or complications. Results for ease of use were incomplete as reported. REVIEWER'S CONCLUSIONS: Tissue adhesives are an acceptable alternative to standard wound closure for repairing simple traumatic lacerations. There is no significant difference in cosmetic outcome between tissue adhesives and standard wound closure, or between different tissue adhesives. They offer the benefit of decreased procedure time and less pain, compared to standard wound closure. A small but statistically significant increased rate of dehiscence with tissue adhesives must be considered when choosing the closure method (NNH 25).
BACKGROUND: Survival rates for cardiac arrest patients, both in and out of hospital, are poor. Results of a previous study suggest better outcomes for patients treated with vasopressin than for those given epinephrine, in the out-of-hospital setting. Our aim was to compare the effectiveness and safety of these drugs for the treatment of in-patient cardiac arrest. METHODS: We did a triple-blind randomised trial in the emergency departments, critical care units, and wards of three Canadian teaching hospitals. We assigned adults who had cardiac arrest and required drug therapy to receive one dose of vasopressin 40 U or epinephrine 1 mg intravenously, as the initial vasopressor. Patients who failed to respond to the study intervention were given epinephrine as a rescue medication. The primary outcomes were survival to hospital discharge, survival to 1 h, and neurological function. Preplanned subgroup assessments included patients with myocardial ischaemia or infarction, initial cardiac rhythm, and age. FINDINGS: We assigned 104 patients to vasopressin and 96 to epinephrine. For patients receiving vasopressin or epinephrine survival did not differ for hospital discharge (12 [12%] vs 13 [14%], respectively; p50.67; 95% CI for absolute increase in survival 211.8% to 7.8%) or for 1 h survival (40 [39%] vs 34 [35%]; p50.66; 210.9% to 17.0%); survivors had closely similar median mini-mental state examination scores (36 [range 19-38] vs 35 [20-40]; p50.75) and median cerebral performance category scores (1 vs 1). INTERPRETATION: We failed to detect any survival advantage for vasopressin over epinephrine. We cannot recommend the routine use of vasopressin for inhospital cardiac arrest patients, and disagree with American Heart Association guidelines, which recommend vasopressin as alternative therapy for cardiac arrest.
Cell-cell interactions of the mucosal epithelia are important for the maintenance and establishment of epithelial barrier function. During events of inflammation, such cell-cell interactions are often disrupted, resulting in a leaky epithelial barrier, which in turn can lead to various inflammatory and infective dysfunctions. Human junctional adhesion molecule (huJAM), found on the mucosal epithelia and vascular endothelia of many major organ systems, is a membrane glycoprotein which resolves to a doublet band of approximately 40 and approximately 37 kDa under SDS-PAGE analysis, representing differentially glycosylated forms of the same protein. huJAM was localized to the lateral membrane of Caco-2 cells (a human colonic epithelial cell line) monolayers, in an area basolateral of the epithelial tight junctions (TJ). Through functional and biochemical assays, we show huJAM to be able to homotypically associate and to participate in TJ restitution after trypsin-EDTA disruption. Furthermore, we also observed a migration of huJAM expression toward areas of cell-cell contacts during events of cell adhesion and monolayer formation. These qualities makes huJAM a likely player in the regulation of cell-cell contacts and the subsequent formation of TJs.
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BACKGROUND: Lately, the number of systematic reviews published has increased substantially. Many systematic reviews exclude trials published in languages other than English. However, there is little empirical evidence to support this action. We looked for differences in the completeness of reporting between trials published in other languages and those published in English, to see whether the exclusion of trials published in other languages is justified. METHODS: We compared completeness of reporting, design characteristics, and analytical approaches of 133 randomised controlled trials (RCTs) published in English between 1989 and 1994 and 96 published in French, German, Italian, or Spanish during the same time. RCTs were identified by hand searching of journals (seven in English and six in the other languages). FINDINGS: We found no significant differences between trials published in English and other-language trials for any single item in the completeness of reporting scale (randomisation, double-blinding, withdrawals), or for the overall score (percentage of maximum possible score 51.0% for trials in English, 46.2% for trials in other languages; 95% CI for difference -1.1 to 10.5). Other-language trials were more likely than English-language trials to have adult participants, to use two or more interventions, and to compare two or more active treatments without an untreated control group. Trials in other languages were less likely to report a clearly prespecified primary outcome or any rationale for sample size estimation. INTERPRETATION: These results provide evidence for inclusion of all trial reports, irrespective of the language in which they are published, in systematic reviews. Their inclusion is likely to increase precision and may reduce systematic errors. We hope that our findings will prove useful to those developing guidelines and policies for the conduct of reporting of systematic reviews.
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To correlate lung structure and function in an animal model of emphysema, 17 dog lungs were treated with intrabronchial instillation of papain (range of concentration 0.5-5%); the contralateral lungs served as controls. The lungs were inflated to the volume at a transpulmonary pressure (PL) of 25 cmH2O (V25), and static pressure-volume and maximal expiratory flow-volume curves were obtained. Eight pairs of lungs were processed for histology at a PL of 5 cmH2O, and eight pairs of lungs were processed at a PL of 25 cmH2O. Significant loss of elastic recoil was found in the papain-treated lungs, between 30 and 90% predicted V25 (P less than 0.02). However, there was no correlation between the mean linear intercept corrected to predicted lung volume (indicative of alveolar destruction) and loss of elastic recoil. There was a significant reduction of maximal flow (Vmax) between 20 and 90% predicted V25. However, the reduction in Vmax was commensurate with the reduction of elastic recoil, since there was no significant change in resistance of the upstream segment between 30 and 70% predicted V25. Airway morphometry demonstrated no significant differences in small airway dimensions between control and emphysema-treated lungs. In both control and papain-treated lungs, small airway dimensions changed relatively more than lung volume a PL of 25 and 5 cmH2O.
Hybridoma cells produced by fusing mouse myeloma cells with spleen cells from mice primed with herpes simplex virus (HSV) type 1 yielded five clones producing neutralizing antibody against homologous virus. Two clones, HCl and HC2, produced antibody capable of precipitating glycoprotein C and its precursor, whereas three clones, HD1, HD2, and HD3, produced antibody capable of precipitating glycoprotein D and its precursor. Antibody produced by the HC1 and HC2 clones neutralized HSV type 1 but not HSV type 2 or HSV type 1 strain MP, which is known to lack glycoprotein C. Antibody produced by the HD1 and HD2 clones neutralized both HSV type 1 and HSV type 2, whereas antibody produced by the HD3 clone neutralized HSV type 1 but not HSV type 2. The two clones which produced antibody to glycoprotein C and the two clones which produced type-common antibody to glycoprotein D were independently derived and not clonally related inasmuch as the antibody in each pair belonged to a different subclass of immunoglobulin.
BALB/c mice passively immunized with antibody to herpes simplex virus type 1 and challenged in the footpad with 10(5.7) plaque-forming units of herpes simplex virus type 1 were shown to be protected from neurological disease and death compared with control mice treated with normal serum or antibody to Sindbis virus. One hundred percent of untreated mice had virus recoverable from dorsal root ganglia by 48 h after infection. Whereas amputation of the infected limb at 48 h had no effect, antibody administration (resulting in titers of 1:8 and 1:16) was found to prevent acute neurological disease if administered no later than 48 h after infection. Antibody also restricted the extent of latent infection in the lumbosacral ganglia. The data provide strong evidence that antibody is effective in preventing spread of virus both in the peripheral nervous system and in central nervous system (spinal cord) tissue.
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The effects of methylprednisolone sodium succinate and cytarabine have been examined in an experimental herpes simplex virus-induced encephalitis in rabbits. In this model herpes simplex virus (HSV) is normally cleared from the brains of untreated animals. Infected animals treated with large doses of methylprednisolone showed a slight delay in the rate of clearance of virus, and a minimal reduction in the inflammatory process, but did not otherwise differ from untreated controls. Animals treated with cytarabine displayed a notable rise in viral titers in brain at a time when virus had been cleared from untreated controls. Cytarabine-treated animals also showed persistence of intranuclear inclusions in the lesions, and moderate diminution in the extent of inflammatory response. Thus, while methylprednisolone appears to have little adverse effect on the encephalitic process, cytarabine, perhaps because of its immunosuppressive properties, results in a failure of normal clearance of virus from nervous system lesions.
Neuroadapted mumps virus produces systemic infection in newborn hamsters after intraperitoneal inoculation. Virus is disseminated via a low-level viremia and appears to enter the central nervous system by passage through the choroid plexus. At such sites, choroidal and ependymal epithelial cells are productively infected and become a source for further viral spread throughout the brain parenchyma. The development of neutralizing and hemagglutination-inhibiting antibodies in serum correlates with the clearance of virus from most systemic sites. However, peristence of virus in both brain and kidney is demonstrated late in this infection.
Controversy exists surrounding the appropriate indications for intravenous pyelography (IVP) in assessing blunt renal injuries in children. Forty-one consecutive cases of suspected blunt renal injuries, who had an IVP performed between January 1988 and December 1990 at The Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario, were examined by a retrospective chart review. Eighty percent of the IVPs were normal. Of the eight abnormal IVPs, four were contusions, two lacerations, and two nontraumatic abnormalities. There was no hemodynamic compromise, no requirement for surgical intervention, and no deaths in the study population. In the absence of significant hematuria (> or = 100 rbc/hpf), the probability of detecting a traumatic abnormality on IVP is low (4%). There was no correlation between the mechanism of injury and the IVP findings. We conclude that intravenous pyelography has a low yield in the absence of significant hematuria (> or = 100 rbc/hpf).
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