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Biomedical subjects

T M Daniel

Publications and source records attributed to T M Daniel.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources

Thoracoscopy and talc poudrage for pneumothoraces and effusions.

The indications, technique, and results of thoracoscopic talc poudrage in the two clinical settings of pneumothorax and recurrent pleural effusion in chronically ill patients are reported. Forty patients underwent this treatment between May 1982 and September 1989. The patients ranged in age from 10 months to 78 years. Of the 20 patients who underwent treatment of pneumothorax, 9 had cystic fibrosis, 7 had severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, 2 had spontaneous pneumothoraces, and 2 had postoperative parenchymal bronchopleural fistulas. Nineteen patients (95%) had successful treatment. Of the 20 patients who underwent treatment of chronic effusions, 14 had malignant etiologies, 3 had chylothoraces, and 3 had other miscellaneous effusions. Eighteen patients (90%) in this group had successful treatment. There were two hospital deaths related to the underlying disease processes after the pleural space problems were successfully treated. This study suggests that proper selection of patients and full exploitation of the capabilities of thoracoscopy and talc poudrage will result in effective treatment with low morbidity and mortality.

Cystic Fibrosis↗

An ELISA for the serodiagnosis of tuberculosis using a 30,000-Da native antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

An ELISA was established for the measurement of IgG antibody in human serum to the 30,000-Da native antigen of Mycobacterium tuberculosis and evaluated for its utility in the diagnosis of tuberculosis at the Instituto Nacional de Enfermedades Respiratorias in Mexico City. The test had a sensitivity of 70% in patients with sputum-positive active pulmonary tuberculosis and a specificity in control subjects of 100%. The accuracy of positive prediction was 100% and of negative prediction 93% for patients with pulmonary tuberculosis at this institute. Less favorable test characteristics were obtained for patients with miliary and pleural tuberculosis, in which the test had sensitivities of 22% and 14%. These results offer the promise of an accurate serodiagnostic test for pulmonary tuberculosis using readily obtained reagents.

Antibodies, Bacterial↗

Serodiagnosis of tuberculosis using an ELISA with antigen 5 and a hemagglutination assay with glycolipid antigens. Results in patients with newly diagnosed pulmonary tuberculosis ranging in extent of disease from minimal to extensive.

Hemagglutination tests with three glycolipid antigens, A1, B1, and C, and ELISA with antigen 5 were done on serum from Chinese patients with pulmonary tuberculosis and from normal subjects in Hong Kong. Tests with all four antigens were of similar efficiency, giving positive results in 30 to 52% of 88 smear-positive patients, in 16 to 22% of 37 smear-negative, culture-positive patients, in 5 to 13% of 76 culture-negative patients with radiologically active disease, in 5 to 11% of 217 culture-negative patients with inactive disease, and in 1 to 4% of 140 normal subjects. If tests were combined so that an overall positive was scored when all tests were positive, there was worse discrimination between patients and normal subjects; however, as suggested by the poor correlation between the results with pairs of the tests, better discrimination was obtained if an overall positive was scored when any of the tests was positive. A positive result in any of the four tests was found in 22% of all cases, including 58% of smear-positive patients, 32% of smear-negative, culture-positive patients, and 0.7% of normal subjects.

Antigens, Bacterial↗

Cisplatin, 5-fluorouracil, mitomycin C, and concurrent radiation therapy with and without esophogectomy for esophageal carcinoma.

Twenty-nine patients with carcinoma of the esophagus were treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) (1000 mg/m2/d as a continuous intravenous [IV]infusion on days 1 through 4), cisplatin (100 mg/m2 IV on day 1), mitomycin C (10 mg/m2 IV on day 1), and concurrent radiation therapy (4500 cGy/4.5 wk). If no disease progression was observed, operable patients underwent surgery 4 to 6 weeks after completion of radiation therapy. A thoracotomy with a gastric pull-through operation was performed in the first six patients. Subsequently, a transhiatal ("blunt") esophagectomy was used. Twenty-five patients had squamous cell histology and four had adenocarcinoma. Of 25 patients with squamous cell carcinoma, 13 underwent esophagectomy. The clinical complete response rate was 61% (eight of 13 patients), with a pathologic complete remission documented in five of 13 patients (38%). The overall local tumor sterilization rate was 53% (seven of 13 patients). In the 12 patients who did not undergo surgery after chemoradiotherapy, four had a complete clinical response (33%) and five had a partial response (41%). Symptoms or signs of local disease recurrence or stricture were noticed in ten of 12 patients who did not undergo surgery (83%), compared with 28% of patients who underwent surgery. The median survival time of the group receiving surgery was 10 months, compared with 5 months for those who did not undergo operation (P = 0.027). Patients undergoing transhiatal esophagectomy had shorter postoperative hospital stays and fewer serious complications, compared with patients undergoing transthoracic esophagectomy. The use of chemoradiotherapy and transhiatal esophagectomy for esophageal carcinoma should be evaluated using alternative sequences of treatment (e.g., postoperative therapy) to reduce toxicity while maintaining local control of disease.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Identification of antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis using human monoclonal antibodies.

Pleural tuberculosis constitutes a human model of local protective immunity to mycobacterial infection as the disease is usually self-limited and recurrent pleurisy is rare. To identify potentially protective antigens of Mycobacterium tuberculosis, 37 human pleural fluid B cell clones were established using EBV and their supernatants assayed by ELISA and Western blot for antibody reactivity with M. tuberculosis sonicate and culture filtrate. One antibody identified 29,000, 31,000, and 33,000 bands in culture filtrate, and 31,000, 33,000, and 47,000 bands in sonicate; its species reactivity by ELISA was limited to M. tuberculosis. Eight antibodies identified a 31,000 band in culture filtrate and a 68,000 band in M. tuberculosis sonicate, suggesting recognition of a secreted antigen. The species crossreactivity of these eight antibodies extended to M. avium. Six antibodies identified multiple bands and had crossreactivity that included M. avium and M. kansasii. There was no reactivity with recombinant M. tuberculosis 65,000 antigen. Tuberculous pleurisy may prove useful in the identification of potentially protective mycobacterial antigens, particularly those secreted during active infection, and thus accessible to the human immune response.

Antibodies, Monoclonal↗

A new, rapid safe method for local radiation of intrathoracic sites.

A technique for intraoperative, intrathoracic placement of afterloading catheters for post-thoracotomy radiation therapy is described. This technique offers speed and simplicity and requires no advance planning of radiation therapy. It uses materials that are readily available in operative theaters and radiation oncology units. No radiation exposure of operating room personnel is involved. It also avoids the mechanical problems of crimping and dislodgment associated with the traditional method of individual placement of small afterloading catheters for local radiation therapy. Isodose curves derived from radiographs showing postsurgical source positions demonstrated that it was possible to achieve a uniform therapeutic radiation dose distribution to the chest wall at the site of desired radiotherapy.

Adenocarcinoma↗

Reconstruction of full thickness chest wall defects.

Over the last 5 years, 14 patients were treated by wide en bloc resection of chest wall tumors with primary reconstruction. There were nine females and five male patients with an age range of 31-77 years. All patients had a skeletal resection of the chest wall. An average of 3.9 ribs were resected in the patients treated. In three patients a partial sternectomy was carried out in conjunction with the rib resections. Chest wall skeletal defects were reconstructed with Prolene mesh, which was placed under tension. Soft tissue reconstruction utilized selected portions of the latissimus dorsi musculocutaneous territory with fasciocutaneous extensions beyond the muscle itself. Primary healing was obtained in all patients and secondary procedures were not required. The average hospitalization was 23 days. All patients survived the resection and reconstruction and were alive 30 days after operation. In selected patients the preservation of a portion of the innervated muscle in situ or the transfer of the muscle with the preservation of its resting length has maintained the majority of the muscle function.

Adult↗

Chest CT of unresectable lung cancer.

A major role of CT in lung cancer patients is to spare those with unresectable lesions unnecessary surgery. Here the CT findings of inoperable lesions (Stages IIIB and IV in the new International Staging System) are illustrated.

Aged↗

Cost effectiveness of chest CT in T1N0M0 lung cancer.

The role of chest computed tomography (CT) in the evaluation of clinically staged T1N0M0 lung cancer is controversial. Using quantitative methods of decision analysis and data already available in the medical literature, the authors show how the clinical utility and cost effectiveness of chest CT are dependent on several variables: the prevalence of mediastinal metastases in T1N0M0 patients; the sensitivity and specificity of chest CT; patient life expectancy; and the morbidity, mortality, and monetary costs of CT, invasive mediastinal biopsy procedures, and curative surgical resection. When average values for these variables are used in the analysis, routine chest CT adds about 1 day to a T1N0M0 patient's life expectancy and saves about $150 per patient. Furthermore, a true-positive yield of 6% is sufficient for chest CT to be both clinically useful and cost saving, provided CT is readily available.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗