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Biomedical subjects

W H Johnson

Publications and source records attributed to W H Johnson.

At least 127 records · Page 7Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Effects of droperidol in management of vestibular disorders.

The chemo-therapy of vestibular disease has involved a wide spectrum of pharmacological agents insofar as their mode of action is concerned. In our experience, however, droperidol is one pharmaceutical agent which is remarkably effective in depressing vestibular disturbance regardless of etiology. This medication (also called Inapsine) belongs to a relatively new class of compounds known as butyrophenones and its pharmacological action can best be described as a dopa blocking agent. The activity of droperidol on the nervous system first became evident when it was used in combination with the potent analgesic fentanyl citrate in order to produce an anesthetic condition that has been termed neuroleptanalgesia. This mixture (also called Innovar) is rapid in action and results in complete suppression of vestibular activity of both normal subjects and those with Ménière's disease as described by Dowdy, et al., in a preliminary report. These impressive results have prompted us to evaluate the effectiveness of this medication in the treatment of different disorders of the labyrinth. The patients chosen for evaluation were referred for vestibular examination at the Toronto General and St. Michael's Hospitals. Electronystagmography was used to record objectively the effects of the drugs being tested while subjective symptoms including side effects were also noted. These studies involved 20 patients receiving Innovar while 12 patients were tested with Inapsine. Innovar administered in a single dose (droperidol 5 mg, fentanyl 0.1 mg) to patients undergoing acute episodes of vestibular disease (vestibular neuronitis and Ménière's disease) was found effective in the following symptoms and/or signs: nausea, vertigo, nystagmus, the positive past-pointing test and the Romberg test. Innovar appeared to be effective in the amelioration of vomiting although the population was too small to demonstrate statistical significance in this regard. The drug mixture appeared to have no effect on improving auditory acuity and had no significant effects on tinnitus. Adverse reactions to the drug combination were unusual, and, occurring in three patients, were mild as manifested by drowsiness. Since the above findings confirmed the marked effectiveness of the fentanyl-droperidol mixture in the management of vestibular disease, it was decided to determine the relative effectiveness of the droperidol component alone and this was determined by comparing the effectiveness of the drug with placebo in a double-blind study. Review of our findings involving this double-blind study indicates significant responses to Inapsine. This therapy clearly provided the statistically significant response (p less than 0.1, Fisher's Exact Test). This was particularly apparent at the 60-minute evaluation point. While some of the patients receiving Inapsine had recovered earlier, by 60 minutes none of the placebo patients but all of the Inapsine patients had recovered from the vestibular symptoms of Ménière's disease...

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1976

Hearing under stress: III. The effect of external auditory meatal pressure on speech discrimination.

It has been well established that unequal air pressure across the tympanic membrane causes an increase in puretone thresholds. Very little information is available, however, concerning concommitant effects on reception and discrimination of speech material. This study was designed to determine whether or not further detrimental effects upon the communication process might occur in the form of decreased speech discrimination ability. The findings established that a high positive pressure in the external meatus can result in a deterioration of the individual's ability to discriminate speech sounds.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Hearing under stress: IV. a speech delivery communication system for utilization in high ambient noise environments.

Many communication systems have been devised to improve the individual's ability to receive speech information in the presence of ambient noise. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of a speech delivery system which combined a high degree of ambient noise attenuation with the ear's own natural amplification phenomenon--the occlusion effect. It was demonstrated that occlusion of the auditory system at the level of the external auditory meatus, in conjuction with bone-conducted speech stimuli presented at the mastoid, was most effective in providing high speech discrimination ability with significant attenuation of ambient noise.

Adult↗