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Biomedical subjects

W S Blakemore

Publications and source records attributed to W S Blakemore.

At least 73 records · Page 4Linked to original sources
PubMed1976

Epidemiology of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections: determination by pyocin typing.

The epidemiology of hospital infections due to Pseudomonas aeruginosa was investigated by pyocin typing. The typing method, which determined the pyocin activity of clinical isolates of P. aeruginosa on 27 indicator strains, was 43.7% reproducible, but elimination of 9 indicator strains doubled the reproducibility and yielded more readable pyocin inhibition zones. Seventy-eight of 1,084 isolates (7.2%) were untypable. In the second part of the study, P. aeruginosa was isolated from 110 patients (5.4% of all admissions) in a 3-month period and typed with the revised method. Twenty pyocin types were identified, 10 of which were obtained from five or more patients. P. aeruginosa was isolated from 45 of 353 environmental samples, including water fountains, ice machines, bar soaps, and germicide solutions for toilet brushes. Twenty percent of the environmental samples were untypable but, among typable strains, the five most common environmental strains were the same as the strains most frequently isolated from patients. The organism was frequently isolated from noses (39%), throats (39%), and stools (29%) of patients with P. aeruginosa infections or colonizations in urine, sputum, surgical wounds, or skin lesions. Six of eight patients had P. aeruginosa in their tracheostomy wounds. Autoinfections by strains already acquired on carrier sites may be significant.

Bacteriocins↗
PubMed1976

The effects of insulin on urinary urea and ammonia production.

15N-labelled glycine, ammonium chloride, and L-aspartic acid were infused intravenously into a series of non-diabetic adults at a constant rate for 4 to 8 hours. Midway during the infusion, a pulse of 8-10 units of regular insulin was injected as a pulse or infused at a constant rate for the remainder of the 15N infusion period. Frequent urine specimens were collected during the infusion period. The 15N enrichment of the urinary urea, ammonia, and amino acids increased smoothly with time until the insulin was given. The pulse of insuline caused a downturn on the N enrichment. We concluded from this that a) the effect of a pulse of insulin on human urea and ammonia metabolism lasted for about one hour; and b) insulin affected glutamine distribution in the plasma.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1976

Isolation and partial purification of plasma membrane-associated antigens from human osteosarcoma (TE-85) cells in tissue culture.

The plasma membrane of a cloned line of TE-85 (human osteosarcoma) cells subcultured for the last 4 years was isolated. The isolation was by hypotonic swelling, cell homogenization, and discontinuous sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation for 16 hr. Tumor-specific water-soluble antigens were identified by limited papain digestion of the isolated plasma membrane. Fractionation by diethylamino-ethyl anion-exchange column chromatography yielded antigenic fractions that inhibited the reaction of immune serum (from an unrelated patient with osteosarcoma) with the plasma membrane of TE-85 cells in tissue culture by indirect immunofluorescence test. Microimmunodiffusion confirmed the specificity of the isolated antigen against the sera of other patients with osteosarcoma. The definition of the antigen fraction may permit evaluation of antigen-antibody interaction in tumor immunity.

Antigen-Antibody Complex↗
PubMed1975

Unusual manifestations of penetrating cardiac injuries.

Penetrating cardiac injuries frequently first appear in an unusual and insidious manner, and their diagnosis may not be immediately obvious. In a series of 20 cases of cardiac injury, ten cases were indicative of such subtle symptoms, several of which were life-threatening. These unusual manifestations can be categorized as early, intermediate, or late. Early problems of four patients included the following: (1) sudden onset of shock during laparotomy, performed due to apparent abdominal trauma; (2) cardiac arrest on arrival in the emergency room; and (3) cerebral air embolus and mimicked symptoms of possible irreversible anoxic brain damage. The intermediate manifestations of cardiac injury are usually discovered in the early recovery period, and include myocardial infarction with cardiogenic shock and bullet embolus to a peripheral artery. Intermediate manifestations were observed in two patients. Four patients had late complications that included pseudoaneurysm, ventricular septal defect, valvular damage, and recurrent pericarditis. These late complications were observed between one month and 21 years after cardiac injury. This indicates the necessity of long-term follow-up of these patients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1975

Experience with detailed surveillance of nosocomial infection.

Infection rates have been determined in a 332 bed university hospital using an efficient surveillance program. This computerized program analyzed, summarized and returned infection reports in six days. The efficiency rate of this system was 80 per cent as determined by prevalence survey. The mean nosocomial infection rate for the 12 month study period was 10.8 per cent. Neurology, medicine, neurosurgery, surgery and urology ahd the highest attack rates. Urinary tract infections composed 44 per cent of the total and predominated on seven of the 11 services. Escherichia coli predominated in infections of the urinary tract, surgical wounds and blood and ranked third in respiratory infections. Escherichia coli, klebsiella, pseudomonas and proteus mirabilis accounted for 61 per cent of the isolates. There is a need for efficient reporting of hospital infections to establish effective preventives.

Cardiology↗
PubMed1974

Nonocclusive mesenteric vascular insufficiency.

A case of nonocclusive mesenteric vascular insufficiency in a patient with congestive heart failure on digitalis and with arrhythmia is presented. The preoperative diagnosis was made through mesenteric arteriography. A course of treatment was followed which we believe prevented intestinal gangrene. This regimen includes measures to increase cardiac output, local pharmacologic agents to induce mesenteric vasodilatation, antibiotics, and oxygen. The viability of the intra-abdominal organs was demonstrated by laparotomy.

Angiography↗
PubMed1974

Analysis and significance of nosocomial infection rates.

An analysis of the systems of nosocomial infection reporting utilized in a 332 bed, urban, referral-type hospital demonstrated that physician reporting was much less reliable than a well-planned surveillance system coordinated by an infection control nurse. During 12 months' experience with the most recently devloped system, the average monthly rate of nosocomial infection was 10.7%. A prevalence survey gave a rate of 14.4%. The efficiency of reporting was close to 100% when the infection control nurse spent 100% of her time on surveillance. With a reduction in surveillance time to 75%, the efficiency of reporting fell to about 75%.

Computers↗