Direct third-party reimbursement for nursing.

Research data gathered during the last 10 years indicates that nurses and nurse practitioners practice in a safe, cost-effective manner. However, due to the lack of direct third-party reimbursement, nurses have been unable to directly impact the marketplace and demonstrate their fiscal credibility. Increasing client access to affordable health care is the primary reason that nurses and nurse practitioners seek direct third-party reimbursement.

The effect of diabetes mellitus on chemotactic and bactericidal activity of human polymorphonuclear leukocytes.

We studied the bactericidal activity (against P. aeruginosa) and chemotactic ability of polymorphonuclear leukocytes from 26 diabetic patients in three treatment groups (oral hypoglycemic, daily insulin, and continuous insulin infusion). Patients were studied before entry into intensified management protocols, and after intensified management in 11 of the 26 patients.

Abnormal calcium metabolism caused by increased circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis.

A 35-year-old white male with rheumatoid arthritis who had developed hypercalcemia, hypercalciuria, and nephrolithiasis was found to be abnormally sensitive to vitamin D as a result of lack of regulation of circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25-(OH)2D). An increase in daily intake of vitamin D from 10 micrograms (400 units) per day to 50 micrograms (2000 units) per day produced an abnormal elevation in serum 1,25-(OH)2D, hypercalcemia, and hypercalciuria which were corrected by prednisone. Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D initially was abnormally low, and increased with vitamin D to values which were in the low normal range.

Metabolic profiles of rats of different ages.

Urine samples from 6- to 31-month-old male Fischer F344 rats were analyzed using a high performance liquid chromatograph and a unique computer-based data analysis and quality control system in order to discover substances that could be used as markers in the aging process. Metabolic profiles of the organic acids from these urines yielded 42 peaks whose areas could be measured reliably. Of the 42 peaks, 10 were found by analysis of variance to vary significantly (p less than 0.

Effects of methylprednisolone on resolution of acid-aspiration pneumonitis.

We studied the effects of methylprednisolone sodium succinate on the pulmonary function of unanesthetized dogs for four days after aspiration of 1.5 to 2.0 mL/kg of 0.

Habitual physical activity and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol in men with primary hypercholesterolemia. The Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial.

The association of habitual physical activity with plasma high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol and total triglyceride (TG) was examined in 7106 asymptomatic 35-59-year-old white men with primary type II hyperlipoproteinemia who attended the second screening visit of the Lipid Research Clinics Coronary Primary Prevention Trial. Subjects were rated by usual level of physical activity at work and outside of work and the frequency of strenuous physical labor or exercise. By each of these three criteria, physical activity was monotonically related to HDL cholesterol and TG: the most physically active men had the highest HDL cholesterol and lowest TG levels.

Evidence for the presence of follicle-stimulating hormone receptor antibody in human serum.

A male patient presented with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, elevated serum gonadotropin levels, primary gonadal failure, and an immunoglobulin M (IgM) monoclonal gammopathy. When the patient's serum was added to radioiodinated human follicle-stimulating hormone (125I-hFSH)-bovine testis membrane-receptor complex solubilized by detergent, followed by the addition of antihuman immunoglobulin G ((anti-hIgG), the preformed complex was precipitated. No such precipitation was seen when normal human or rabbit serum, serum from a patient with polyostotic fibrous dysplasia, or serum from other patients with polyclonal gammopathies were utilized.

Comparison of isolation methods of urinary organic acids by high-performance liquid chromatography.

Four methods for extracting organic acids from human urine prior to analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were compared. The methods were manual solvent extraction with ethyl acetate and diethyl ether, continuous solvent extraction, anion exchange with pyridinium acetate as the eluting solvent and anion exchange with hydrochloric acid as the eluting solvent. All four methods produced samples that could be analyzed by reversed-phase HPLC, but the continuous solvent extraction and anion exchange with pyridinium acetate methods gave the best reproducibilities (approximately 6% relative standard deviations).

The effect of antithrombotic therapy on patency rates of saphenous vein coronary artery bypass grafts.

In an attempt to improve upon the reported long-term patency rates of 65% to 85% for saphenous vein coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG), a prospective randomized trial comparing warfarin, aspirin, and placebo treatment in post-CABG patients was carried out. From an initial group of 216 patients, 161 patients remained in the study, and vein graft patency was determined in 111 patients (220 grafts) from 1 to 47 months postoperatively. There was a trend toward better cumulative graft patency in patients given warfarin, but the results did not achieve statistical significance.

Automated metabolic profiling of organic acids in human urine. II. Analysis of urine samples from "healthy" adults, sick children, and children with neuroblastoma.

Normalized median, minimum, and maximum values (analytical concentration factors) are given for 134 organic acids in urine of nine adult control subjects, five juvenile control subjects, and five children with neuroblastoma. The organic acids, separated by anion-exchange chromatography, were analyzed by a gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer-computer system. Sixty substances in this fraction are positively identified, and, of these, mean absolute concentrations are listed for 20.

Automated metabolic profiling of organic acids in human urine. I. Description of methods.

We describe a complete procedure for separation and mechanized analysis of organic acids in human urine. The acid fraction of urine is separated by anion-exchange chromatography on diethylaminoethyl-Sephadex. Individual acids are identified and measured by use of a gas-chromatography/mass spectrometer/computer system that can clearly distinguish contributions from at least 150 substances in a single sample.

Quantitative metabolic profiling based on gas chromatography.

The quantitative metabolic profiles of volatilizable components of human biological fluids, particularly urinary organic acids, is reviewed, with emphasis on the use of gas-chromatography/mass spectrometer/computer systems. Various definitions of metabolic profiling are considered and techniques for obtaining such profiles are discussed. The role of computer processing of such data is examined, and statistical techniques for treating quantitative metabolic profiles are suggested.