Publications by authors named "Richard J Mackay"
Background: There is individual variation in physiological ageing. Former very low birthweight (VLBW; birthweight < 1500 g) young adults may have less satisfactory measurements on some physiological parameters than term controls. We hypothesized that a summation score of physiological biomarkers that change with age would show VLBW adults to have a more advanced physiologic age than controls.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: There are several complementary English-language guidelines for the performance of the sweat chloride test. These guidelines also incorporate information for the collection of conductivity samples. However, recommendations for the measurement and reporting of sweat conductivity are less clear than for sweat chloride.
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- The case discusses a neonate exhibiting symptoms similar to GRACILE syndrome, linked to complex III deficiency and mutations in the BCS1L gene.
- It compares the findings with original Finnish reports of GRACILE syndrome and other similar cases to highlight differences and similarities.
- The study confirms that the BCS1L gene mutation c.166C>T is harmful and supports evidence for another mutation, c.-588T>A, that has been previously reported as potentially pathogenic.
Electrolytes in sick neonates - which sodium is the right answer?
Arch Dis Child Fetal Neonatal Ed
January 2013
Introduction: Hypoproteinaemia leads to spuriously high-sodium values when measured by indirect ion-selective electrodes (ISE) as used in main laboratory analysers compared with direct ISE employed in point-of-care analysers (POCT). The authors, therefore, investigated the occurrence of hypoalbuminaemia and its effect on measured sodium from POCT and the main laboratory analyser of neonatal intensive-care samples.
Method: Sodium, in paired retrospective samples, measured by the main laboratory and neonatal unit blood-gas (POCT) analysers were compared.
Trimethylaminuria is a disorder in which the volatile, fish-smelling compound, trimethylamine (TMA) accumulates and is excreted in the urine, but is also found in the sweat and breath of these patients. Because many patients have associated body odours or halitosis, trimethylaminuria sufferers can meet serious difficulties in a social context, leading to other problems such as isolation and depression. TMA is formed by bacteria in the mammalian gut from reduction of compounds such as trimethylamine-N-oxide (TMAO) and choline.
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- Current guidelines diagnose acute myocardial infarction (AMI) based on the rise and/or fall of cardiac troponin levels, with newer highly sensitive assays developed to improve detection of myocardial injury due to past assay unreliability.
- In a study involving 332 patients with chest pain, three types of troponin tests (hsTnT, TnI 3, and TnT) were compared to assess their effectiveness in diagnosing AMI, revealing that hsTnT was superior to TnT but equivalent to TnI 3.
- Findings showed that hsTnT had the highest baseline detection rate for AMI, and while increasing the threshold for delta troponin improved specificity, it resulted in
The International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) demonstrated that the highest prevalence of asthma in the world is in English-speaking countries, including New Zealand. In this paper, we compare asthma symptom prevalence in the three major ethnic groups (Maori, Pacific, and European) in the six participating centers in New Zealand. Hospital admission rates for asthma are higher among Maori and Pacific children compared to European children.
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