• Title/Summary/Keyword: University of British Columbia

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Cardiac Phenotyping of SARS-CoV-2 in British Columbia: A Prospective Echo Study With Strain Imaging

  • Jeffrey Yim;Michael Y.C. Tsang;Anand Venkataraman;Shane Balthazaar;Ken Gin;John Jue;Parvathy Nair;Christina Luong;Darwin F. Yeung;Robb Moss;Sean A Virani;Jane McKay;Margot Williams;Eric C. Sayre;Purang Abolmaesumi;Teresa S.M. Tsang
    • Journal of Cardiovascular Imaging
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.125-132
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    • 2023
  • BACKGROUND: There is limited data on the residual echocardiographic findings including strain analysis among post-coronavirus disease (COVID) patients. The aim of our study is to prospectively phenotype post-COVID patients. METHODS: All patients discharged following acute COVID infection were systematically followed in the post-COVID-19 Recovery Clinic at Vancouver General Hospital and St. Paul's Hospital. At 4-18 weeks post diagnosis, patients underwent comprehensive echocardiographic assessment. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was assessed by 3D, 2D Biplane Simpson's, or visual estimate. LV global longitudinal strain (GLS) was measured using a vendor-independent 2D speckle-tracking software (TomTec). RESULTS: A total of 127 patients (53% female, mean age 58 years) were included in our analyses. At baseline, cardiac conditions were present in 58% of the patients (15% coronary artery disease, 4% heart failure, 44% hypertension, 10% atrial fibrillation) while the remainder were free of cardiac conditions. COVID-19 serious complications were present in 79% of the patients (76% pneumonia, 37% intensive care unit admission, 21% intubation, 1% myocarditis). Normal LVEF was seen in 96% of the cohort and 97% had normal right ventricular systolic function. A high proportion (53%) had abnormal LV GLS defined as < 18%. Average LV GLS of septal and inferior segments were lower compared to that of other segments. Among patients without pre-existing cardiac conditions, LVEF was abnormal in only 1.9%, but LV GLS was abnormal in 46% of the patients. CONCLUSIONS: Most post-COVID patients had normal LVEF at 4-18 weeks post diagnosis, but over half had abnormal LV GLS.

Clinical Applications of Dual-Energy CT

  • Saira Hamid;Muhammad Umer Nasir;Aaron So;Gordon Andrews;Savvas Nicolaou;Sadia Raheez Qamar
    • Korean Journal of Radiology
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    • v.22 no.6
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    • pp.970-982
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    • 2021
  • Dual-energy CT (DECT) provides insights into the material properties of tissues and can differentiate between tissues with similar attenuation on conventional single-energy imaging. In the conventional CT scanner, differences in the X-ray attenuation between adjacent structures are dependent on the atomic number of the materials involved, whereas in DECT, the difference in the attenuation is dependent on both the atomic number and electron density. The basic principle of DECT is to obtain two datasets with different X-ray energy levels from the same anatomic region and material decomposition based on attenuation differences at different energy levels. In this article, we discuss the clinical applications of DECT and its potential robust improvements in performance and postprocessing capabilities.

Review of the UBC Porcine Model of Traumatic Spinal Cord Injury

  • Kim, Kyoung-Tae;Streijger, Femke;Manouchehri, Neda;So, Kitty;Shortt, Katelyn;Okon, Elena B.;Tigchelaar, Seth;Cripton, Peter;Kwon, Brian K.
    • Journal of Korean Neurosurgical Society
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    • v.61 no.5
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    • pp.539-547
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    • 2018
  • Traumatic spinal cord injury (SCI) research has recently focused on the use of rat and mouse models for in vivo SCI experiments. Such small rodent SCI models are invaluable for the field, and much has been discovered about the biologic and physiologic aspects of SCI from these models. It has been difficult, however, to reproduce the efficacy of treatments found to produce neurologic benefits in rodent SCI models when these treatments are tested in human clinical trials. A large animal model may have advantages for translational research where anatomical, physiological, or genetic similarities to humans may be more relevant for pre-clinically evaluating novel therapies. Here, we review the work carried out at the University of British Columbia (UBC) on a large animal model of SCI that utilizes Yucatan miniature pigs. The UBC porcine model of SCI may be a useful intermediary in the pre-clinical testing of novel pharmacological treatments, cell-based therapies, and the "bedside back to bench" translation of human clinical observations, which require preclinical testing in an applicable animal model.

Microbe Hunting: A Curious Case of Cryptococcus

  • Bartlett Karen H.;Kidd Sarah;Duncan Colleen;Chow Yat;Bach Paxton;Mak Sunny;MacDougall Laura;Fyfe Murray
    • Journal of Environmental Health Sciences
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    • v.31 no.3
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    • pp.199-206
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    • 2005
  • C. neoformans-associated cryptococcosis is primarily a disease of immunocompromised persons, has a world-wide distribution, and is often spread by pigeons in the urban environment. In contrast, C. gattii causes infection in normal hosts, has only been described in tropical and semi-tropical areas of the world, and has a unique niche in river gum Eucalyptus trees. Cryptococcosis is acquired through inhalation of the yeast propagules from the environment. C. gattii has been identified as the cause of an emerging infectious disease centered on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. No cases of C. gattii-disease were diagnosed prior to 1999; the current incidence rate is 36 cases per million population. A search was initiated in 2001 to find the ecological niche of this basidiomycetous yeast. C. gattii was found in the environment in treed areas of Vancouver Island. The highest percentage of colonized-tree clusters were found around central Vancouver Island, with decreasing rates of colonization to the north and south. Climate, soil and vegetation cover of this area, called the Coastal Douglas fir biogeoclimatic zone, is unique to British Columbia and Canada. The concentration of airborne C. gattii was highest in the dry summer months, and lowest during late fall, winter, and early spring, months which have heavy rainfall. The study of the emerging colonization of this organism and subsequent cases of environmentally acquired disease will be informative in planning public health management of new routes of exposure to exotic agents in areas impacted by changing climate and land use patterns.

Effects of Acute Moderate Hypoxemia on Kinetics of Metoclopramide and its Metabolites in Chronically Instrumented Sheep

  • Kim, Johr;Riggs, K.-Wayne;Rurak, Dan-W.
    • Archives of Pharmacal Research
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    • v.25 no.5
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    • pp.709-717
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    • 2002
  • Hypoxemia is known to induce various physiological changes which can result in alteration in drug pharmacokinetics. To examine the effect of acute moderate hypoxemia on metoclopramide (MCP) pharmacokinetics, a continuous 14-hour infusion of MCP during a normoxemic, hypoxemic and subsequent normoxemic period was conducted in eight adult sheep. Arterial blood and urine samples were collected to examine the effects on the pharmacokinetics of MCP and its deethylated metabolites. MCP and its mono- and di-deethylated metabolites were quantitated using a GC/MS method. Steady-state concentrations of MCP were achieved in each of the three periods. During hypoxemia, MCP plasma steady-state concentration increased significantly from 50.72$\pm$1.06 to 63.62$\pm$1.79 ng/mL, and later decreased to 55.83$\pm$1.15 ng/mL during the post-hypoxemic recovery period. Total body clearance ($CL_{TB}$) of MCP was significantly decreased from 274.2$\pm$48.0 L/h to 205.40$\pm$28.2 L/h during hypoxemia, and later restored to 245.8$\pm$44.2 L/h during the post-hypoxemic period. Plasma mono-deethylated MCP concentration (32.78$\pm$1.73 ng/mL) also increased, compared to the control group (21.20$\\pm$1.39 ng/mL), during hypoxemia and subsequent normoxemic period. Renal excretion of MCP and its metabolites was also decreased during hypoxemia, while urine flow was increased with a concomitant decrease in urine osmolality. Thus, the results indicate that acute moderate hypoxemia affects MCP pharmacokinetics.