Newspaper Page Text
10A
MARCH 30, 2000
MCG Stroke Team uses intravenous
injection to combat effects of stroke
AUGUSTA
he stroke team at the Med:
cal College of Georgia has
widened the treatment win
dow for stroke from three to six
hours by offering patients the
option of getting the clot-dissolv
ingdrugtPAinjected directlyinto
the clot-clogged artery.
Injecting tPA straight into the
clotdoublesthetreatment window
for patients and—particularly for
the youngest victims-—may be the
best approach even if strokes are
identified early, said Dr. Jeffrey A
Stane, neurointerventional radi
ologist and stroke team member
TPA, a drug used for over a de
cade to treat heart attacks, is the
first real treatment to reduce the
size and subsequent debilitation of
a stroke. Many hospitals now offer
tPA intravenously in the emer
gency room after a quick comput
erized tomography scan reveals
that a clot is responsible, said Dr
Fanwick T. Nichols 111, neurologist
and stroke specialist.
The problem with maximizing
the use of tPA for strokes has been
timhe, strokes tend to be painless so
Furry friends can be a problem for asthma sufferers
HOUSTON
Formany asthmatics. sharinga
home with a pet can be risky
business.
“Pet owners with asthma tend
to have more attacks because
many also have pet-related aller
gies,” said Dr. Benjamin Interiano,
a pulmonologist and associate pro
fessor of medicine at Baylor Col
lege of Medicine in Houston
While dogs and cats are the
mainculprits, any animal with fur
or feathers, including gerbils, rab
bits and birds, can aggravate
St. Joseph Hospital honors employees
St. Joseph Hospital held Its
annual Employee Service
Awards on Monday, March 20",
There were 148 employees re
celving service awards this vear,
representing 1,720 vears of ser
vice and 3,577,600 hours. Em
ployees with 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30
and 35 years of service were
awarded pins.
Employees with 20 or more
years of service were honored
with a special dinner at the
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Citation of Excellence at the Augusta Advertising
Federation's American Advertising Awards competition.
AUGUSTAFOCUS
patients with less severe strokes
typically don't rushto the hospital.
Intravenous tPA-- which puts the
drug in the bloodstream-—must be
given within three hours of onset
for the potential benefit to out
weigh the increased risk of bleed
ing “We have a number of patients
who don't get here within the first
three hours,” Dr. Nichols said, not
ingthat over the last year, intrave
nous tPA has been an option for
only about adozen ofthe 350 stroke
patients treated at MCG.
So while the stroke team works
toexpand treatmentoptions, mem
bers also are spreading the word
that when symptoms occur, such
asdifficulty with movementonone
side of the body and difficulty with
vision and/or speech, patients need
to call 911 for emergency assis
tance
Before treatment can began, a
quick CT scan 15 needed to ensure
that bleeding ils not the cause of the
stroke; if it 18, patients are not candi
dates for tPA at any time. Other
exclusionary critena include uncon
trolled hypertension, recent surgery,
bleeding ulcers and the patient al
asthma. When pets are kept in
side the home, 1t 18 impossible to
avoid contact with their hair dan
der and various contaminants
emitted from the urine and feces
into the air.
“If a person 1s allergic to a pet,
the best thing for them to do 1s
remove the pet from the home,”
Interiano said. “If that's not pos
sible, the animal should be kept
outside the asthma sufferer’s hv
ing space, including bedrooms and
family rooms.”
Radisson Hotel where they also
receved special service award gifts
they had chosen:
- 35 vears: Charlotte Kennedy.
-30vears: Angela S Dawvis, Bar
bara Fulmer, Lorena Edmunds,
Ethel H. Berry, Paticia H. Lewis,
Myrna C. Smith and Sister Clara
Vincent Slatinsky.
-25 years: Landa L. Tilby, Janice
Gi. Simmons, Donald R. Fulmer,
Cecelia Gniffin, Hattie Wilhams,
Jerome Sabb and Rose L.
Living
ready taking a blood thinner.
Those who qualify for tPA and
get to the hospital within three
hours after the stroke likely will
get the drug intravenously. How
ever, for those who get there within
three to six hours as well as others
who have had a sizable stroke less
three hours earlier, intra-arterial
tPA 1s now an option. Beyond six
hours, tPA typically is not an op
tion no matter how it's delivered.
Some of the best news about in
tra-arterial tPA is that the act of
inserting the catheter into the clot
alone helps open up the artery,
once there small amounts of the
drug can be injected directly into
the trouble spot to rapidly dissolve
the clot, Dr. Stone said. However
the delicate process of threading a
catheter into the brain does take
more extensive evaluation and,
subsequently, time, doctors say
Those who qualify for intra-arte
rial tPA get a specialized magnetic
resonance image scan called a dif
fusion-weighted MRI that shows
the size and location of the stroke
as well as MR angiography to pin
point the target clot and blood ves
If parting with the pet 1s not an
option, the owner should at least
take steps to lower the risk of
triggering an asthma attack.
Interiano suggests:
- keeping the pet outdoors as
much as possible;
bathing the ammal once a week
to reduce the number of allergens
it emits;
cleaning litter boxes, cages
and the pet's bedding regularly:
-placing plastic coversover fab
rics, furniture, pillows and mat-
Lresses.
Grabowski
20 years: Ruby B. Johnson,
Jean L. Brown, Hazel Orlando,
Mary G. Dyches, Rosa Mae
Burley, Joe Anl McGhee, Helen
T. Hills, Patricia E. Scoggins,
Carol B. Newman, Shirley
Gottschalk, MarionT. LaPrade,
Kitty M. Garrett, Purcell L.
Lambert, Janet L. Burgess,
Ruth M. Collins, Jeanette L.
Jenkins, Sherry Key MacKie,
Erlene M. Smith and Sandra L.
Ward.
Now there is help
for a wound that won't heal.
A wound that won't heal
requires expert professional
care. Our Wound Care
Center is staffed by a team
of dedicated experts who
administer the latest wound
therapies with skill and
caring. Aiken Regional’s
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treats not only your wound,
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Call (803) 643-2090.-
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Wound Care Center is a MM‘ network member
sel. If they meet the criteria, pa
tients are immediately taken to
the angiography suite where Dr.
Stone inserts a catheter at the
groin, threads it up through the
arterial system to the brain and
directly into the clot. Risks of the
intra-arterial approach include
damaging the arteries and an in
creased risk of bleeding at the site
of the clot.
Experience with intra-arterial
tPA at MCG and other centers has
shown it can dramatically reduce
the damage of even larger strokes.
More options for stroke treat
ment are on the horizon including
a catheter within a catheter; the
inner catheter delivers a small,
high-pressure stream of water to
destroy the clot and the outer cath
eter vacuums up the pieces. MCG
already has used balloon
angioplasty on a small number of
patients to dilate a blocked artery
inthebrain. The maindrawback to
this approach has been the com
mercial availability of balloons
smallenough touse inside the head,
a problem which may be resolved
shortly, Dr. Nichols said
To minimize exposure to aller
gens, assign these chores to non
allergic family and friends.
“The most important thing to
remember with any allergv 1s to
avold the source,” Interiano said.
“Controlling the allergy will help
control the asthma.”
Continuous exposure to an al
lergen can make asthma more
severe and persistent and can even
result in irreversible damage to
the respiratory system. |
CASELLA EYE CENTER, P.C.
“SERVING AUGUSTA SINCE 1948
DR.THOMAS V. CASELLA DR.VICTOR CASELLA
QUALITY EYECARE, SPECTACLES AND CONTACT LENSES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES
WITH AN ACCENT ON PERSONAL SERVICE AND ATTENTION
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A REMINDER .. THE RECORDS OF DR. BENJAMIN BOGLA, DR JOSEPH SELDIN. DR O M MURPHY.
DR. JOHN PAUL JONES AND DR. HOTLZCLAW OPTICIANS REMAIN ON FILE AT CASELLA EYE CENTER
&= [ 722-0817 722-2428 | ===
. 767 BROAD ST. (1 BLOCK FROM RIVERWALK) BROAD @ Bth ST
The Wound Care Center
at Alken Regional
In most cases, it's not
necessary to endure the
misery of a non-healing
wound. If you suffer from a
longtime wound caused by
diabetes or poor circulation,
don’t wait until an infection
or gangrene threatens you
with the loss of a limb — call
the Wound Care Center.
We can help.
Depression not normal part of aging
HOUSTON
Depression is not a normal part
of aging, but rather a medical
condition that should be treated
aggressively
“About three percent of the eld
erly living independently in the
community will experience de
pression,” said Dr. Victor
Molinari, a psychologist at Baylor
College of Medicine and director
of geropsychology at the Veter
ans Affairs Medical Center in
Houston. “That number increases
to between 20 and 30 percent of
people in nursing homes or with
chronic illnesses such as emphy
sema, heart disease or diabetes ”
Two personality types are also
at high risk: obsessive/compulsive
University Health Care
System nurses receive award
Lorraine Thomas, RN. and
Victoria Burt, RN | cardiac re
habilitation nurses at Univer
sity Health Care System, re
ceived the prestigious Spint of
Nursing Award for the Augusta
area.
The Spirit of Nursing Award is
for registered nurses who exem
plify the “five Cs” in nursing
caring, compassion, creativity,
conscientiousness and commit
Take Back the Night rally scheduled for April 27
The fourthannual Take Back the Night rally will be held April 27,
6:30 to 8:30 p.m_, at the Augusta State University Performing Arts
Theatre. The goal of this event is to celebrate the triumphs of
survivors while promoting community awareness of sexual abuse
and assault. It 1s sponsored by Rape Crisis and Sexual Assault
Services at University Hospital, Safe Homes of Augusta, the Family
Y and the CSRA Girl Scout Council
The evening will include true stories from survivors and aware
ness information from city officials. It will conclude with the‘
lighting of more than 3,000 candles to represent the survivors
assisted by the sponsoring agencies There 15 no charge to attend‘
this event. ‘
Q 2 Aiken Regional
WOUND CARE CENTER®
people bothered by their lack of
control over changes related to
aging, and dependent persons who
lose loved ones.
Typical signs of depression in
clude:
- Sleep problems
- Failure to gain pleasure from
previously enjoved activities
- Decreased energy or concen
tration
- Changes in appetite
- Feelings of hopelessness and
helplessness
- Thoughts of death and suicide
If you know an elderly person
with any of these symptoms, en
courage them to seek medical at
tention as soon as possible,
Molinarn said
ment. Nominees are judged on
a point system, which includes
length of employment, years as
a registered nurse and creden
tials
The nurses will be honored
with a formal dinner and award
on April 20 at the Savannah
Rapids Pavilion. The event is
co-sponsored by the 10* District
Georgia Nurses Association and
The Augusta Chronicle.
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