John P. Colmore

Further evaluation of the Griess test to detect significant bacteriuria

Abstract The Griess test is a simple and inexpensive test which can be useful in detecting significant bacteriuria. The problem has been the high percentage of false negative values. In this study of 1,000 antepartum patients, 2 refinements of the Griess test were evaluated. One, the oral administration of potassium nitrate, did not increase the sensitivity of the Griess reaction. The second modification was to test the first morning urine specimen (which was refrigerated until brought to the clinic) and compare this with a urine specimen obtained in the clinic. This change allowed us to identify 96 per cent of patients with urinary tract infection (as defined), whereas only 55 per cent of these patients could be identified from the clinic specimen. Finally, once again the direct relationship between numbers of bacteria and a positive Griess reaction is demonstrated.

Evaluation of first morning urine to detect significant bacteriuria

Abstract In this study 1,000 patients in an antepartum clinic were screened by collection of dual urine specimens, one immediately after awakening which was refrigerated until brought to the clinic and a second specimen which was collected during the clinic visit. Comparison of the 2 specimens demonstrated that useful quantitative bacteriology could be obtained by culturing a first morning voiding. Further comparison demonstrated that the incidence of >10 5 bacteria per milliliter of urine was 7.8 per cent with the use of the first morning specimen and 6.1 per cent with the use of the clinic specimen. The incidence of urinary tract infection, as defined, in this population was 4.7 per cent, and in this study 96 per cent of these patients had >10 5 bacteria per milliliter of urine in their first morning voiding, whereas only 83 per cent had >10 5 bacteria per milliliter of urine in the clinic specimen.

Antitussive effect of ethyl dibunate in patients with chronic cough

Ethyl dibunate has been suggested for the suppression of eough on the basis of animal studies, eitrie aeid‐indueed eough studies on healthy humans, and by subjeetive evaluation in patients with ehronie eough. Continuous recordings on patients with chronie cough due to chronic bronchitis and obstruetive emphysema in this study failed to demonstrate that ethyl dibunate has any antitussive properties.

Objecfive evaluation of antitussive agents

Subjective evaluation of antitussives is unreliable. In the search for an ideal procedure for evaluation, several methods have been developed which use bronchial irritants for artificial cough production in selected subjects. The currently popular citric acid and the acetylcholine methods with healthy volunteers were re‐evaluated and in our hands were unsatisfactory. Abrief discussion of the use of electronic cough recorders in subjects with spontaneous coueb as the only other presently available objective procedure for evaluating the efficacy of antitussive agents is presented.