The Ulster Medical Journal

Our medical research library holds 6 studies published in The Ulster Medical Journal (1977–2021). Each entry links to the study's record on PubMed and, where there is one, to the publisher's page and a free full text. 3 have an abstract, the authors' own summary as PubMed records it: open "Abstract" to read it. For 1 study PubMed has no abstract for, we give the abstract printed in the article or, where there is none, a summary we wrote from it, each labeled as such.

About the journal

• Publisher: Ulster Medical Society
• Published: 1932 to the present, Northern Ireland
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0041-6193 (print), 2046-4207 (electronic)
• Its record in the NLM Catalog

2020s

• A short history of occupational disease: 2. Asbestos, chemicals, radium and beyond. D. Petts, M. Wren, B.R. Nation, et al. 2021;90(1):32-34. Historical article PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  Historically, the weighing out and manipulation of dangerous chemicals frequently occurred without adequate protection from inhalation or accidental ingestion. The use of gloves, eye protection using goggles, masks or visors was scant. From Canary Girls and chimney sweeps to miners, stone cutters and silo fillers, these are classic exemplars of the subtle (and in some cases not so subtle) effects that substances, environments and practices can have on individual health.

  Copyright © 2021 Ulster Medical Society.

2000s

• Asbestos and ship-building: fatal consequences. J. Hedley-Whyte, D.R. Milamed. 2008;77(3):191-200. Historical article PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  The severe bombing of Belfast in 1941 had far-reaching consequences. Harland and Wolff was crippled. The British Merchant Ship Building Mission to the U.S.A. was being constrained by the U.K. treasury. On being told of the Belfast destruction, the British Mission and the United States Maritime Commission were emboldened. The result was 2,710 Liberty Ships launched to a British design. The necessary asbestos use associated with this and other shipbuilding, after a quarter century or more latency, is a genesis of malignancy killing thousands. Reversal of studies on asbestos limitation of fire propagation was crucial to Allied strategic planning of mass-fires which resulted in the slaughter of one to two million civilians. Boston and Belfast institutions made seminal discoveries about asbestos use and its sequelae.

• Asbestos, mesothelioma and the legacy of shipbuilding in Belfast. P.J. Morrison. 2008;77(3):145. Comment · Editorial · Historical article PubMed · Free full text

• Computed tomography pulmonary angiography: a sample of experience at a District General Hospital. J.A. Soye, C.B. Loughrey, P.D. Hanley. 2008;77(3):175-80. PubMed · Free full text

  Abstract

  Purpose: Pulmonary embolism (PE) has a significant associated morbidity and mortality. The role of diagnostic imaging in PE is being increasingly undertaken by computed tomography pulmonary angiography (CTPA). An advantage of CTPA is its ability to simultaneously provide information on the lung parenchyma, mediastinum, pleural spaces, and chest wall. A sample of CTPAs was therefore reviewed to identify the types of additional pathology demonstrated.

  Materials And Methods: One hundred and ninety-eight CTPA examinations were retrospectively reviewed. A record was made of the presence of PE and any additional pathology, with particular interest given to "incidental" pathology, or pathology that was unsuspected but which was significant enough to change the patient's management. A note was also made as to the adequacy of the study. D-Dimer values were recorded when available.

  Results: PE was demonstrated in 56 studies (28.3%). Additional pathology was seen in 112 studies (56.6%), of which 17 were categorised as incidental. These included multiple pulmonary nodules, solitary lung lesions, destructive bony lesions, pancreatitis, a solid renal mass, mesothelioma, reactivated pulmonary tuberculosis, recurrent bronchial carcinoma, pulmonary fibrosis, an SVC filling defect, and a compression fracture of T10.

  Conclusion: The prevalence of PE in our sample was 28.3%, compared with a reported prevalence, mainly by pulmonary angiography, of between 19% and 79%. Secondary findings were found in 56.6% of scans, with completely incidental findings demonstrated in 17 patients (9%). This emphasizes the usefulness of CTPA in providing additional diagnostic information and alternative diagnoses in patients with suspected PE.

• Mesothelioma - "not just in the chest". C.E. Bruckner Holt, A.D. Farmer, W. Syn, et al. 2008;77(2):133-4. Case report · Letter PubMed · Free full text

1970s

• Investigation into the hazardous use of asbestos. Northern Ireland 1960-76. P.C. Elmes. 1977;46(2):71-80. PubMed · Free full text

  Summary

  The author reviewed research carried out in Northern Ireland between 1960 and 1976 into the hazards of asbestos, prompted by an apparently high frequency of diffuse pleural mesothelioma in Belfast. The work addressed three questions: whether the tumours were related to asbestos, where exposure occurred, and how large the hazard was. Occupational histories from 42 mesothelioma patients and 42 age- and sex-matched controls showed exposure in three-quarters of patients and one-quarter of controls. Asbestos bodies were found in the lungs of 21 of 24 (88%) mesothelioma patients and 6 (25%) of matched controls. Of 62 cases, 45 had worked in the shipyard, and insulation workers were identified as the most exposed group. In a comparison of 50 insulation workers with 50 matched controls, 9 had definite and 11 probable radiological asbestosis. In a survey of all working insulators, evidence of serious lung damage rose from 13% of men with 10 years' exposure to 85% of those with more than 30 years. Of 168 insulation workers employed in 1940, 98 had died by 1966, against 37 deaths predicted. Most excess deaths were due to respiratory cancer, especially lung cancer. The author also described the clinical features of mesothelioma and estimated a mean interval of 42 years from first exposure to death. He concluded that the main limitation of the work was the lack of information on dose and fibre type.

  PubMed has no abstract for this study, and the article doesn't print one. We wrote this summary from the full article with the help of AI. It is not the authors' wording.

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