Research on severe maternal morbidities and near-misses in Brazil: what we have learned

The occurrence of complications during pregnancy depends less on the degree of human development than differences in the way complications in pregnancy are detected and managed. It is the quick diagnosis and correct management that really contribute to the enormous differences in maternal mortality ratios between countries and regions. Understanding of the determinants of maternal mortality may be improved by studying cases of severe maternal morbidity. In this paper, various approaches to the concept of severe maternal morbidity and near-misses are discussed, and the relationship between these and maternal deaths. Although no consensus has been reached on a strict definition of near-miss or severe maternal morbidity, we show that the definitions used may be tailored to support diverse objectives, including monitoring progress, epidemiological surveillance and auditing of health care. We conclude that the versatility of the concept, the greater frequency of cases available for study and the possibility of interviewing the survivors of severe complications all support the value of studying severe maternal morbidity to help guide local efforts to reduce maternal mortality. Although this may almost be a reality in developed countries, it continues to represent an important and difficult challenge to overcome in places where its benefits would be most evident.     

亚低温对戊四氮诱导癫痫发作的影响

目的观察戊四氮诱导癫痫发作的形式变化及不同温度下癫痫大鼠海马组织病理学的变化和计数CA3区残存的神经元数量.方法雄性SD大鼠分为上述不同温度的四组,用冰袋降温、白炽灯泡升温的方法来控制温度.将控制好温度的大鼠用戊四氮诱导癫痫发作,在相同的时间内观察大鼠发作形式的变化.HE染色后观察海马区组织病理学的改变,并选择组织学损害最明显的区域在高倍镜(40×10)下计数神经元的丢失.结果高温状态下癫痫发作程度最重,神经元丢失最严重,低温下癫痫发作程度较轻,神经元丢失也较少,亚低温下癫痫发作程度最轻,持续时间也最短,神经元丢失最少.结论亚低温对癫痫大鼠有脑保护作用.     

Early assessment of renal resistance index after kidney transplant can help predict long-term renal function.

BACKGROUND: Color Doppler ultrasonography of intrarenal arterial resistance index (RI), performed early after kidney transplant, has proven to reliably predict short-term allograft function. The aim of this study was to assess whether it could also predict long-term renal function. METHODS: We retrospectively analysed 76 kidney transplant patients who underwent RI assessment within 1 month after the transplant, subdivided into two groups according to RI values, lower (group A) or higher (group B) than its median value (0.635). RESULTS: Compared with group A subjects, the patients of group B were older at the time of transplant (42 +/- 9 vs 35 +/- 8 years; P = 0.001), the donor age was also older (41 +/- 16 vs 33 +/- 13 years; P = 0.02) and had a slightly higher proteinuria (0.54 +/- 0.5 vs 0.32 +/- 0.2 g/24 h; P = 0.02). Serum creatinine, ciclosporin or tacrolimus trough level, arterial blood pressure, number of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) mismatches, anti-hypertensive medications and incidence of delayed graft function were not significantly different between the two groups. By univariate analysis, RI turned out to directly correlate with the recipient age, donor age and daily proteinuria (P = 0.007, P = 0.0007 and P = 0.02, respectively). Multivariate analysis showed that only donor and recipient age maintained their independent predictive value on RI. Kaplan-Meier analysis, considering a serum creatinine increase >50% as the endpoint of the study, showed a statistically significant different graft survival in the two groups (log-rank test = 5.489; P = 0.01). The univariate relative risk of deterioration of graft function among patients with higher RI was 3.77. Proteinuria and recipient age increased the risk as well. CONCLUSIONS: Our data seem to suggest that early determination of RI can help predict long-term graft function in kidney transplant recipients.     

Relationship Among MRTA, DXA, and QUS

Dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) and quantitative ultrasound (QUS) are the accepted modalities for the evaluation of fracture risk in the clinical setting. However, neither method provides a direct measurement of bone mechanics. In this study, we investigated a prototype device, known as a mechanical response tissue analyzer (MRTA), which provides direct mechanical measurements of mechanical properties of bone. A total of 56 healthy volunteers (20 men and 36 women) between the ages of 18 and 83 were recruited. The MRTA was used to measure the cross-sectional bending stiffness (EI) of the ulna bone. Axial speed of sound (SOS) at the ulna bone was determined by QUS; bone mineral content (BMC) and bone mineral density (BMD) were determined by DXA. Correlations, regression analysis, and analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were used to compare the three modalities. These analyses revealed that although there are strong linear relationships among the data collected by the various technologies, the bone properties reflected by MRTA are not fully explained by DXA and QUS. We conclude that the total information conveyed by MRTA measurements is unique. Further research is needed to delineate the different qualities of bone strength that are captured by MRTA, but not by DXA or QUS.     

基数口服药盒的设计与应用

基数口服药是临床各科室必须储备的药品,以备病区住院病人非正常工作时间或急诊使用.病区小药柜常常根据专科特点配备不同种类、数量的基数口服药,其特点是基数少、品种多、专科性强、用量不定.     

Factors associated with prolonged prehospital delay of African Americans with acute myocardial infarction.

BACKGROUND: Delays in seeking treatment for signs and symptoms of acute myocardial infarction are longer for African Americans than for whites. OBJECTIVE: To determine factors associated with prolonged delay and the extent to which perceived racism influences prehospital delay in African Americans with acute myocardial infarction. METHODS: Sixty-one African Americans with acute myocardial infarction were interviewed within 1 month of hospital admission. Delay times were calculated on the basis of the interviews. Independent t tests and chi(2) tests were used to determine factors associated with prolonged delays. RESULTS: Median delay was 4.25 hours and did not differ significantly between women and men (4.42 vs 3.50 hours). Most patients (69%) experienced their initial signs and symptoms at home, often witnessed by family members or friends (70%). Delay was longer for insured patients than for uninsured patients (4.45 vs 0.50 hours). Single, widowed, or divorced patients had longer delay times than did married patients (5.33 vs 2.50 hours), and patients with diabetes delayed longer than did those without diabetes (7.29 vs 3.50 hours). Perceived racism did not differ significantly between patients who delayed seeking treatment and those who did not. CONCLUSIONS: Median delay times were substantially longer than the recommended time of less than 1 hour, reducing the benefit from reperfusion therapies. Education and counseling of patients and their families should be a major strategy in optimizing patients' outcomes and decreasing the time to definitive treatment.     

Inhibitory Effect of Angiogenesis Inhibitor TNP—470 on Human ACHN Renal Cell Carcinoma

Angiogenesis,the formation of new bloodvessels,is necessary for the growth of tumors andtheir metastasis.TNP- 470 is a synthetic analogueof fumagillin and has stronger antiangiogenic　 ac-tivity and less side- effects than fumagillin.Thiscompound has been reported to suppress the prolif-eration and metastasis of various kinds of tu-mors[1] . Using nude mice xenografts of ACHN hu-man renal cell carcinoma ( RCC) ,the presentstudyattempted to examine the action of TNP- 470 ongrowth,metastasi…     

兔心肌梗塞模型制备方法的改进及其在MRI中的应用

目的　对兔心肌缺血的模型制备方法进行改进 ,并探讨其在 MRI诊断研究中的价值。方法　分别采用高位结扎左冠状动脉前降支 (L AD)和同时低位结扎 L AD及左冠状动脉旋支 (L Cx)建立兔心肌梗塞模型 ,并在术后行 MRI检查 ,对取材后心肌标本行氯化三苯四氮唑 (TTC)及病理检查。结果　 1L AD组 2 0 % (5 / 2 5 )发生心室颤动导致死亡 ,L AD +L Cx组无一例发生室颤死亡。 2 L AD组 EKG改变明显者占 5 6 % (14 / 2 5 ) ,其中 2 1.4 3% (3/14 )在即刻就有 EKG明显改变 ,并在 30分钟后恢复正常 ;EKG改变不明显者占 4 4 % (11/ 2 5 ) ;L AD +L Cx组 10 0 %有 EKG明显改变 ,且 30分钟后亦无明显恢复。 3L AD组心肌梗塞范围较小 ,并均限于左室前壁 ,室间隔前部损害 ;而 L AD+L Cx组心肌梗塞范围较大 ,且累及左室前壁及侧壁 ,无一例有室间隔前部损害。4 L AD组中有 30 % (6 / 2 0 )不能显示小灶缺血局部心肌运动降低 ,16 .6 7% (3/ 18)无法分辨早期小梗塞灶的 MRI信号变化 ;而 L AD+L Cx组均能显示缺血局部心肌运动降低及梗塞灶早期的 MRI信号变化。结论　低位结扎兔心 L AD+L Cx,手术死亡率低 ,EKG改变明显 ,梗塞面积较大 ,是 MRI研究中一种较理想的心肌缺血动物模型制备方法。     

Gender Trends in Emergency Medicine Publications

Background In recent years, the number of women entering the field of emergency medicine (EM) has increased.
Objectives To determine if authorship in EM publications has increased in parallel with this trend.
Methods The gender of first and last authors of EM articles in Academic Emergency Medicine , American Journal of Emergency Medicine , Annals of Emergency Medicine , and Journal of Emergency Medicine were examined. The authors reviewed articles from 1985, 1995, and 2005 for American Journal of Emergency Medicine , Annals of Emergency Medicine , and Journal of Emergency Medicine and from 1999 and 2005 for Academic Emergency Medicine . The primary outcomes were the proportions of female authors.
Results A total of 2,016 articles were reviewed. Overall, 18% of first and last authors were female. Respectively, for 1985, 1995, 1999, and 2005, the proportions of female first authors were 9%, 15%, 19%, and 24%; the proportions of female last authors were 9%, 18%, 19%, and 22%. The trend of increases in female authorship was statistically significant.
Conclusions Although female authorship remains a minority in EM publications, it has increased significantly in parallel with increases in female participation in EM.