Longistylin A,a natural stilbene isolated from the leaves of Cajanus cajan,exhibits significant anti-MRSA activity

Longistylin A (LLA) is an abundant stilbene isolated from the leaves of Cajanus cajan (L.) Millsp. However, the antibacterial effect of LLA is not yet understood. Therefore, in this study, a detailed investigation of the antibacterial effect of LLA, particularly against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), was conducted. In vitro, LLA exhibited strong antibacterial activity against MRSA with a minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of 1.56 µg/mL and displayed much more rapid bactericidal activity (3-log decrease in MRSA survival within 8 h) than vancomycin. A membrane-targeting experiment suggested that the antibacterial activity of LLA is associated with perturbation of the bacterial membrane potential and increased membrane permeability. Notably, LLA had relatively weak cytotoxicity to murine macrophages [50% cytotoxic concentration (CC₅₀) = 8.61 ± 0.57 µg/mL]. In vivo, topical treatment of a skin injury with LLA improved wound healing and closure in an MRSA-infected wound healing mouse model. After 3 days treatment, LLA decreased MRSA bacterial counts in the wounded region, reduced the accumulation of immune cells at the injury site, and alleviated induction of the inflammatory cytokines tumour necrosis factor-alpha (180.74 ± 10.78 pg/mL vs. 606.57 ± 68.99 pg/mL) and interleukin-6 (87.25 ± 10.19 pg/mL vs. 280.58 ± 42.27 pg/mL) in serum.     

Medical practitioners’ educational competence about oral and oropharyngeal carcinoma: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Medical practitioners’ (MP) role is pivotal in primary prevention, early diagnosis, prompt referral and effective management of oral and oropharyngeal carcinomas (OC/OPC), which raises the importance of their effective OC/OPC education at all levels of medical education. The purpose of this systematic review was to summarise the available scientific evidence about their educational competence in dealing with OC/OPC. We made a systematic search of papers in the English language in MEDLINE, Scopus, Cochrane Library CENTRAL and CINAHL databases from their inception until December 2018. Overall, 23 cross-sectional and three interventional studies have been selected for the systematic review and 18 of these were included in the meta-analyses. Excluding tobacco use (synthesised estimate of 95% of respondents identified tobacco as an OC/OPC risk factor, 95% CI of synthesised estimate 92% to 97%) and alcohol consumption (65%, 95%CI 52% to 77%), less than half of MP (approximately) were knowledgeable about important OC/OPC risk factors including human papilloma virus (42%, 95% CI 30% to 54%), poor diet (34%, 95% CI 17% to 54%), and advancing age (45%, 95% CI 21% to 70%). There was a low to moderate level of awareness among MP regarding common precancerous oral lesions involving leukoplakia (56%, 95% CI 32% to 79%), erythroplakia (30%, 95% CI 8% to 58%), and oral lichen planus (13%, 95% CI 0 to 41%). Moderate knowledge was also recorded about frequent sites of OC development involving the tongue (48%, 95% CI 33% to 64%) and floor of the mouth (37%, 95% CI 19% to 57%). Most MP enquired about tobacco use (86%, 95% CI 74% to 96%), and alcohol consumption (73%, 95% CI 47% to 94%) during history taking, and expressed willingness to be given supplementary OC/OPC education (78%, 95% CI 54% to 96%), as well. With regard to the incidence of intraoral screening, 27% of MP (95% CI 12% to 46%) make an intraoral examination as a routine. Interestingly, studies from each continent yielded significantly different outcomes to some research questions in the review. From the MP’s perspective, clinical time restrictions and deficiencies in organised training were recognised as the main barriers towards their OC/OPC educational competence. The findings of this systematic review indicated the existence of deficiencies in knowledge and misconceptions, neglected preventive responsibilities, and associated barriers towards OC/OPC. A need for improved OC/OPC training at all levels of medical education is required to increase competence worldwide.     

小儿腹股沟斜疝日间手术与专科住院手术的卫生经济学评价

目的对小儿日间手术模式和专科住院手术模式的卫生经济学进行评价,为小儿腹股沟斜疝手术的优选和决策提供参照依据。方法收集2016年6月至2017年7月间所有在重庆医科大学附属儿童医院治疗且符合纳入标准的单侧腹股沟斜疝患儿的临床资料,其中日间手术患儿324例(日间组),专科住院手术患儿65例(专科组)。比较两种手术模式下的患儿一般资料、治疗指标、容错情况、术后需要留院处理的并发症发生率、复发率、院内的感染等卫生效果指标;比较两种模式的HCAHPS优化星表满意度、住院时间、住院费用等卫生经济学指标。统计分析两种模式的成本-效果:治疗效果权重W、治疗效果指数(EI)、成本-效果比(CER)。结果日间外科组和专科组在性别、区域方面的差异无统计学意义,专科组年龄分布更广。日间组与专科组占用床位时间分别为(23.17±0.49)h和(112.06±19.75)h,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.01);两组的医疗费用分别为(3372±430)元和(6063±2104)元,差异具有统计学意义(P<0.01)。两组麻醉分级ASA比例的差异具有统计学意义,两组术后并发症发生率的差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。日间组与专科组治疗EI分别为0.98和1.02,CER分别为3305和6184,日间组经济学效益较大。结论日间手术的成本-效果优于专科住院手术模式,患儿满意度和术后复发率与专科住院模式的差异无统计学意义,推荐符合日间手术指征的患儿采用该模式。     

口腔医疗机构应对国家突发公共卫生事件的问题与思考

突发公共卫生事件应急管理是一个全球性的课题。本文就2019年12月以来发生在中国的新型冠状病毒肺炎这一突发公共卫生事件,口腔医疗机构及其从业人员面临的相关问题进行法律层面的分析与思考,以期对口腔医疗行业应对突发公共卫生事件提供帮助和指导。