‘Translation is not enough’: using the Global Person Generated Index (GPGI) to assess individual quality of life in Bangladesh,Thailand, and Ethiopia

Currently few subjective measures of Quality of Life (QoL) are available for use in developing countries, which limits their theoretical, methodological, and practical contribution (for example, exploring the relationship between economic development and QoL, and ensuring effective and equitable service provision). One reason for this is the difficulty of ensuring that translated measures preserve conceptual, item, semantic, operational, measurement; and functional equivalence (Herdman, M., Fox-Rushby, J., & Badia, X. (1998). Quality of Life Research, 7, 331), which is illustrated by an account of the translation, pre-piloting, and administration of a new individualised QoL measure, the Global Person Generated Index or 'GPGI'. The GPGI is based on the widely used Patient Generated Index (Ruta, Camfield, & Martin, (2004) Quality of Life Research, 13, 1545.) and offers many of the advantages of the participatory approaches commonly used in developing countries, with added methodological rigour, and quantitative outcomes. It was successfully validated in Bangladesh, Thailand, and Ethiopia, using quantitative and qualitative methods--open-ended, semi-structured interviews (SSIs), conducted immediately post-administration. Both the measure and method of 'qualitative validation' described later in the paper offer an exciting alternative for future researchers and practitioners in this field. The quantitative results suggest the GPGI shows cultural sensitivity, and is able to capture both the areas that are important to respondents, and aspects of life one would expect to impact on QoL in developing countries. There were strong correlation between scores from the GPGI and SSIs for the area of health, and moderate correlations for 'material wellbeing' (MWB)('Material wellbeing' refers to respondents' perceptions of their achievement in the areas of farming, debt reduction, assets, crops, livestock, job, land, property, and agriculture) and children. Weak to moderate correlations were observed between the Satisfaction with Life Scale and the GPGI; however, the highest coefficient was between the GPGI and the most conceptually similar item. Statistically significant differences were seen in GPGI scores between rich and poor, urban and rural respondents, and different countries. Health and material wellbeing scores, derived from the SSIs, also showed a linear relationship with GPGI scores, with a suggestion of curvilinearity at the higher levels, as predicted by a general QoL causal model. In conclusion, the GPGI has great potential for use in this area, especially when supported by extensive interviewer training, and supplemented with a cognitive appraisal schedule.     

持续靶控输注异丙酚复合硬膜外麻醉用于上腹部手术探讨

目的:评价持续靶控输注异丙酚复合硬膜外阻滞有用于上腹部手术的可行性。方法:30例胃癌手术患者,ASAⅠ～Ⅱ级。随机分成靶控输注异丙酚全麻(T)组15例,靶控异丙酚复合硬膜外阻滞(T+E)组15例。结果:(T+E)组术后躁动、芬太尼、丙泊酚的用量低于(T)组(P<0.05)。异丙酚单位标准化剂量亦较低。两组苏醒时间相似。诱导后两组血压均显著下降(P<0.05),T+E组在诱导后DBP的下降幅度较T组更为显著(P<0.05),T组在探查、术毕、拨管后的SBP、DBP、MAP比(T+E)组显著增高(P<0.05)。两组诱导后至术毕BIS、SEF显著下降,两组间的比较无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论:靶控输注异丙酚复合硬膜外阻滞用于上腹部手术是可行的,具有异丙酚、芬太尼的用量少、苏醒快、术后躁动少,麻醉深度易于调控,血液动力学较稳定,是一种良好的麻醉方式。     

Mr imaging of hepatic nodular regenerative hyperplasia

Nodular regenerative hyperplasia (NRH), a rare condition that is commonly associated with noncirrhotic portal hypertension, is not well described in the MR literature. Three patients at two institutions were identified who had both abdominal MR imaging and pathologic evidence of NRH. All examinations were performed at 1.5 T and included axial T1- and T2-weighted spin-echo (SE) images. The MR studies were reviewed by two radiologists in consensus. Two patients had multiple liver lesions that had high signal components on T1-weighted images and were predominantly isointense with liver on the T2-weighted images. One patient had no focal lesions identified. NRH, when visualized on MR images, appears as multifocal masses with shortened Tl and T2 similar to liver. NRH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hepatocellular tumors, especially in patients with a predisposing condition.     

效益评价中指标筛选及其假设检验

西文介绍了综合效益评价中指标的逐步筛选及其假设检验方法，用该法选出的指标具有独立性强、代表性好的优点。同是分析处理了全国３４家县级医院的投入指标，从中筛选出５个指标参与评价。     

Comparison of the APACHE III, APACHE II and Glasgow Coma Scale in acute head injury for prediction of mortality and functional outcome

Objectives: This study examines the efficacy of the predicting power for hospital mortality and functional outcome of three different scoring systems for head injury in a neurosurgical intensive care unit (NICU). Design: On the day of admission, data were collected from each patient to compute the Acute Physiology, Age, and Chronic Health Evaluation (APACHE) II and III, and Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) scores. Hospital mortality was defined as the deaths of patients before discharge from hospital. Early mortality was defined as death before the 14th day after admission. Late mortality was defined as death after the 15th day from admission. Functional outcome was evaluated by Index of Independence in Activities of Daily Living (Index of ADL). Setting: An 8-bed NICU in a 1270-bed medical center in Taichung Veterans General Hospital. Patients and participants: Two hundred non-selected patients with acute head injury were included in our study in a consecutive period of 2 years. Patients less than 14 years old were not included. Interventions: None. Measurements and results: Sensitivity, specificity and correct prediction outcome were measured by the chi-square method in three scoring systems. The Youden index was also obtained. The best cut-off point in each scoring system was determined by the Youden index. The difference in Youden index was calculated by Z score. A difference was also considered if the probability value was less than 0.05. The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve was computed. Then the area under ROC of each scoring system was compared by Z score. There was statistical significance if p was less than 0.05. For prediction of hospital mortality, the best cut-off points are 55 for APACHE III, 17 for APACHE II and 5 for GCS. The correct prediction outcome is 82.4% in APACHE III, 78.4% in APACHE II and 81.9% in the GCS. The Youden index has best cut-off points at 0.68 for APACHE III, 0.59 for APACHE II, and 0.56 for GCS. The area under Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve is 0.90 in the APACHE III, 0.84 in the APACHE II and 0.86 in the GCS. There are no statistical differences among APACHE III and II, and GCS in terms of correct prediction outcome, Youden Index and the area under the ROC curve. Other physiological variables excluding GCS in APACHE III and II (AP III-GCS, AP II-GCS) have less statistical value in the determination of mortality for acute head injury. For the prediction of late mortality, APACHE III and II yield significantly better results in the area under the ROC curve, correct prediction and Youden index than those of GCS. Other physiological variables (AP III-GCS and AP II-GCS) play an important role in the prediction of late mortality in APACHE scores. For prediction of the functional outcome of surviving patients with acute head injury, the APACHE III yields the best results of correct prediction outcome, Youden index and the area under the ROC curve. Conclusion: The APACHE III and II may not replace the role of GCS in cases of acute head injury for hospital or early mortality assessment. But for prediction of the late mortality, the APACHE III and II have better accuracy than GCS. Other physiological variables excluding GCS in the APACHE system play a crucial contribution for late mortality. GCS is simple, less time-consuming and economical for patients with acute head injury for the prediction of hospital and early mortality. The APACHE III provides better prediction for severe morbidity than GCS and APACHE II. Therefore, the APACHE III provides a good assessment not only for hospital and late mortality, but also for functional outcome. Received: 22 May 1995 Accepted: 2 September 1996     

鼻内镜下等离子低温射频治疗常年性变应性鼻炎的临床观察

目的探讨鼻内镜下等离子低温射频治疗常年性变应性鼻炎(PAR)的疗效及其优越性。方法在鼻内镜下用等离子低温射频治疗PAR48例,按照海口会议修订的“过敏性鼻炎诊断和疗效评定标准”,用计分法分别评定其疗效。结果该组48例术后随访半年进行评价,其中显效27.1%(13/48),有效58.3%(28/48),无效14.6%(7/48),总有效率为85.4%。疗效评分显示治疗前平均总分为(9.58±1.69)分,治疗后为(5.63±1.15)分(P<0.05)。结论鼻内镜下等离子低温射频烧灼筛前神经终末区域治疗PAR,具有简便、安全等优点,短期效果显著,特别适用于临床上应用抗组胺类药物及鼻内应用糖皮质激素治疗效果不甚理想及由于各种原因不能长期接受抗组胺类药物及鼻内应用糖皮质激素治疗的患者;但长期疗效有待进一步研究。     

龈沟液隐血试验与牙龈出血指数、龈下菌群的关系

目的 探索一种无创性的牙龈出血检测方法－－龈沟液隐血试验（GCFobt），并分析牙龈出血与微生物之间的内在联系。方法 用隐血试纸进行102例唾液标本的唾液隐血（Sobt）检查，1600个位点的GCFobt、牙龈出血指数（SBI）、探诊深度（PD）检测，分别对79、32个龈下细菌标本作涂片检查和厌氧培养，分析临床指数与龈下细菌的关系。结果 GCFobt具较高灵敏度（68.05）和特异度（80.5%），较Sobt更能说明局部牙周炎症状况，与SBI有非常显著相关关系（P＜0.001）；GCFobt阳性与阴性部位螺旋体、杆菌、球菌百分含量有非常显著差异（P＜0.001）；在0与3之间黑色菌检出率有非常显著差异（P＜0.01），在0与2、3之间梭杆菌检出率有显著差异（P＜0.05）。结论 GCFobt是一种快速、简便、无创伤的检测牙龈出血新方法，可以作为牙周病临床检查的一项客观指标。     

胸椎错位并心律异常13例临床报告

目的 探讨脊柱源性心律紊乱的主要发病部位。方法 对13例脊柱病变引发的心律紊乱，主要以纠正上胸段错位为主，采用理筋、整脊和功能锻炼治疗。结果 经治疗均临床治愈，随访半年以上无复发。结论 脊源性心律紊乱主要部位在胸椎。