Clinical significance of urinary white blood cell count and serum C-reactive protein level for detection of non-palpable prostate cancer

AIM: The clinical significance of the urinary white blood cell (U-WBC) count and serum C-reactive protein (CRP) level was evaluated in an effort to improve the efficiency of prostate biopsies. METHODS: We enrolled 228 consecutive patients with serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA) ranging from 3.0 to 20.0 ng/mL, normal digital rectal examination findings, and who underwent prostate biopsies between January 2001 and August 2004. Of these, 157 patients had histologically confirmed benign prostatic disease and the remaining 71 patients had prostate cancer. Patients with a pretreatment U-WBC count < or =3 or >3/high power field were defined as non-pyuria and pyuria, respectively. The patients were also separated into two groups based on the serum CRP level prior to biopsy. Several clinical factors were compared among these subgroups. RESULTS: Inflammation was histologically detected at rates of 58.1% and 34.1% in the pyuria and non-pyuria groups, respectively (P = 0.0014). The rates of cancer detection were significantly lower in the pyuria, than in the non-pyuria group (P = 0.0384). The cancer detection rates did not significantly differ according to serum CRP levels prior to biopsy. CONCLUSION: The U-WBC count appears to be a reliable indicator of minute prostatic inflammation. The serum PSA level was elevated in patients with asymptomatic prostatitis. Counting U-WBC is a simple, convenient and non-invasive method that should be valuable part of routine urological examinations.     

广龙昊膏药对大鼠腰椎间盘突出模型细胞因子IL-1、NO及组织胺的影响

为探讨IL-1、NO及组织胺在腰椎间盘突出中的作用及广龙昊膏药的治疗效果，将60只大鼠造模并随机分为正常组（A组）、造模组（B组）、广龙昊膏药组（C组）和奇正止痛膏组（D组），观察其神经根周围局部组织中IL-1、NO及组织胺的含量。结果显示，B组中的IL-1、NO及组织胺较A组显著升高（P〈0．01）。C组、D组较B组明显下降（P〈0．01）。表明大鼠腰椎间盘突出模型中细胞因子IL-1、NO及组织胺明显增加可能是腰椎间盘突出中的潜在始动或促进因素，而C组能显著降低神经根局部中IL-1、NO及组织胺的含量，说明广龙昊膏药作用部分是通过抑制炎性细胞因子的活性实现的。     

Ca~(2+)在大鼠应激性胃粘膜损伤中作用的研究

目的 :探讨大鼠胃粘膜与急性胃粘膜损伤之间的关系。方法 :采用原子吸收光谱分析法 ,测定胃粘膜Ca2 +含量。结果 :胃粘膜损伤程度随应激时间延长而加重 ,胃粘膜Ca2 + 含量却下降 ,二者呈明显负相关 ,但是 ,CaCl2 预应激或应用钙通道阻断剂 ,可减轻胃粘膜损伤程度。结论 :Ca2 + 在急性胃粘膜损伤中有一定的作用。     

实验性下腔静脉可扩张性内支撑形态学研究

目的 :通过观察实验犬下腔静脉内放置可扩张性内支撑后血管的形态学变化 ,确定支撑的内皮化进程 ,以期为临床减少内支撑阻塞、合理应用抗凝剂提供组织学的依据。　 方法 :在 14只杂种犬下腔静脉内放置金属内支撑 ,于术后 1个月起 ,逐月取下腔静脉作光镜和电镜检查。　 结果 :术后 1个月左右 ,内支撑基本内皮化 ,5个月完成血管的重构。　 结论 :早期抗凝治疗是防止内支撑阻塞的关键 ,首次提出内支撑放置后血管重构的现象     

精索静脉曲张患者精索静脉和外周血睾酮水平的对照研究

目的：探讨精索静脉血张患者血浆睾酮水平的变化及其机制。方法：对25例精索静脉曲张患者与22例腹股沟斜疝患者精索静脉和外周血睾酮水平进行对照研究。结果：精索静脉曲张组外周血睾酮浓度与腹股沟斜疝组无差别（P＞0．05），而精索静脉血睾酮浓度两组则有明显差异，精索静脉曲张组精索静脉血中睾酮浓度较腹股沟斜疝组低（P＜0．05）。结论：多种因素可影响外周血睾酮浓度，使其难以准确地反映睾丸分泌睾酮的实际水平，而精索静脉血中的睾酮浓度则能较为直接地反映睾丸的睾酮分泌能力。     

小儿烧伤致伤因素及院前急救统计分析

目的 了解小儿烧伤的致伤因素和院前急救现状。方法 对十年来两家医院收治的小儿烧伤1403例按年龄、原因、场所以及院前急救进行回顾性分析。结果 小儿烧伤以0～3岁居多（占57．09％）；热液烫伤比例大（占70．28％）；家庭为烧伤主要场所（占78．12％）；院前急救失误普通存在，其中创面处理不当、未建立有效静脉通道和人为原因延误治疗比例较大。结论 小儿烧伤有一定规律，院前急救应加以重视。     

数字疼痛量表和描述疼痛量表的相关性研究和改进

目的探讨"长海痛尺"的科学性和可行性.方法研究证明数字疼痛量表(NRS)和描述疼痛量表(VRS)的相关性,并设计"长海痛尺".结果 NRS和VRS之间相关性良好,相关系数r为0.8241.结论 "长海痛尺"的设计具有一定的科学依据,且具有简便、易理解、结果相对准确的特点,可以满足临床一线工作的需要.     

Frequency, nature and determinants of pharmaceutical consultations provided in private by Dutch community pharmacists

OBJECTIVE: According to a report published by the federation of Dutch patients' associations, patients would like to see a pharmacist, who acts more as a personal adviser. This raised the question, how often Dutch community pharmacists have personal consultations with their patients in daily practice, on which factors this depends, and what kind of topics are discussed during these meetings. SETTING: Community pharmacies in the Netherlands. METHOD: A questionnaire was distributed among 800 randomly selected pharmacies. Questions were restricted to consultations characterized by one-to-one contact, drug therapy related content, and adequate privacy. These consultations were labelled as pharmaceutical consultations in private to distinguish them from other contacts between pharmacists and patients. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Number, content, and character of consultations. RESULTS: 198 (24.8%) community pharmacies responded. The pharmacists provide an average of roughly 1.2 consultations in private per working day. The vast majority of respondents provided face-to-face and telephone consultations (94.4 and 91.9%, respectively), only a minority gave consultations by e-mail (30.8%). These consultations primarily dealt with topics related to medication safety. The mean overall time spent was 290 min per month. A relatively high frequency of personal consultations was significantly associated with the absolute number of full-time equivalent pharmacists in the pharmacy. CONCLUSION: The frequency of pharmaceutical consultations in private is low, but may be improved by reorganisation of the pharmacist's activities. The possibility of personal consultations by e-mail is not yet well-developed. Further research is needed to assess the patient's view of pharmaceutical consultations in private.     

Are hospitals prepared to support newborn survival? – an evaluation of eight first‐referral level hospitals in Kenya*

Objective To assess the availability of resources that support the provision of basic neonatal care in eight first‐referral level (district) hospitals in Kenya. Methods We selected two hospitals each from four of Kenya’s eight provinces with the aim of representing the diversity of this part of the health system in Kenya. We created a checklist of 53 indicator items necessary for providing essential basic care to newborns and assessed their availability at each of the eight hospitals by direct observation, and then compared our observations with the opinions of health workers providing care to newborns on recent availability for some items, using a self‐administered structured questionnaire. Results The hospitals surveyed were often unable to maintain a safe hygienic environment for patients and health care workers; staffing was insufficient and sometimes poorly organised to support the provision of care; some key equipment, laboratory tests, drugs and consumables were not available while patient management guidelines were missing in all sites. Conclusion Hospitals appear relatively poorly prepared to fill their proposed role in ensuring newborn survival. More effective interventions are needed to improve them to meet the special needs of this at‐risk group.     

Needle electromyography

Physiologic assessment of diseases of the motor unit from the anterior horn cells to the muscles relies on a combination of needle electromyography (EMG) and nerve conduction studies (NCS). Both require a unique combination of knowledge of peripheral nervous system anatomy, physiology, pathophysiology, diseases, techniques, and electricity is necessary. Successful, high‐quality, reproducible EMG depends on the skills of a clinician in patient interaction during the physical insertion and movement of the needle while recording the electrical signals. These must be combined with the skill of analyzing electric signals recorded from muscle by auditory pattern recognition and semiquantitation. 10 , 52 This monograph reviews the techniques of needle EMG and waveform analysis and describes the types of EMG waveforms recorded during needle EMG. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Muscle Nerve 39: 244–270, 2009