Research campaigns in the UK National Health Service: patient recruitment and questions of valuation

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) aims to improve national ‘health and wealth' by providing infrastructural support to enable clinical research in National Health Service settings in England and Wales. Cognisant of the consequences of studies' failure to achieve required numbers of participants, it also actively campaigns to promote patient awareness of research, and willingness to participate in trials. In this paper, we analyse recent NIHR campaigns and policies designed to encourage patients to participate in clinical research to interrogate how they are implicated in the national bioeconomy. In doing so we expand the notion of ‘clinical labour' to include the work of patient recruitment and highlight an emergent obligation on patients to contribute to research processes. Whereas once patient knowledge and experience may have been devalued, here we draw on the concept of ‘assetisation' (Birch 2012) to explore the emergent relationship between healthcare system and patient as research participant. We consider how patients' contribution goes beyond the provision of standardised objects of valuation so that patients themselves may be perceived as assets to, not only recipients of, the national healthcare system.     

Effect of intensive versus standard blood pressure control on major adverse cardiac events and serious adverse events: A bivariate analysis of randomized controlled trials

Background: Intensive blood pressure (BP) lowering may offer protective effects against major adverse cardiac event (MACE) but is also associated with a greater risk of a serious adverse event (SAE). The risk-benefit profile of intensive versus standard BP control has not been comprehensively assessed. Methods: Four studies were identified from a systematic literature search for randomized controlled trials comparing intensive versus standard BP lowering that reported both MACE and SAE endpoints. A previously described statistical approach was applied to characterize the efficacy-safety tradeoff of BP control. The bivariate outcome was computed to quantitatively assess the net clinical benefit (NCB) of intensive BP lowering as compared to standard treatment, with positive values indicating increased risks and negative values indicating decreased risks. Results: Data from the SPRINT trial demonstrated that intensive strategy was superior in MACE but inferior in SAE, thereby eroding the NCB (bivariate outcome: 0.33% [?0.50% to 1.21%]). Intensive strategy from the SPS3 trial fulfilled non-inferiority in both MACE and SAE but did not reach a favorable NCB (?1.31% [?2.25% to 0.01%]). The ACCORD trial suggested that intensive strategy was non-inferior in MACE but inferior in SAE (?0.19% [?0.79% to 1.37%]). Results from the VALISH trial were inconclusive for SAE but suggested non-inferiority in MACE (?1.19% [?3.24% to 0.68%]). Conclusions: Compared to the standard blood pressure target, pooled data from randomized controlled trials suggest that intensive strategy did not achieve a net clinical benefit when weighing the benefit of MACE reduction against the risk of SAE under the bivariate framework.Abbreviations: Blood pressure (BP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), major adverse cardiac event (MACE), net clinical benefit (NCB), serious adverse event (SAE), systolic blood pressure (SBP).     

唐方教授脏腑辨证治疗小儿急性咳嗽经验

小儿急性咳嗽作为儿科常见病,因小儿脏腑娇嫩、形气未充,具有发病急骤、传变迅速的病理特点,故易出现各种变证,建立完善的小儿急性咳嗽诊治体系就显得尤为重要。因咳嗽病程不同,病邪部位有异,辨证论治之法亦有不同,唐方教授通过多年临床实践归纳和总结出小儿咳嗽从"肺胃肝三脏"治疗理论。该理论以脏腑辨证为基础,具有紧抓主症、用药考究、灵活加减的特点。临床用药加减则依据肺主宣发肃降,故多予炙麻黄、桔梗开宣肺气,予桑白皮、葶苈子降气止咳,且小儿生理特点为"脾常不足",故而过量进食之后,损伤脾胃,造成肺胃热盛同病,胃多气多血之腑,故予红景天、地龙、牡丹皮活血凉血清热。通过对临床医案的分析,进一步阐释从"肺胃肝三脏"治疗理论,从而为小儿咳嗽的临床诊治工作提供有益借鉴。     

数据挖掘法探讨周珉教授治疗原发性肝癌用药规律及经验总结

[目的]数据挖掘法分析周珉教授治疗原发性肝癌的中医用药规律，探讨相关病机并进行经验总结。[方法]收集2016年2月—2018年5月周珉教授门诊期间治疗原发性肝癌的方剂，运用“中医传承辅助系统（V2.50）”进行数据挖掘，并结合周珉教授临床经验，进行原发性肝癌病机探讨及用药规律分析。[结果]共收集治疗原发性肝癌方剂176首，涉及中药235种，列出方剂中的高频药物及组合规律。[结论]总结原发性肝癌以“湿热痰毒、气阴两伤”为基础病机，“清热化湿、健脾养阴”治则贯穿原发性肝癌治疗始末，同时，根据疾病不同发展阶段及治疗措施，权衡“扶正”与“祛邪”的主次分配，斟酌应用“攻毒散结”“行气化瘀”等治法，以达到改善患者生活质量、延缓疾病进展的目的。     

殷克敬教授治疗产后缺乳临床经验

介绍全国名老中医殷克敬教授治疗产后缺乳的临床经验,为临床广泛推广应用提供借鉴。殷克敬教授认为缺乳的病因无非虚实两端,虚者为产后气血不足、冲任虚损、脾胃虚弱;实者为肝气郁滞而致;治疗当以"补养""通导"为法,临床采用胸部和背部推拿按摩,膻中与天池、乳根与屋翳对刺,电针少泽、内服加减涌乳汤等。治疗方法针药并用,通补兼施,气血得补,乳络得通,故乳汁自下。