From the "what" to the "how": Teaching integrative medicine-related skills to medical students during COVID-19

ObjectiveTo examine the impact of an integrative medicine (IM) course on self-perceived IM-related communication and research skills.MethodsA 3-day mandatory "hybrid" (online and in-person) IM course was held within COVID-19 restrictions for 161 pre-clerkship medical students, with workshops facilitated by mentor healthcare professionals (IM and non-IM) and student-directed tasks. Self-perceived levels of 6 IM-related skills were scored (from 1 to 5) for history-taking; communicating with patients with "alternative" health-beliefs; referral to IM consultations; assessing risks/benefits; and working with non-medical IM practitioners.Results137 students (85.1%) completed pre-/post-course questionnaires, with overall scores improving from pre-course (1.98 ± 0.92) to post-course (3.31 ± 0.63; p < 0.0001), for the entire group and student subgroups (with vs. without prior IM experience). Multivariate analysis found no association between age, gender, primary language or prior experience with IM and improvement in skill scores.ConclusionsThe IM course increased self-perceived skill levels, reflecting the course curriculum and workshops. Further research needs to explore the application of these skills during clinical training.Practice implicationsTeaching medical students about IM in a course comprising communication and research skills was shown to be feasible and effective. The application of IM-related skills needs to be evaluated during the clinical clerkship.     

Dose Rate Simulation of the Urine Collection Bag of Patients Undergoing Bone Scintigraphy

ObjectiveThe objective of the study was to estimate the determined dose rate in the urine collection bag of patients undergoing bone scintigraphy.MethodThe ^99m Tc-methylene diphosphonate accumulated activity eliminatedin urine was estimated and calculated by the Committee on Medical Internal Radiation Dose 14 method. This allowed the calculation of the dose rate emitted at distances of 10, 50, and 100 cm and the creation of a simulation collection bag to validate the calculations by means of measurements carried out with a Geiger Müller counter in the same situations. A linear regression test was performed to verify the significant difference between the measurements and validate the dose rate estimate.ResultsThe calculated and measured dose rates showed the highest values at a distance of 10 cm up to 3 hours after administering the radiopharmaceutical to the patient. After this period, as the collection bag was emptied for image acquisition, the dose rate was close to the background radiation.ConclusionThe maximum accumulated activity in the urine collection bag, and consequently, the maximum dose rate, occurs at the time of emptying the bag for image acquisition. Therefore, in addition to exposure to radiation, there is a considerable risk of contamination by ionizing radiation for the professional who performs the procedure. To minimize this risk and the exposure, the recommendation is to use personal protective equipment and to consider radiological protection factors, which are shorter exposure time, longer distance, and greater barrier between the professional and the radioactive source.     

中医药对淋巴管新生与回流功能的作用研究进展＊

淋巴管作为循环系统的重要组成部分之一，具有调节机体体液稳态，协助免疫监视和肠道脂质吸收等重要作用。淋巴管新生是机体生理和病理过程中维持脉管系统结构和功能正常的重要手段，淋巴管新生调控对于防治肿瘤、心血管等诸多疾病有着潜在的临床转化意义；淋巴回流功能则与关节炎症等疾病发病机制关系密切。在循环系统中，相较于中医药调控血管相关疾病的发病机制已取得很大进展，近年来对于淋巴管的研究则明显相对滞后。本文从中医药作用于淋巴管新生及回流功能角度对这一领域的研究进展作一综述，以期为临床上中医药治疗相关疾病提供新的思路与方法。     

蒙药安神补心六味丸预防给药对心肌缺血大鼠的保护作用及氧化应激水平的影响＊

目的 研究蒙药安神补心六味丸对大鼠心肌缺血损伤的保护作用和氧化应激机制。方法 将60只大鼠随机分为空白组、模型组、阳性对照组（丹参滴丸）及蒙药安神补心六味丸低、中、高剂量组，使用腹腔注射异丙肾上腺素方法制备大鼠急性心肌缺血模型，记录并观察大鼠心电图活动变化，然后进行腹主动脉取血，分离血清，测定乳酸脱氢酶（Lactic dehydrogenase，LDH）、肌酸激酶（Creatine kinase，CK）、磷酸肌酸激酶（Creatine kinase isoenzyme，CK-MB）、谷草转氨酶（Aspartate aminotransferase，AST）、超氧化物歧化酶（Superoxide dismutase，SOD）、丙二醛（Malondialdehyde，MDA）和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（Glutathione peroxidase，GSH-PX）含量变化。取心肌组织固定，对大鼠心肌组织进行HE染色，通过对心肌酶学和和心肌组织形态学两个方面来考察蒙药安神补心六味丸对大鼠心肌缺血模型的保护作用。结果 与空白组比较，模型组大鼠血清中LDH活性极显著升高（P<0.01），CK、CK-MB、AST、MDA活性均显著升高（P<0.05），SOD活性显著降低（P<0.05），GSH-PX活性高度显著降低（P<0.001），且差异均具有统计学意义；与模型组比较，蒙药安神补心六味丸组高剂量组大鼠血清中LDH、CK、CK-MB、MDA活性显著降低（P<0.05），SOD活性显著升高（P<0.05），GSH-PX活性极显著升高（P<0.01），且差异均具有统计学意义。从HE染色分析，蒙药安神补心六味丸能够改善因缺血而造成的心肌组织损伤。结论 蒙药安神补心六味丸能有效改善心肌组织病理状态，减轻大鼠心肌缺血损伤，以达到保护心肌作用，机制可能与氧化应激机制相关。     

糖尿病前期中医证型及证素特点分析＊

目的 探讨糖尿病前期的中医证型及证素分布特点。方法 检索中国知网、万方及维普三大数据库中收录的自建库以来有关糖尿病前期证型的临床研究文献，对中医证型进行规范整理，建立数据库，提取证素，运用数据挖掘技术中的关联分析、聚类分析探究证素分布规律。结果 共纳入10篇文献，总有效病例1620例，证型经规范处理后整理为18个，主要证型为脾虚痰湿证。共提取证素13个，主要病位证素为脾，主要病性证素为气虚、湿和痰，关联分析显示脾—湿支持度和置信度最高，聚类分析结果可得到3个聚类组。结论 糖尿病前期病位在脾，气虚、脾、痰、湿是常见证素，临床诊治糖尿病前期应注重从脾论治，需辨证施治。