Pre- or postoperative radiotherapy for soft tissue sarcomas

Sarcomas are rare tumours arising from mesenchymal tissue. A multimodal management in an expert centre combining surgery and radiotherapy is the current standard of care for localized soft-tissue sarcomas of the extremities, to enable limb-sparing strategies. The delivery of pre- radiotherapy or postoperative radiotherapy offers similar local control and survival rates but the toxicity profile is quite different: preoperative radiotherapy increases the risk of wound complications and postoperative radiotherapy affects long-term functional outcomes. While postoperative radiotherapy has long been the rule, especially in Europe, technical improvements with image-guided- and intensity-modulated radiotherapy associated with a better management of postoperative wounds has tended to change practices with more frequent preoperative radiotherapy. More recently the possibilities of a hypofractionated regimen or potentiation by nanoparticles to increase the therapeutic index plead in favour of a preoperative delivery of radiotherapy. The aim of this paper is to report pros and cons of pre- and post-operative radiotherapy for soft-tissue sarcomas.     

Insurance-mandated preoperative dietary counseling does not improve outcome and increases dropout rates in patients considering gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity

BACKGROUND: Preoperative dietary counseling (PDC) before bariatric surgery is mandated by a growing number of insurance payers. Their claim is that PDC improves outcomes and postoperative compliance. We compared outcomes of GBP patients undergoing a mandatory 13 weeks of PDC (n = 72) to a contemporaneous group of patients with no such requirement (no-PDC; n = 252) who underwent operation between January 2000 and December 2002. METHODS: The PDC and no-PDC groups were characterized by similar male:female ratios (1:4 vs 1:4.6), mean age (42 years), mean body weight (324 lb vs 309 lb), and mean body mass index (BMI) (52 kg/m2 vs 50 kg/m2). The PDC group had a higher incidence of obstructive sleep apnea compared with the no-PDC group (41% vs 28%; P < .04) but otherwise the two groups had similar incidences of obesity-related comorbidities. The presurgery dropout rate was 50% higher in the PDC group than in the no-PDC group (28% vs 19%; P < .05). RESULTS: At 1 year follow-up, the no-PDC patients had a statistically greater percentage excess weight loss (67% vs 60%; P < .0001), lower BMI (32 vs 35; P < .015), and lower body weight (197 vs 218; P < .01). Resolution of major comorbidities, complication rates, 30-day postoperative mortality, and postoperative compliance with follow-up were similar in the two groups. CONCLUSIONS: The data demonstrate that insurance-mandated PDC is an obstacle to patient access for surgical treatment of severe obesity and has no impact on weight loss outcome or postsurgical compliance. PDC should be abandoned by the insurance industry.     

甲襞微循环监测在嗜铬细胞瘤术前准备中的应用

目的:探讨甲襞微循环监测在嗜铬细胞瘤术前药物准备中的临床意义。方法:采取前瞻性自身对照研究,对20例嗜铬细胞瘤患者术前用竹林胺药物准备前、后,以及术后2~3个月,通过WXT-4型微循环图象计算机分析系统监测甲襞微循环,在微循环形态、血管流态、血管周围的情况三方面共22项指标进行定量分析与t检验。结果:20例患者经药物准备前后,在血管襻清晰度、管襻数、输入支管径、输出支管径、管襻长度、红细胞聚集程度、血色、形态积分、流态积分、总积分这10项微循环指标的统计学检验显示差异均有统计学意义(P<0.05或P>0.01);而手术前后微循环各项指标间差异无统计学意义。结论:甲襞微循环可以较好地反映全身微循环的状况,甲襞微循环监测可作为嗜铬细胞瘤术前准备的一项重要指标应用于临床。     

Preoperative staging of gastrointestinal tumors by endosonography

Summary Intracavitary application of ultrasound was first performed for diagnostic purposes in 1967; since that time, it has been more and more widely used. As far as the gastrointestinal tract is concerned, endoscopically controlled ultrasonic probes provide visualization of the various layers of the intestinal wall. It is therefore possible to describe lesions of the esophagus, stomach, and the rectum with regard to their nature and depth of infiltration. Furthermore, periesophageal and perigastric organs can be visualized. It has become evident that endosonography is particularly important for pretherapeutic staging of tumors of the esophagus, stomach, and rectum. Here prospective comparative studies confirm the superiority of this new diagnostic procedure when compared to the methods available to date.     

深圳市南山区医疗机构消毒效果分析

目的:了解南山区各医院及个体诊所卫生消毒状况。方法:对2002~2003年间区属各医院及个体诊所消毒效果的监测结果进行统计分析。结果:2002年与2003年区镇医院消毒效果平均合格率分别为94.4%和97.1%,个体诊所平均合格率分别为87.6%和89.8%。结论:区(镇)医院消毒效果优于个体诊所,空气合格率普遍较低,卫生防疫机构要加大力度进行监督检测,同时加强对医务人员进行消毒知识培训。     

彝药喙尾琵琶甲的药材质量标准研究

目的:制定彝药喙尾琵琶甲药材质量标准,为药用动物资源的开发利用提供科学依据.方法:采用生药学和薄层色谱法对其进行研究,并测定其水分、灰分和浸出物的含量.结累:对喙尾琵琶甲的性状、显微特征进行了描述;对三个不同产地的喙尾琵琶甲进行了薄层色谱鉴别,测定了水分、总灰分、酸不溶性灰分、重金属和浸出物的含量.结论:较全面的考察了喙尾琵琶甲的各项质量指标,为制定喙尾琵琶甲的质量标准提供了依据.