Effect of local mupirocin application on exit-site infection and peritonitis in an Indian peritoneal dialysis population.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus-associated peritonitis and catheter exit-site infections (ESIs) are important causes of hospitalization and catheter loss in patients undergoing chronic peritoneal dialysis. Intranasal and topical use of mupirocin has been found to be an effective strategy in decreasing S. aureus-related infectious complications in persons who are carriers of S. aureus; however, there is no consensus regarding the prophylactic use of mupirocin irrespective of carrier status. We aimed to determine the potential effectiveness of application of mupirocin cream at the catheter exit site in preventing ESI and peritonitis irrespective of carrier status in a tropical country such as India. METHODS: This prospective historically controlled study was done in a total of 40 patients. From August 2003, all patients, incident and prevalent, were instructed to apply 2% mupirocin cream daily to the exit site instead of the older practice of povidone-iodine and gauze dressing. Patients were not screened to determine whether they were S. aureus carriers. The infection-related data for 1 year, until July 2004, were compared with the historical control, which was infection-related data for the year preceding the year of mupirocin application. RESULTS: Mean age of the study population was 62 years, with 61.8% being male and 64.3% being diabetic. Local application of mupirocin led to a significant reduction in the incidence density per patient-month of both ESI and peritonitis compared to controls (0.15 vs 0.37 and 0.37 vs 0.67, p = 0.01 for both). This amounted to a relative reduction of 60.5% and 55% respectively. ESI and peritonitis due to S. aureus were also significantly lower in the study group compared to controls (incidence density per patient-month 0.05 vs 0.13 and zero vs 0.17 respectively, p < 0.01 for both). There occurred no catheter removal due to infection-related complications during the study period compared to two during the control period. None of the patients reported a mupirocin-related adverse effect. CONCLUSIONS: Daily application of mupirocin at the exit site is a well-tolerated and effective strategy in reducing the incidence of ESI and peritonitis in a tropical country such as India. It can thus significantly reduce morbidity, catheter loss, and transfer to hemodialysis in peritoneal dialysis patients.     

Thoracic disc herniation in acromegaly

Herniation of a thoracic disc in an acromegalic giant is reported. Degenerative changes in the spine in association with dorsal kyphosis, and the additional strain, resulted in the disc prolapse.     

Circulating testosterone in pure motor stroke

Serum LH, FSH and testosterone were quantitated in 9 patients with pure motor stroke within 24-48 h of its reported onset. High circulating LH with normal or low testosterone was noted in 8 of them. In response to an intravenous bolus of GnRH, the LH responses were exaggerated in all, but the FSH responses in 7 of them were comparable to those in eugonadal age matched controls. The rise in testosterone following 2000U hCG daily for 3 consecutive days was insignificant in the patients group compared to the controls. The data suggest normally operative pituitary testicular feed-back but decreased Leydig cell response in pure motor stroke.     

推动医疗改革应制定分区医疗系统战略

医疗改革是一个世界性难题，各国在医疗改革中都会遇到各自相关的问题。改革艰巨，但并不是不可能完成，本文作者认为，通过关注以分区的方式提供医疗服务可以让医疗改革取得实效。本文从划定分区边界的方式出发，介绍了制定分区医疗战略的五个步骤，并讨论了各医疗系统成功实施各自战略所需采取的措施，这也可以为我国正在推行的医疗改革提供一定的借鉴和参考。     

Brainstem Evoked Response audiometry in diabetes mellitus

This study was undertaken to record the Brainstem Evoked Responses in a group of 20 diabetic patients with normal hearing and were compared with responses of another group of 20 normal individuals. Eighth nerve transmission till the level of cochlear nucleus was found to be normal in diabetics. The delay in latency of Wave III, IV and V and interpeak latencies (I–III, I–V) were noted to be statistically significant, thus suggesting the presence of central neuropathy in patients with diabetes. No significant sex difference on latency of waves was observed.     

Selective elimination of mRNAs in vivo: complementary oligodeoxynucleotides promote RNA degradation by an RNase H-like activity.

Oligodeoxynucleotides lead to translation arrest of complementary mRNAs in the wheat germ translation system by a degradation of the mRNA. In an attempt to develop an effective reverse genetic approach in vivo, we demonstrate that injection of short (15- to 30-nucleotide) oligonucleotides into Xenopus oocytes leads to complete degradation of both injected and endogenous mRNAs by means of an RNase H-like activity.