Could an echo contrast agent be helpful in identifying renal artery stenosis?

BACKGROUND: Diagnosis of renal artery stenosis using echo color-Doppler is subjected to several limitations. The aim of this study was to examine if the routine use of a contrast agent could be helpful in identifying renal artery stenosis (RAS). METHODS: We analysed 35 patients affected by RAS using an echo color-Doppler coupled with a contrast agent. All patients presented arterial hypertension, with a good drugs control, and mean serum creatinine of 1.8 mg/dL. All patients previously underwent angiography. RAS was at the origin of the artery in 27 patients, at the intermediate tract in 8. All patients had already been submitted to a basal echo color-Doppler. RESULTS: The contrast agent determined a significant increase in the average colour signal in all the subjects, and a better evaluation of the spectral waveforms, if compared to the basal examination. CONCLUSIONS: The results obtained showed that the contrast agent doesn't improve the diagnosis of RAS, especially in vascular origin stenosis, while it shows a real advantage in the intermediate or distal stenosis which are better visualized.     

Evaluation of neonatal pneumothorax

Pneumothorax progresses quickly in newborns and can lead to death. This study collected data prospectively over a 2-year period on risk factors, clinical course and prognostic factors of newborn cases diagnosed and treated for pneumothorax. Thirty patients were evaluated for risk factors including concurrent disease, method and duration of chest drainage, oxygen saturation and mechanical ventilation. Pneumothorax developed mostly in male and mature infants during the first 48 h following birth; risk factors included concurrent respiratory distress syndrome and meconium aspiration. Mechanical ventilation was undertaken in 18 (60%) of the patients. Closed-tube drainage was used in 28 (93%) of the patients. Nine out of 10 patients (90%) whose oxygen saturation remained < 90% died. Thus, pneumothorax may develop during the neonatal period, especially in the presence of risk factors, and neonates with < 90% oxygen saturation, despite treatment, have a high mortality rate.     

A systematic review of medical diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome in childbearing

Objectiveto review all published papers examining medical diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome and pregnancy with a view to assessing the implications of the diagnosis and the condition itself for childbearing women, midwives and medical practitioners.Designsystematic review.Search strategyMEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, Web of Science and Cochrane databases were searched from 1950 to 2006 inclusive. Papers were read by two independent researchers and selected if they informed the link between Ogilvie's syndrome and childbearing or were concerned with other aspects of maternal mortality.Findings23 papers fulfilled the selection criteria and were of a suitable standard. Inconsistencies in relation to the diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome were noted, and an increase in maternal deaths from this condition was reported up to 2002.Key conclusionsthis paper highlights the strengths and weaknesses of medical diagnosis, as exemplified by Ogilvie's syndrome. The scientific basis of diagnoses such as Ogilvie's syndrome may deserve attention. This diagnosis has been shown to be unstable, both in temporal and aetiological terms. The midwifery and nursing reaction to the abrupt appearance of this condition is, at best, unfortunate. The attribution of blame to midwifery practices is deserving of a more robust response.Implications for practicethere may be clinical implications of the diagnosis of Ogilvie's syndrome for other aspects of maternity (including any nursing) care. A particularly significant area is the widely recognised increase in the caesarean rate with which Ogilvie's syndrome has been closely linked.     

"The best laid schemes...": an evaluation of the extension of midwifery training in Scotland

A research project was undertaken to evaluate the extension of midwifery training in Scotland. The evaluative criterion used was the new midwives' employment decisions. The data on students' valuation of their training suggest that they regard their time as having been well spent and other data show that socialization into midwifery increased with the longer training. Confidence in midwifery skills did not change markedly in association with the extension of training. Certain benefits of the longer course anticipated among midwives, are shown by these data not to have happened.     

The relationship of cerebral atrophy and T1 in alcoholics: an MRI study

There was a significant correlation between two measures of cerebral atrophy (the ventricle to brain ratio and the relative cerebral volume) and T1 in 19 detoxified alcoholics. This provides further evidence that T1 is a marker of structural damage in alcoholics although the partial volume effect of CSF may contribute to this finding. This has implications for studies comparing alcoholics to normal controls and suggests that better ways of excluding CSF need to be found.     

Reducing sample sizes in two-stage phase II cancer trials by using continuous tumour shrinkage end-points

Reducing the number of patients required for a clinical trial is important for shortening development time. Phase II cancer trials assess the tumour-shrinking effect of a novel compound through a binary end-point formed from the percentage change in total lesion diameter. We compare single-arm two-stage designs which use the binary end-point to those which directly use the continuous end-point.Using the continuous end-point results in lower expected and maximum sample sizes. For larger trials the reduction is around 37%. This assumes that the dichotomisation point of the continuous end-point is chosen to give the best sample size, with the trial design using the binary end-point performing even worse otherwise. We consider a previous trial designed using a Simon two-stage design and show that if the continuous end-point had been used, the expected and maximum sample sizes of the trial would be reduced by around 50%.Using the continuous end-point in a two-stage cancer trial results in large sample size reductions. The methods discussed in this paper work best when the number of complete responses is low, as is true in several types of cancer. We discuss what could be done if this is not the case.