Uppsala University Hospital 300 years—a survey of the surgical development

Professor Lars Roberg, the initiator of the Nosocomium Academicum (1708), our first university hospital in Sweden, claimed that ‘no-one who does not understand surgery is a completely trained doctor’. However, it was not until the end of 19th century that modern surgery was born.

The Academic Hospital was opened in 1867, and at the turn of that century Uppsala had a flourishing period under the influence of Karl Gustav Lennander, professor of surgery. In 1889 he performed the first appendectomy in Scandinavia.

At the end of the 19th century the surgical tree began to branch out. In Uppsala gynaecology and obstetrics was the first to be an independent speciality (1891). It was followed by ophthalmology (1894) with Allvar Gullstrand as professor and head of the department. Gullstrand received the Nobel Prize in medicine in 1911. A separate department for diseases of the ear, nose, and throat was founded in 1916 with the Nobel laureate Robert Bárány as head.

Thoracic surgery began in Uppsala in the 1940s with lung surgery and was separated from general surgery in 1958 with Viking Olov Björk as head of the department. Björk introduced open heart surgery in Uppsala.

In 1951 reconstructive plastic surgery was organized by Tord Skoog, who devoted special interest to operations for cleft lip and palate surgery.

Neurosurgery was established in 1962, and Uppsala has held a prominent position in the development of modern neurointensive care.

During the 1970s general surgery became subspecialized into gastrointestinal, endocrine, and vascular surgery. At the same time fracture surgery was transferred to the orthopaedists, and urological surgery became an independent speciality. Transplantation surgery was introduced in Uppsala in 1967, when Professor Lars Thorén performed the first kidney transplantation. Today Uppsala has a leading position in transplantation of pancreatic islets cells.     

Malaria in the post-genomics era: light at the end of the tunnel or just another train?

Malaria remains the third leading cause of death attributable to an infectious disease worldwide, with an estimated death toll of over 2 million per year, predominately in sub-Saharan Africa. The first serious attempt to eradicate this disease was unsuccessful, and 50 years later in 1998 a second programme coined "roll back malaria" was started. While this programme is at present unlikely to reach its stated aims, the completion of the genome sequencing projects on the human host, the mosquito vector, and the malaria parasite offers new hope. It is probable that the burden of disease caused by the most malignant form of the parasite Plasmodium falciparum can be, if not eliminated, then effectively suppressed within a generation through new and novel treatments aimed at all three arms of malaria control.     

Theoretical foundation of family health promotion——the orientation of family planning development in urban area

The world is experiencing a rapid development in the 21th century. All countries estab- lished their schemes considering their situation of social and economic development. It is widely recognized that the key element of development is “people”. As to t…     

Are medical ethicists out of touch? Practitioner attitudes in the US and UK towards decisions at the end of life

OBJECTIVES: To assess whether UK and US health care professionals share the views of medical ethicists about medical futility, withdrawing/withholding treatment, ordinary/extraordinary interventions, and the doctrine of double effect. DESIGN, SUBJECTS AND SETTING: A 138-item attitudinal questionnaire completed by 469 UK nurses studying the Open University course on "Death and Dying" was compared with a similar questionnaire administered to 759 US nurses and 687 US doctors taking the Hastings Center course on "Decisions near the End of Life". RESULTS: Practitioners accept the relevance of concepts widely disparaged by bioethicists: double effect, medical futility, and the distinctions between heroic/ordinary interventions and withholding/withdrawing treatment. Within the UK nurses' group a "rationalist" axis of respondents who describe themselves as having "no religion" are closer to the bioethics consensus on withholding and withdrawing treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Professionals' beliefs differ substantially from the recommendations of their professional bodies and from majority opinion in bioethics. Bioethicists should be cautious about assuming that their opinions will be readily accepted by practitioners.     

Escalating the pathway from the associate's degree in nursing to the bachelor of science in nursing and/or the master of science in nursing: what is standing in the way?

For more than 25 years, promoting higher levels of education for registered nurses (RNs) has been a strategic theme in national reports. Yet, only 42.2% of RNs in North Carolina hold a bachelor of science in nursing, a master of science in nursing, or a doctorate in nursing. Creating a seamless educational pathway for RNs is essential for achieving this goal.     

Pharmacological management of co-morbid conditions at the end of life: is less more?

Background

Co-morbid conditions (CMCs) are present in over half of patients with cancer over 50 years of age. As life-limiting illnesses progress, the benefits and burdens of treatments for CMCs become unclear. Relevant issues include physiological changes in advanced illness, time-to-benefit of medications, burden of medications, and psychological impact of discontinuing medications. Optimal prescribing is unclear due to lack of evidence.

Objectives

The objectives are to determine prescribing practice, for CMCs, in a single SPC service.

Methods

Patients referred to a single specialist palliative care (SPC) service, who died between 1/8/2010 and 30/9/2012, were identified. Medical notes were reviewed, and data collected on prescribing at 3 months, 1 month, and 1 week prior to death.

Results

Fifty-two patients with a median age of 74.5 years were identified; 41 patients (79 %) had a malignant condition. 50 % died in hospital. Patients had a mean of three CMCs. A mean of 4.6 medications for CMCs were prescribed to patients over 65. A mean of 10 medications in total were prescribed at 1 week before death. One week before death, one-third of patients continued to be prescribed aspirin, and over one-quarter a statin.

Conclusions

Total medication burden increases as time to death shortens, due to continuation of medications for CMCs, and addition of medications for symptom control. There is a need for research to demonstrate the impact of polypharmacy at the end of life, in order to formulate a framework to guide practice.     

Reviewing the past and looking to wards the future for a better control of infectious diseases in the coming century

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General practice: a leading provider of medical student education in the 21st century?

General practice is well placed to become a major setting for medical student education over the next decade. New models of clinical education are required, to take account of changes in the patient population, disease profile and management strategies. While there has been an increase in general practice-based and other community-based education, there is the potential for further expansion. Evidence for the positive role of general practitioners and general practice in medical education is growing, including the benefits of prevocational training in general practice. If GPs are to assume a major role in community-based education of medical students, there will need to be changes in funding structures and supporting resources, particularly at this time of increasing medical student numbers and workforce shortage and maldistribution.     

Dynamic gadoteridol-enhanced MR imaging in the end of growing long bone of piglets

Background It is of value to identify the non-invasive means that can accurately reflect the blood supply of epiphysis and is more sensitive in detection of early ischemia of epiphysis than the conventional gadoteridol （Gd）-enhanced SE TlWI. The aim of this study was to evaluate the blood supply of various anatomic regions at the end of normal growing long bone using dynamic Gd-enhanced MR imaging and compare the sensitivities between dynamic Gd-enhanced MR imaging and conventional Gd-enhanced SE TlWl in the detection of decreased blood perfusion of early epiphyseal ischemia. Methods Twenty-seven two-week-old piglets were used in this study. For the study of the end of normal growing long bone, unilateral MR imaging of the distal femur and proximal tibia was performed on eleven piglets. The comparison was made among various anatomic regions （physeal and epiphyseal cartilage, metaphyseal spongiosa, the secondary ossification center and metaphysis） using MRI in terms of the enhancement ratio and speed. Their relationships with the histological findings, including RBC/mm^2 and vessel distribution, were evaluated. To examine ischemic femoral head, 16 piglets were divided into two groups, with the control group having 8 piglets （involving 16 normal hips） and an ischemic group having 8 piglets （involving 16 hips with hyperabduction）. In the ischemic group, MR imaging was performed on the hips in the hyperabduction immobilized persistently for 30 minutes. After MRI, the piglets were allowed to ambulate freely for 1 day and the same MR scanning was then repeated in a neutral position. The difference in enhancement ratio and speed of the femoral head between the control and ischemic group were evaluated. Results With regard to the end of normal growing long bone, the enhancement ratio of the metaphyseal spongiosa was greatest among all the anatomic regions （P 〈0.001）. The enhancement ratio of physeal cartilage was greater than that of epiphyseal cartilage （P 〈0. 001）, which was the lowest in al     

Three types of miltenberger glycophorin found in a malaria hyperendemic area of Guizhou Province

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The role of chemotherapy at the end of life: "when is enough, enough?"

Sarah Elizabeth Harrington, MD; Thomas J. Smith, MD

JAMA. 2008;299(22):2667-2678.

Patients face difficult decisions about chemotherapy near the end of life. Such treatment might prolong survival or reduce symptoms but cause adverse effects, prevent the patient from engaging in meaningful life review and preparing for death, and preclude entry into hospice. Palliative care and oncology clinicians should be logical partners in caring for patients with serious cancers for which symptom control, medically appropriate goal setting, and communication are paramount, but some studies have shown limited cooperation. We illustrate how clinicians involved in palliative care and oncology can more effectively work together with the story of Mr L, a previously healthy 56-year-old man, who wanted to survive his lung cancer at all costs. He lived 14 months with 3 types of chemotherapy, received chemotherapy just 6 days before his death, and resisted entering hospice until his prognosis and options were explicitly communicated. Approaches to communication about prognosis and treatment options and questions that patients may want to ask are discussed.

     

Role of the area postrema of medulla oblongata in the regulation of canine int erdigestive migrating motor complex

Objective To determine the effect of the area postrema (AP) of the medulla oblongata on gastrointestinal interdigestive migrating motor complex (MMC) and the plasma motil in level. Methods Interdigestive MMC activities of the antrum and duodenum were recorded by strain gauge implanted on the serosa of 8 conscious dogs.A cannula was intubated in femoral vein for motilin injection.The plasma motilin concentration was measur edby RIA.We observed: (1) normal interdigestive MMC activity and fluctuatio ns in plasma motilin concentration; (2) the effects of electrically damaging the AP on MMC activity and plasma motilin level; (3) whether intravenous injection of motilin could induce phase Ⅲ contractions after the AP was destroyed.Results (1) Typical interdigestive MMC with phase Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ, and Ⅳ was recorded in nor mal dogs.Phase Ⅲ was concurrent with the peak of plasma motilin level.(2) I n damaged AP dogs, antroduodenal interdigestive MMC contractions were suppressed ; cyclic, phasic and migratory pattern of MMC was disrupted.Plasma motilin con centration was decreased.Intravenous injection of motilin could not induce pha se Ⅲ contractions. Conclusions The area postrema might play an important role, which is mediated by motilin, on the regulation of interdigestive MMC.     

Recalling the glorious past six decades and foreseeing a promising new century — the 60-year development of Chinese urological surgery

Urological surgery did not take shape as a discipline until the establishment of the new China. From small and weak to large and strong, and with the painstaking efforts of several generations since the inception of reform and opening-up policy, China＇s urological surgery has developed into a significant subject subordinated to clinical medicine.