Limitations of current prophylaxis against influenza virus infection

Avian influenza has been a source of worldwide concern since Hong Kong authorities detected the first outbreak in 1997. Mainly as a result of poultry-to-human transmission, more than 200 cases of infection in humans have been attributed to the A/H5, A/H7, and A/H9 viral subtypes, with a case fatality rate for A/H5N1 infections exceeding 50%. A mutant or reassortant virus capable of efficient human-to-human transmission can set off a pandemic. Increased attention to prophylaxis against viral infection has identified several potentially complementary approaches: nonpharmacologic measures (eg, travel restrictions), vaccination, chemotherapeutic agents, and herbal/natural products. All have significant limitations that point out the need for additional modalities. Herbal/natural products, particularly those based on green tea extract, offer promise as adjuncts or alternatives to current interventions and warrant further evaluation in well-controlled human trials.     

Implications of current procompetitive approaches on EDs

Health reform is now predicted to occur in the marketplace without much further governmental intervention. The major vehicles driving this fortuitous trend are the managed care plans, capitated payment, and the development of complex and fiscally awesome health networks organized by hospitals, physicians, and health insurance companies. In the context of this procompetitive environment, potential decreases are projected in current emergency department (ED) volumes, demand for emergency medicine (EM) physicians, and anticipated workload and remuneration of doctors working in EDs. Eventually, mandated universal insurance for 260 million Americans will create a slight increase in total ED visits; additional cost constraints will force the closure of a number of hospital EDs; and EM specialists will experience less ideal working conditions, requiring them to work more hours to maintain their current incomes.     

Atrial fibrillation: current therapeutic approaches.

Atrial fibrillation is associated with potentially life-threatening strokes. Anticoagulation with warfarin or aspirin reduces the risk of embolic events in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation and mitral valve stenosis or other underlying heart disease. In patients with acute onset of atrial fibrillation, anticoagulation is not necessary before cardioversion. However, in patients with chronic atrial fibrillation, anticoagulation should be started three weeks before cardioversion and continued for four weeks after the return of normal sinus rhythm. Quinidine remains the agent most commonly used for medical cardioversion in patients who are hemodynamically stable. If a patient is hemodynamically unstable or the atrial fibrillation is not corrected with drug therapy, direct-current electrical cardioversion has a high success rate. Antiarrhythmic (quinidine) therapy is often continued indefinitely to help maintain sinus rhythm.     

A review of current approaches to aural rehabilitation

Degree of hearing impairment is not directly related to hearing handicap or disability. Since the 1940s measures of peripheral auditory function have been the basis of hearing aid selection even though they provide no direct information on psychosocial, vocational, or educational handicap or disability or on rehabilitation needs. Rehabilitation beyond provision of the hearing aid has been limited and demands new approaches. The evolution of aural rehabilitation is based on the notion of its being an ongoing process, of communication as a behaviour which relies on the integration of many types of information, and of the individual as a total person with multi-faceted hearing needs.     

A review of current approaches to aural rehabilitation

Summary

Degree of hearing impairment is not directly related to hearing handicap or disability. Since the 1940s measures of peripheral auditory function have been the basis of hearing aid selection even though they provide no direct information on psychosocial, vocational, or educational handicap or disability or on rehabilitation needs. Rehabilitation beyond provision of the hearing aid has been limited and demands new approaches. The evolution of aural rehabilitation is based on the notion of its being an ongoing process, of communication as a behaviour which relies on the integration of many types of information, and of the individual as a total person with multi-faceted hearing needs.

Résumé

Le degré de la déficience auditive n'est pas directement lié à un handicap auditif ou à une infirmité. Depuis 1940, le choix d'une aide auditive a été basé sur les mesures de la fonction périphérique auditive alors que celles-ci ne fournissent aucune information directe sur le handicap causé, du point de vue psychosocial, éducatif, ou en ce qui concerne la vocation—ni sur l'infirmité elle-měme ou les besoins que nécessite une rééducation. Une rééducation au-delà de l'apport d'un aide auditive est restée limitée et a besoin d'approches nouvelles. L'évolution de la rééducation aurale se base sur la notion qu'il s'agit d'un processus continuel, de la communication en tant que comportement qui dépend d'une intégration de types d'information multiples, ainsi que d'un individu en tant que personne dans sa totalité aux besoins auditifs multiples.

Zusammenfassung

Der Grad der Schwerhörigkeit steht nicht in einer direkten Beziehung zur Gehörsbehinderung oder -beeinträchtigung. Seit den 1940er Jahren wurden Messungen der peripheren Gehörsfunktion als Basisinformation für die Wahl von Hörgeräten verwendet, jedoch geben diese keine direkte Auskunft über Behinderungen psychosozialer oder beruflicher Art oder im Unterricht. Rehabilitationsmassnahmen, ausser der eigentlichen Beschaffung des Hörgerätes, waren bisher spärlich. In dieser Beziehung bedarf es einer neuen Einstellung. Die Arbeit der Rehabilitation der Gehörgeschädigten sollte darauf basieren, dass es sich um einen fortschreitenden Vorgang handelt. Als Verhalten empfiehlt sich die Integration vieler Typen der Information, welche das Individuum mit sehr unterschiedlichem, vielfältigem Anspruch an sein Gehör versteht.

Resumen

El grado de menoscabo de la audición no está directamente relacionado con la incapacitación o disminución auditoria. Desde los años 1940, las determinaciones de la función auditoria periférica han constituído la base de la selección de un audifono, si bien no aportan datos directos sobre el tipo de disminución psicosológica, vocacional o formativa, ni tampoco sobre la rehabilitación necesaria. Esta última, aparte de la provisión del audifono, ha sido muy limitada y exije nuevos enfoques. La evolución de la rehabilitación aural se ha basado en el concepto de que se trata de un proceso continuado, de que la comunicación depende de la combinación de diversos tipos de información, y de que el individuo es una persona completa con necesidades auditorias de muchas facetas.     

Pott disease: current diagnostic and therapeutic approaches

Spinal tuberculosis, or Pott's disease, has been known since ancient times; it was a common orthopaedic illness until 1950, but the progress of specific therapies confined it to third word countries; its resurgency in recent years in developed countries is due to drug resistance, immigration from endemic areas, and an increase in immunodeficient patients. Spinal disease is found in about 1% of all tuberculosis cases. Modern treatment consists of a diagnostic phase, based on clinical findings and imaging exams, and of a medical and surgical therapy. Our patients have been treated with a three antibiotic drugs scheme, and underwent early surgical treatment, in order to assure the curettage of the lesion and obtain spine stabilization, so as to avoid spinal deformity.     

Gastroesophageal reflux disease: current treatment approaches.

Gastroesophageal reflux disease is a common, usually lifelong, disorder resulting from chronic abnormal exposure of the lower esophagus to gastric contents. Motor dysfunction of the lower esophageal sphincter is the primary cause of this disease. At this writing, no medical therapies can completely resolve abnormal lower esophageal sphincter function; therefore, the treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease centers on suppression of intragastric acid secretion. Available acid-suppressant medications include proton pump inhibitors, H2-receptor antagonists, and antacids. Of these, the proton pump inhibitors are recognized generally as the mainstays of both short-term and long-term therapy for gastroesophageal reflux disease. All have a low incidence of side effects and are well tolerated by most patients. Five proton pump inhibitors are available currently for patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease. Of these, esomeprazole has shown greater efficacy in controlling intragastric acidity than the others. For patients with erosive esophagitis, esomeprazole has demonstrated higher healing rates and more rapid sustained resolution of heartburn than omeprazole or lansoprazole after up to 8 weeks of once-daily treatment. Because new therapies for gastroesophageal reflux disease are highly effective, patients can be reassured that their disease will be well controlled and their symptoms resolved with a safe and appropriate treatment.     

First trimester ultrasound: current approaches and practical pitfalls

Revolutionary technological improvements and high-frequency transvaginal scanning have enabled the resolution of ultrasound imaging in the first trimester to increase such that detailed early fetal development can now be well visualized. This investment in imaging technology has enabled not only normal embryonic development but also chromosomal abnormalities and structural anomalies to be more easily and accurately diagnosed before the second trimester. This article is intended to help radiologists in the interpretation and clinical application of normal and abnormal first trimester ultrasound findings in early pregnancy. We review the current literature and applications and interpretations of first trimester ultrasound.     

Supravalvar aortic stenosis: current surgical approaches and outcomes

Supravalvar aortic stenosis (SVAS) is a congenital anomaly characterized by a discrete or diffuse narrowing of the ascending aorta. It may also be associated with right-ventricular outflow tract obstruction, aortic valve pathology and coronary ostial stenosis. While present in both familial and sporadic forms, it demonstrates a strong association with William–Beuren syndrome, both being anomalies associated with defects in the elastin gene. In this article, the authors have discussed the etiology, morphology, clinical presentation and genetic basis of SVAS. Various surgical approaches, both conventional and recent, have been discussed and demonstrated with the aid of diagrams. Single-, two- and three-sinus methods have been presented, along with a comparative analysis of early results, associated procedures, late mortality and reoperation. In conclusion, the authors have described their institutional experience of more than 40 years in the surgical management of SVAS.     

Update on current approaches to diagnosis and treatment of onychomycosis

ABSTRACT

Introduction: Onychomycosis is a chronic fungal infection of the nail bed, matrix or plate. It accounts for roughly 50% of all nail disease. As the prevalence of onychomycosis is increasing, a critical review of diagnostic techniques and treatment options is required.

Areas covered: This review discusses the current diagnostic techniques associated with diagnosing onychomycosis, such as microscopy, culture, periodic acid Schiff stain (PAS) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Oral and topical therapies are also discussed, as well as, the utility of device-based treatments and combination therapy.

Expert commentary: Culture for the diagnosis of onychomycosis is the gold standard; however, PCR is more sensitive and should be considered. In general, topical treatments are recommended for mild to moderate disease and oral treatments should be considered for moderate to severe disease. Combination therapy and device-based treatments may enhance cure rates, further study is required.     

Granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor: current practice and novel approaches

Endogenous myeloid colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) have demonstrated the ability to enhance the clinical management of immunosuppressed patients with cancer. These agents are associated with significant decreases in chemotherapy-associated infections, antibiotic use, length of hospital stays, and mortality. Two major endogenous recombinant myeloid CSFs currently are being manufactured. Granulocyte macrophage CSF (GM-CSF) (sargramostim, Leukine, Immunex Corporation, Seattle, WA) has broad activity in the proliferation and differentiation of myeloid lineage progenitor cells, whereas granulocyte CSF (filgrastim, Neupogen, Amgen, Inc., Thousand Oaks, CA) acts selectively on cells of the granulocyte lineage. Clinical trials suggest that GM-CSF has clinical benefits beyond enhancing neutrophil recovery, including shortening the duration of mucositis and diarrhea, stimulating dendritic cells, preventing infection, acting as an adjuvant vaccine agent, and facilitating antitumor activity.     

Imaging of bladder cancer: update on current approaches for diagnosis

Imaging plays a mainstay role in evaluation of patients with bladder cancer, especially for diagnosis, local and distant staging and treatment follow up. In this article, we aim to review and to update conventional and functional imaging methods used in clinical management of bladder cancer.