Nutrition and oral health

Reduced chewing function in community-dwelling older people with adequate general health is linked to having fewer than 20 teeth present or to wearing removable dentures. By chewing for longer periods of time or swallowing larger food particles they are normally able to compensate for the impaired function. The masticatory function can be restored by adequate prosthetic therapy, which results in increased activity of the masticatory muscles during chewing and reduces the chewing time and the number of chewing strokes until swallowing. In frail or dependent elderly people undernutrition is prevalent because of health problems, reduced appetite and poor quality of life. Poor oral health and xerostomia are often associated with a reduced body mass index and serum albumin level and the avoidance of difficult-to-chew foods. Maintenance or re-establishment of masticatory function is an integral part of the medical health care of these patients, with the aim of improving their nutritional status and quality of life.     

Evaluation of the oral health situation of a group of Egyptian haemophilic children and their re-evaluation following an oral hygiene and diet education programme

Haemophilic children in Egypt have received minimal dental intervention and their dental needs required assessment. The purpose of this study was to assess the oral health needs of a sample (n = 60) of Egyptian haemophilic children (6-12 years), so as to develop, implement and evaluate an oral hygiene education programme over an 8-month period on the experimental group (n = 30) vs. the control group (n = 30). The oral hygiene index simplified (OHI-S) index was used for baseline data and at the end of the study, while DMFS and defs were used to collect caries experience baseline data on each subject. The results showed that the DMFT and deft were significantly higher than those of the non-haemophilic population in Egypt and also higher than those of haemophilic children in developed countries and that the decayed component represented most of the index values. At phase I, the mean value of the OHI-S of experimental and the control groups was 2.67 +/- 0.45 and 2.53 +/- 0.53, respectively, but the difference was not significant (P > 0.05), both values were in the 'fair' category (1.3-3.0). At phase II, the end of the 8 months follow-up period and after the application of a strict oral care programme in the experimental group, there was a significant decrease from 2.67 to 1.20 (P < 0.001), a shift of values occurred from the 'fair' category to the 'good' category (0.1-1.2) while there was no significant difference in the control group. It can be concluded that professional plaque control, education and access to oral hygiene aids is paramount to improve oral health of these children.     

口腔鳞癌组织中 p73、p15蛋白的表达变化及意义

目的：观察口腔鳞癌组织中p73、p15蛋白的表达变化,并探讨其意义。方法采用免疫组化SP法检测20例份口腔正常黏膜组织（对照组）、35例份扁平苔藓组织（扁平苔藓组）、50例份鳞癌组织（鳞癌组）中p73、p15蛋白,并分析鳞癌组中两指标的相关性。结果鳞癌组、扁平苔藓组、对照组p73阳性率分别为82．00％、54．29％、15．00％,p15阳性率分别为42．00％、100．00％、100．00％,两两比较,P均＜0．05;鳞癌组Ⅰ、Ⅱ、Ⅲ级p73阳性率分别为70．83％、90．00％、100．00％,p15阳性率分别为54．17％、35．00％、16．67％,两两比较,P均＜0．05。鳞癌组p73、p15蛋白表达呈负相关（r＝－0．932,P＜0．05）。结论口腔鳞癌组织中p73蛋白表达升高,p15蛋白表达降低,两者在口腔鳞癌发生、发展过程当中起到相互拮抗的作用。     

Factor analysis on oral health care for acute hospitalized patients in Japan

Aim: We conducted a survey to investigate the status regarding the implementation of oral health care for inpatients aged 65 years and older who were in the acute stages of stroke and to examine the factors related to the details of excellent model hospitals. Methods: We sent a questionnaire on oral health care targeting all 8089 hospitals in Japan. On the basis of the responses obtained from the hospitals, we conducted a survey to analyze the factors defining what are known to be excellent model hospitals. We then conducted a logistic regression analysis using a stepwise procedure. Results: Replies were received from 2444 of the 8089 hospitals (30.2%): 91.8% of the hospitals reported that oral health care was a part of the daily nursing routine while 91.2% of the hospitals considered that aspiration pneumonia could be prevented by appropriate oral health care. Only 30% of the nurses had undergone oral hygiene training. Among the factors involved in excellent model hospitals, we observed a strong correlation with a sense of the necessity for oral health care, oral hygiene training for nurses and a large number of hospital beds. Conclusion: Large scale hospitals tend to be more interested in oral health care than smaller hospitals. Providing oral health care is already common in acute hospitals in Japan. There is a great demand for oral hygiene training and obtaining information from dental professionals. It is important to promote the cooperation between dental and nursing personnel within hospitals regarding oral hygiene training. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2011; 11: 460–466.     

Review of computerized decision support systems for oral anticoagulation management

Computerized decision support systems (CDSS) are available to assist clinicians in the therapeutic management of oral anticoagulation. We report the findings relating to CDSS for oral anticoagulation management of a primary-care-based systematic review which largely focused on near-patient testing. Seven papers were reviewed which covered four different systems. The methodology of these papers was generally poor, although one randomized controlled trial showed improved therapeutic control associated with computerized management compared with human performance.     

Trauma and oral anticoagulants

Patients on oral anticoagulants who present to the emergency department following trauma pose a special problem. Careful attention must be given to exclude any sites of overt or occult bleeding, particularly in the CNS, where there may be no external evidence of injury. A PT or thrombotest should be obtained as minimum laboratory workup in all cases. In specific situations, emergency reversal of anticoagulation must be undertaken.     

Validation of an algorithm for oral anticoagulant dosing and appointment scheduling

Summary Computer clinical decision-support systems require validation before clinical use. This study compared recommendations on warfarin dosage adjustment and timing of the next appointment made by an algorithm with those made by experienced and inexperienced clinicians. Data abstracted from the records of 125 patients seen regularly in the anticoagulant clinic were used. The algorithm recommended dose changes and next appointment for cases with INRs between 1.8 to 4.2 (therapeutic range 2.0–3.0) and between 2.3 to 5.3 (therapeutic range 3.0–4.5). Beyond these values the algorithm referred the cases to ‘see doctor’. Compared to experienced clinicians, the algorithm was better at ‘recognising’ difficult patients than inexperienced clinicians (kappa = 0.43 and 0.32 respectively). There was no statistically significant difference between all decision makers in dosage recommendations for the non-difficult cases, but there was much more variation amongst the inexperienced clinicians. The interval recommendations were statistically different between and within the different decision-makers. The inexperienced clinicians tended to give relatively longer intervals for a given dose change. In conclusion, the algorithm performs better than inexperienced clinicians and as well as experienced clinicians for the non-difficult cases.     

顿服心律平转复心房颤动的临床观察

目的 探讨和验证顿服600mg心律平转复近期心房颤动的有效性及安全性。方法 27例阵发性房颤患者一次口服心律平600mg后，记录即刻1小时，3小时，8小时心电图观察房颤是否转复，同时监测血压变化及心电图QRS波时限及PR间期变化。结果 27例服药后8小时成功，总有效率74．1％，1小时转复者2例（7．4％），3小时转复者14例（51．9％）。与文献静注心律平转复房颤相比，注射组转复成功率分别为28％（1小时），41％（3小时）及66％（8小时）。3小时后顿服心律平转复成功率高于静脉给药组。无一例发生明显副作用。结论 顿服600mg心律平转复房颤的方法简单，疗效肯定，转复快捷。     

Efficacy of oral adsorbent for treatment of peristomal fistula associated with Crohn's disease

Perianal fistulae are frequently seen complications in Crohn's disease. Although surgical procedures such as Seton's method have been devised, many patients still suffer from fistulae that are resistant to conventional therapy. We administreved oral adsorbent to a patient with disease Crohn's who had a complicated peristomal fistula that did not improve with conventional therapy. Six grams of oral adsorbent (AST-120) were added daily to a regimen of elemental diet therapy and prednisolone. The fistula gradually decreased in size after the administration of the oral adsorbent, and had healed completely after 40 days' treatment. There were no side effects from the oral adsorbent. This case report suggests that oral adsorbent is an effective treatment for peristomal fistula associated with Crohn's disease. Received: March 31, 1999 / Accepted: August 27, 1999     

Localized oral amyloidosis of the palate

Background.?Amyloidosis is a rare disease with multifactorial pathogenesis. Localized amyloidosis affecting the head and neck region is an uncommon and benign process, which has almost no clinical consequences. The most reported characteristic features of localized oral amyloidosis appear as multiple soft nodules of the tongue, lip and cheek.

Methods.?We report the case of a 68-year-old woman suffering from a primary localized amyloidosis presenting as a purple patch on the palate.

Conclusions.?The presence of systemic amyloidosis or underlying plasma cell dyscrasia have to be ruled out in patients presenting with a diagnosis of amyloidosis of the oral mucosa. If a primary localized amyloidosis is proven, the surgical therapy may be useful to eliminate a functional impairment.     

A diagnostic solution for haemostasis laboratories for patients taking direct oral anticoagulants using DOAC-Remove

This study describes the use of a simple charcoal product (DOAC-Remove^TM) to allow haemostasis assays on patients taking direct oral anticoagulants (DOAC). In the proposed algorithm, patients taking DOAC are screened using the dilute thrombin time (dTT) and anti-Xa assay. If either are positive then DOAC-Remove is utilised. In a validation, DOAC-Remove did not interfere with coagulation testing in normal plasma or in patients on DOAC with a known lupus anticoagulant (LA). Of 1566 routine patient samples tested, 125 (8%) had evidence of anti-Xa activity (>0·1 iu/ml) or prolonged dTT suggestive of either a direct/indirect Xa inhibitor or direct thrombin inhibitor. All of these 125 patients had a prolonged dilute Russell viper venom time (dRVVT) screening test and 106 had a LA detected by dRVVT after phospholipid correction. After DOAC-Remove, 91 patients (73%) had a negative dRVVT screen. After further investigation only 9 (7%) had a positive LA. DOAC-Remove prevented 5% of patients having a LA inappropriately detected. DOAC did not significantly affect the LA activated partial thromboplastin time (aPTT) ratio, protein S antigen or protein C activity. DOAC cause low intrinsic factor assays, high prothrombin time/aPTT and high activated protein C sensitivity ratio, which DOAC-Remove reversed (P < 0·05). Despite recommendations, haemostasis testing for patients on DOAC continues; this algorithm aids diagnostic accuracy. Further validation and research are warranted.