Effectiveness of two palliative support teams.

The palliative care of 227 consecutive patients by two support teams was measured according to 17 key indicators in the Support Team Assessment Schedule (STAS), an instrument previously developed and validated for use in these settings. Mean time in care was 71 days (range 1-547); 56 per cent of patients died at home, 26 per cent in hospital, 18 per cent in a hospice. Totalled ratings (sum of 15 items, excluding two items owing to missed ratings) improved in 83 per cent of cases, remained unchanged in 3 per cent and deteriorated in 13 per cent. The main problems which the STAS identified at referral were family anxiety, symptom control, patient anxiety and communication between patient and family. Fifteen of the 17 items showed significant improvements (Wilcoxon Z ranged from -3.18 to -8.20, p less than 0.00005) between referral ratings and ratings for the last week of the patient's life; family anxiety and spiritual needs did not. Patient anxiety and symptom control, although improved, also remained relatively severe at death. These results demonstrate the value of measuring key indicators and indicate areas where improvement in palliative care is needed.     

Minimally Invasive Axillary– Coronary Artery Bypass

Axillary artery-to-coronary artery bypass using reversed saphenous vein provides a simple method of applying the minimally invasive coronary bypass grafting procedure when the internal thoracic artery is not an adequate conduit. Although this may allow extended use of the minimally invasive coronary bypass procedure, the long-term patency of this technique is unknown.     

Age-related reference ranges: Significance tests for models and confidence intervals for centiles

A method of fitting age-related reference ranges using maximized likelihood is presented. The method is illustrated using CD4 counts of uninfected children born to HIV-1 infected women. The likelihood incorporates exponential functions to describe the Box-Cox transformation parameter that induces Normality and the mean and standard deviation of the transformed data, at all ages in the range. This guarantees that the centiles are asymptotic to notional adult values and avoids edge effects. Likelihood ratio tests were used to assess the significance of the model parameters, and profile likelihood confidence intervals were constructed around the fitted centiles. The asymptotes of the resulting CD4 reference range for the childhood dataset were compared with CD4 counts available from a group of uninfected adults. The proposed approach limits the need for arbitrary decisions about grouping of the data, degree of smoothing or choice of model.     

Mechanical stimulation of dorsal root ganglia induces increased production of substance P: a mechanism for pain following nerve root compromise?

The undecapeptide, substance P, is known to be synthesized in cell bodies of dorsal root ganglia. This neuropeptide is also known to modulate sensory, nociceptive transmission postsynaptically on dorsal horn interneurons. In the animal model used in the current study, experimental mechanical stimulation of dorsal root ganglia and nerve roots increased the amounts of substance P, as well as substance P immunoreactivity in cell bodies of the dorsal root ganglia and in the substantia gelatinosa of the spinal dorsal horn that the cell bodies innervated. These results were determined by using both immunohistochemistry and radioimmunoassay. This study suggests that substance P may modulate nociception when lumbar nerve roots are stimulated mechanically.     

Comparative clinical trial of fenticonazole ovule (600 mg) versus clotrimazole vaginal tablet (500 mg) in the treatment of symptomatic vaginal candidiasis

A multi-centre, randomized, single-blind, parallel-group clinical trial was undertaken in 50 patients (26 fenticonazole, 24 clotrimazole) with symptomatic vaginal candidiasis to compare the antifungal efficacy and tolerability of single-dose intra-vaginal treatment with a fenticonazole ovule (600 mg) or a clotrimazole vaginal tablet (500 mg). Assessment was by laboratory mycological investigation and symptomatic assessments for a period of 3 weeks from the day of treatment. Of the 50 patients, 43 (23 fenticonazole, 20 clotrimazole) returned for assessment 1 week after drug administration and 32 (17 fenticonazole, 15 clotrimazole) were re-assessed 3 weeks after drug administration. Both treatments resulted in very similar and highly significant improvements in symptoms, associated with disappearance of detectable Candida in approximately 70% of patients. There were no significant differences between treatments and no appreciable incidence of relapse during the 3-week period of observation. At the end of this period, 10 (59%) of 17 fenticonazole patients were totally disease-free, as compared with 10 (67%) of 15 patients after clotrimazole treatment. The cure rate observed was somewhat less than that previously seen when intra-vaginal cream formulations of the same two drugs were given on a multiple-dose basis. Both drugs were very well tolerated, with no reports of appreciable local or systemic adverse reactions to either drug.     

Prostaglandin E1 and dibutyryl cyclic AMP enhance platelet resistance to deformation

The effect of prostaglandin E₁ (PGE₁) on platelets is mediated through the PGE₁ receptor and the consequent maintenance of the platelet's discoid shape. The effects of PGE₁ and dibutyryl cAMP (dbcAMP) on the deformability of human platelets were studied. Deformability tests based upon the micropipette aspiration on the platelets were performed by using pipettes with radii (Rp) of 0.26-0.36 gm. The time course of the extension length (Dp, in μg) of the platelets in response to aspiration with a negative pressure (ΔP) of 5 cm H₂ O (ΔP × Rp = 0.15 dynes/cm) was analyzed. PGE₁ treatment (0.1 μM) resulted in a decrease of platelet deformability as compared with results obtained for apparently non-activated, control platelets. The deformation index, i.e., Dp/Rp (PGE₁ -treated) / Dp/Rp (control), was significantly reduced to 0.90 ± 0.04. DbcAMP treatment also significantly decreased the deformability of platelets and this decrease was dbcAMP dose dependent. In contrast, colchicine- or cytochalasin D-treated platelets increased deformability. PGE₁ -treated platelets had a higher [cAMP]_i than controls. Platelets treated with PGE₁ or dbcAMP showed a reduced [Ca²⁺]i increment induced by thrombin as compared to non-treated controls. These results indicate that PGE₁ and dbcAMP treatment of platelets is accompanied by an enhancement of platelet resistance to deformation. The increased [cAMP]_i and low [Ca²⁺]_i after PGE₁ treatment may limit the rearrangement of cytoskeleton and thus enhance platelet resistance to deformation.     

Myeloradiculopathy associated with wasp sting

A 12-year-old girl developed a reversible myeloradiculopathy 1 week after a wasp sting. Delayed neurologic hypersensitivity reactions to Hymenopteran stings occur primarily in adults. Reactions involving both the peripheral and central nervous systems are extremely rare and have never been reported in a child. The mechanisms underlying this uncommon reaction may be related to age-dependent differences in immunologic responses.     

Relationship between Mandarin speech reception thresholds and pure-tone thresholds in the geriatric population.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: In the geriatric population, the reliability of pure-tone threshold (PTT) is sometimes poorer than that in young adults because of various reasons. This study assessed the relationship between Mandarin speech reception thresholds (SRTs) and PTTs in the aged and developed SRT as a measure for corroborating PTT. METHODS: This prospective study enrolled 46 consecutive subjects over 60 years of age. The results of SRT and PTT were collected from one ear randomly selected from each subject. Simple linear and multiple regressions were used to determine the correlation and linear regression coefficients between SRTs and PTTs at various frequencies. RESULTS: In the simple regression analysis, the correlation coefficient was highest at 1000 Hz (r = 0.949) and 500 Hz (r = 0.922), followed by 250 Hz (r = 0.850) and 2000 Hz (r = 0.792). In the multiple regression model with SRT as the dependent variable and PTTs as predictor variables, the resultant multiple correlation coefficient R was 0.967, while R2 was 0.936. In this model, PTTs at the frequencies of 500 Hz and 1000 Hz contributed significantly to the variance in SRTs with p values of 0.029 and < 0.001, respectively. These results demonstrated that the Mandarin SRT is strongly associated with PTTs at the frequencies of 500 Hz and 1000 Hz. CONCLUSION: This study established the agreement between Mandarin SRTs and PTTs in the low tone area of speech frequencies in the geriatric population. In clinical settings, SRT test can be rapidly and easily performed and is relatively inexpensive. It is a vital indicator of the accuracy of PTT measurement.