The role of antibiotics, immunizations, and adenoviruses in pertussis.

Sixty-five patients with pertussis were identified by a clinical criterion, and Bordetella pertussis was isolated from 75% of these patients or their symptomatic household contacts. Negative nasopharyngeal cultures were usually associated with either a history of antibiotic therapy with erythromycin or tetracycline (two of three patients), two or more diphtheria and tetanus toxoids with pertussis (DTP) vaccines (six of eight patients), or both (two of three patients). Erythromycin therapy resulted in the elimination of B. pertussis from the nasopharynx in 2 to 7 days (mean, 3.6 days) compared with 7 to 17 or more days (mean, greater than 12 days) in patients treated with no antibiotics, but had no effect on the duration or severity of illness as judged by length of hospitalization. Adenoviruses were recovered from five of 44 patients cultured. Four of these isolates were from throat swabs obtained early in the illness and the remaining isolate was from one of 33 repeated viral cultures obtained two to three weeks later; B. pertussis was also isolated from these five patients. Paired serum samples were obtained from only two of these patients. Neither demonstrated a fourfold rise in adenoviral complement-fixing antibodies. Therefore, in these patients, adenoviral isolation may have been secondary to reactivation of a latent viral infection by infection with B. pertussis.     

Effect of a Practice Guideline for Emergency Department Care of Falls in Elder Patients on Subsequent Falls and Hospitalizations for Injuries

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effect of a practice guideline for the ED management of falls in community-dwelling elders on selected health outcomes. METHODS: The experimental design was a prepost-intervention comparison with one-year pre- and post-intervention phases. The guideline was presented to emergency physicians and nurses during a two-week interval between these two periods. The intervention also included health information provided to the subjects and a one-time educational intervention directed at primary care providers. The number of falls in the year following the ED visit was determined by telephone interview. The number of hospitalizations for falls was determined from the HMO database of all health care encounters. RESULTS: 1,899 patients were eligible for the study; 1,140 pre-intervention and 759 post-intervention patients. Of these, 1,504 (79%) were interviewed by telephone 12 to 15 months after their initial ED visits. Eighteen percent of the pre-intervention and 21% of the post-intervention subjects reported at least one fall in the 12 months following their ED visits (p = 0.162). The rate of falls per 100 patient years was 36.2 in both groups. Three percent of both groups were hospitalized at least once for a fall in the year following their ED visits. One percent in each group were hospitalized for a hip fracture. CONCLUSIONS: The attempted implementation of a practice guideline for the ED management of falls in community-dwelling elders did not result in a reduction in total falls, or in hospitalizations for falls, injuries, or fractures.     

Meniscal injuries: detection using MR imaging

Both retrospective and blinded analyses of thin-section, high-resolution magnetic resonance (MR) images of the knee joint, produced using a solenoid surface coil, indicate that MR imaging is an effective technique for evaluating meniscal injuries. Images of 49 patients were evaluated, and the results were correlated with those of subsequent arthroscopy. A grading scale was developed to rate the index of suspicion of a meniscal tear based on the MR images. Overall, approximately 80% of menisci rated grade 4 (definite tear) or 3 (probable tear) were found to have corresponding tears at arthroscopy. In many other patients with a grade 4 or 3 meniscus in whom a corresponding tear was not found arthroscopically, meniscal tears at other sites or other abnormalities were correctly diagnosed using MR. A majority of the false-positive MR images involved the posterior horns of the menisci, the sites of most false-negative arthroscopic diagnoses. The predictive value of a negative MR image was almost 100%. Even in patients with moderate-to-large effusions, the menisci were accurately evaluated. The results imply that MR imaging is useful in the preoperative evaluation of suspected meniscal tears.     

Chlorpropamide-induced pure white cell aplasia

We investigated the mechanism for isolated agranulocytosis and marrow pure white cell aplasia in an elderly man receiving 0.5 to 1.0 g per day of chlorpropamide (Chl) without other toxic drug exposure or overt systemic illness. Patient marrow revealed an absence of recognizable granulocytic precursors; megakaryocytes and erythroid precursors were normal. The WBC count was 1800/mm3 on admission with only 2% neutrophils; the absolute neutrophil count first exceeded 500/mm3 on the 17th day following cessation of Chl. A serum Chl level on admission was 100 micrograms/mL (acute phase, AP); no Chl was detected in serum (convalescent phase, CP) assessed on the 22nd hospital day. Antineutrophil antibodies were not detected, and T cell depletion failed to augment patient in vitro granulopoiesis. Patient AP serum produced potent complement-mediated inhibition (87% +/- 7%) of autologous granulocyte progenitors (CFU-GM) with minimal inhibition of erythroid (11% +/- 5%) or multipotent (5% +/- 4%) progenitor cells. Selective inhibition by patient AP serum of CFU-GM (74% +/- 11%) was also seen against two allogeneic marrows. Patient CP serum no longer inhibited (6% +/- 4%) autologous CFU-GM. Addition of Chl (5 to 120 micrograms/mL) to CP serum but not to control serum resulted in potent drug concentration-dependent complement-mediated inhibition of autologous and allogeneic CFU-GM. Inhibition of CFU-GM in the presence of Chl was no longer demonstrable following immunoabsorbent removal of IgG from patient serum. Patient serum in the presence of Chl had limited activity against morphologically recognizable marrow granulocytic precursors in a microimmunofluorescence assay. These results are most consistent with the development of Chl-dependent, selective antibody-mediated immune inhibition of granulopoiesis.     

Lumbar iohexol myelography and diagnostic lumbar puncture. Headache and associated side effects in relation to neurological signs and diagnosis, previous mental symptoms and pain history

Various possible risk factors for postlumbar puncture (and postiohexol-myelographic) headache and associated side effects were analysed. Headache and nausea occurred significantly more often in patients without clinical findings than in those with findings. We found significantly different incidences of severe headache and nausea between diagnostic subgroups after a lumbar puncture. The greatest headache incidence was found in patients without a definite neurological diagnosis, while nausea occurred most frequently in patients with various painful disorders. Following iohexol myelography, nausea occurred most often in patients who had a history of previous mental symptoms and in patients with a history of previous headache disorders. Mental symptoms were more frequently reported in patients who also had experienced mental symptoms previously. The relationship between side effects and negative clinical findings was stronger than the relationship between side effects and previous mental symptoms.     

核、膜蛋白的基因能抑制禽类流感病毒及其重组株的繁殖

对人流感病毒A/Udorn/72(H_3N_2)株与禽类流感病毒A/Mallard/NY/78/(H_2N_2)重组后的重组株分析表明,仅含禽类病毒的核蛋白(NP)或膜蛋白(M)的RNA片段的重组株,在松鼠猴的呼吸道繁殖是受限制的。另外。仅有禽类的RNAl和NS基因的重组株(Clone 12)在松鼠猴的气管内的繁殖也明显受限制,而只具有其中一个基因的Clone 9, Clone 2, 则限制就不明显。由此表明,禽类流感病毒的NP和M基因在宿主范围的繁殖限制中起主要作用,而RNAI和SN基因的结合,同样起着繁殖受限制作用。     

Rotator cuff lesions of the shoulder: evaluation by direct sagittal CT arthrography

Direct sagittal computed tomographic scanning (DSCT) of the shoulder was performed in 42 symptomatic patients, six healthy volunteers, and two cadaver shoulders. Axial CT scanning and double-contrast arthrography with plain radiographs were performed in 41 patients for comparison. DSCT enabled correct identification of 27 of 29 lesions in 24 patients. Seventeen patients had normal shoulders. Axial CT scanning and DSCT together enabled correct identification of all lesions and were markedly superior to plain-film arthrography. DSCT enabled diagnosis of all cases of complete rotator cuff tear plus three cases of incomplete tear and three of rotator cuff atrophy not identified by the other techniques. Axial CT scanning was better than DSCT for diagnosis of Bankart lesions.     

Pulse Oximetry as a Fifth Vital Sign in Emergency Geriatric Assessment

Abstract. Objective: To determine the utility of pulse oximetry as a routine fifth vital sign in emergency geriatric assessment.
Methods: Prospective study using pulse oximetry to measure O₂ saturation in geriatric patients presenting to ED triage. Saturation values were disclosed to clinicians only after they had completed medical evaluations and were ready to release or admit each patient. The authors measured changes in medical management and diagnoses initiated after the disclosure of pulse oximetry values. The study included 1,963 consecutive adults aged ≤ 65 years presenting to triage at a university ED. Measurements included changes in select diagnostic tests: chest radiography, complete blood count (CBC), spirometry, arterial blood gases (ABGs), pulse oximetry, and ventilation-perfusion scans; treatments: antibiotics, β-agonists, and supplemental O₂; and hospital admission and final diagnoses that occurred after complete ED evaluation when physicians were informed of triage pulse oximetry values.
Results: 397 (20.2%) geriatric patients had triage pulse oximetry values <95%. Physicians ordered repeat oximetry for 51 patients, additional chest radiography for 23, CBC for 16, ABGs for 15, spirometry for 5, and ventilation-perfusion scans for none. Physicians ordered 49 new therapies for 44 patients, including antibiotics for 14, supplemental O₂ for 29, and 3-agonists for 6. Nine patients initially scheduled for ED release were subsequently admitted to the hospital. Physicians changed or added diagnoses for 27 patients.
Conclusions: Using pulse oximetry as a routine fifth vital sign resulted in important changes in the diagnoses and treatments of a small proportion of emergency geriatric patients.     

Kinetics of peripheral blood mononuclear cell mobilization with chemotherapy and/or granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor: implications for yield of hematopoietic progenitor cell collections

BACKGROUND: Peripheral blood progenitor cells (PBPCs) are commonly collected and used to reconstitute hematopoiesis after high-dose chemotherapy. However, strategies for optimal collection and assessment of leukapheresis components are not standardized. STUDY DESIGN and METHODS: Hematopoietic progenitor cell assays were performed on 369 leukapheresis components collected from 95 patients who had received doxorubicin-based chemotherapy and/or granulocyte-colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Precollection patient hematologic values, leukapheresis collection values, component hematopoietic progenitor cell assays, and patient outcome measures were summarized. The kinetics of mononuclear cell (MNC) and PBPC mobilization were assessed among four patient groups. RESULTS: Patient group was a significant predictor of the peripheral blood MNC count on the day of collection (p<0.0001), and that value was a significant predictor of granulocyte-macrophage– colony-forming unit (CFU-GM) yield (p<0.0001). This relationship between the peripheral blood MNC count on the day of collection and CFU- GM yield differed according to patient group (p<0.0001). CFU-GM made up a larger fraction of peripheral blood MNCs collected from patients who received chemotherapy plus G-CSF than collected from those who received G-CSF alone. Moreover, the peripheral blood MNC count and the corresponding CFU-GM yield increased significantly on consecutive days of collection in patient groups receiving chemotherapy and G-CSF but were unchanged or decreased in patients receiving G-CSF alone. CONCLUSION: The relationship between peripheral blood MNC count and leukapheresis component CFU-GM yield differed significantly between patients who received chemotherapy and G-CSF and those who received G- CSF alone for the mobilization of PBPCs. Patient peripheral blood MNC count and component CFU-GM yield are useful for both assessing and suggesting revisions to PBPC mobilization and collection strategies.     

普通男大学生关节相对峰力矩与蹲跳高度的关联分析

目的:分析普通男大学生髋、膝、踝、肩、肘各关节相对峰力矩与蹲跳高度的相关性。方法:实验于2004-11/2005-01在河北省体科所完成。①实验对象:随机抽取河北省某大学普通男生30名,年龄(21.8±0.8)岁,身高(170.67±5.48)cm,体质量(65.70±7.99)kg,测试前均从未进行过专门的肌肉力量训练,优势上、下肢均为右侧。②实验方法:从站立开始加摆臂的反向蹲跳,要求受试者上体尽可能保持前后方向稳定,从站立位开始下蹲时上肢向下加速摆臂,并迅速向上蹬伸起跳。从站立开始不加摆臂的反向蹲跳,是排除上肢对蹲跳高度的影响。从半蹲开始加摆臂的无反向蹲跳,要求半蹲的角度控制在105°,静止状态下半蹲预备后,直接进入向上的蹬伸起跳过程,不能出现在起动瞬间身体重心先小幅下移再向上的情况。每种动作做3次,每次间隔10min。③实验评估:通过爱捷图像解析系统得出蹲跳高度,取成绩最好的一次采用Biodex Ⅱ型等速测力及康复系统检测受试者各关节肌力相对峰力矩。利用多因素优势分析法得出在慢速[60(°、快速[240(°)/s])/s]状态下,髋、膝、踝、肩、肘关节相对峰力矩与蹲跳高度的相关性。结果:①从站立开始加摆臂的反向蹲跳高度与各关节相对峰力矩的关系:在慢速状态时与髋关节伸肌相对峰力矩、踝关节背屈肌相对峰力矩、膝关节伸肌相对峰力矩呈明显相关(r=0.808,0.692,0.656),在快速状态时与肘关节屈肌相对峰力矩呈明显相关(r=0.770)。②从站立开始不加摆臂的反向蹲跳高度与各关节相对峰力矩的关系:在慢速状态时与踝关节背屈肌相对峰力矩呈明显相关(=0.747),在快速状态时与膝关节屈肌相对峰力矩呈明显相关(r=0.796)。③从半蹲开始加摆臂的无反向蹲跳高r度与各关节相对峰力矩的关系:从半蹲开始加摆臂的无反向蹲跳高度,在慢速状态时与髋关节伸肌相对峰力矩、踝关节背屈肌相对峰力矩、膝关节伸肌相对峰力矩呈明显相关(r=0.774,0.762,0.712),在快速状态时与肘关节屈肌相对峰力矩呈明显相关(r=0.843)。结论:①加摆臂的反向与无反向蹲跳,髋关节伸肌相对峰力矩、肘关节屈肌相对峰力矩分别是慢速、快速状态下影响其高度的首要因素。②不加摆臂的反向蹲跳,踝关节背屈肌相对峰力矩、髋关节伸肌相对峰力矩分别是慢速、快速状态下影响其高度的首要因素。③提示发展上肢肌肉力量对蹲跳高度的提高大有益处。