Diving medicine

This article orients the practicing physician to the physical and physiologic basis for the more common medical problems encountered in diving, discusses the common presenting manifestations for these disorders, and provides a framework for their treatment. Medical fitness for diving is also briefly addressed.     

Cryopreserved cadaveric allografts for treatment of unexcised partial thickness flame burns: clinical experience with 12 patients

Partial thickness burns (PTB) usually heal within 3 weeks. Prevention of infection and desiccation of the wounds are crucial for optimal healing. Early tangential excision of the burn eschar and allografting prevent deepening of the burns, and are therefore advocated for treatment with the best functional and aesthetic results. For superficial partial thickness burns (SPTB) conservative use of topical antimicrobial agents with frequent dressing changes are implemented. We compared the conservarive treatment for PTBs and SPTBs to grafting cryopreserved cadaveric allografts with no prior excision.

Twelve patients with flame PTB areas were allografted after mechanical debridement without excision of the burn wounds. The allografts were cadaveric skin cryopreserved by programmed freezing and stored at −180°C for 30–48 months. Matching burns for depth and area were treated with silver sulfadiazine (SSD) one to two times daily until healing or debridement and grafting were required.

It was found that 80 per cent of the cryopreserved allografts adhered well and 76 per cent of the treated areas healed within 21 days, whereas only 40 per cent of the SSD-treated burns healed within 21 days.

Partial thickness burns can be treated successfully with viable human allografts (cryopreserved cadaveric skin) with no prior surgical excision. The burn wounds heal well within 3 weeks. For deep partial thickness burns (DPTB) treatment with allografts has no advantage if they have not been previously excised.     

Fictive oesophageal peristalsis evoked by activation of muscarinic acetylcholine receptors in rat nucleus tractus solitarii

The aim of the present study was to determine if muscarinic acetylcholine receptor-mediated peristaltic rhythmogenesis in the rat oesophagus is a central motor program that can be generated without peripheral sensory support. In anaesthetized male Sprague-Dawley rats, pressure-ejection of glutamate (10–20 pmol) and muscarine (5–10 pmol) in the subnucleus centralis of the nucleus tractus solitarii (NTS_C) evoked monophasic pressure waves and rhythmic oesophageal peristalsis, respectively, but did not change mean arterial blood pressure or respiration. Application of muscarine (50–100 pmol) to the NTS extraventricular surface evoked rhythmic multi-unit burst discharges in the compact formation of the nucleus ambiguus (AMB_C) that led to oesophageal peristalsis in a phase-locked manner. Evoked rhythmic AMB_C activity persisted during neuromuscular blockade with curare, although the peak frequency of individual bursts was decreased. In a brainstem slice preparation, intracellular and whole cell patch recordings from AMB_C neurones during focal stimulation of the NTS_C region with muscarine revealed rhythmic depolarizing waves that showed a pattern similar to that of rhythmic oesophageal peristalsis. The present findings support the concept that medullary circuits comprising premotor neurones of the NTS_C are intrinsically capable of generating rhythmic oesophagomotor output, but are subject to a powerful modulation by peripheral sensory feedback.     

儿童孟氏骨折并同侧桡尺骨远端骨骺骨折

儿童孟氏骨折并桡尺骨远端骨骺骨折临床上不多见，其病理改变复杂，治疗较困难，近10年来，在全国名老中医朱少廷教授指导下，采用手法复位、杉树皮夹板外固定治疗15例，收到满意疗效，现报告如下。     

Optimal control of non‐linear chemical reactors via an initial‐value Hamiltonian problem

The problem of designing strategies for optimal feedback control of non‐linear processes, specially for regulation and set‐point changing, is attacked in this paper. A novel procedure based on the Hamiltonian equations associated to a bilinear approximation of the dynamics and a quadratic cost is presented. The usual boundary‐value situation for the coupled state–costate system is transformed into an initial‐value problem through the solution of a generalized algebraic Riccati equation. This allows to integrate the Hamiltonian equations on‐line, and to construct the feedback law by using the costate solution trajectory. Results are shown applied to a classical non‐linear chemical reactor model, and compared against suboptimal bilinear‐quadratic strategies based on power series expansions. Since state variables calculated from Hamiltonian equations may differ from the values of physical states, the proposed control strategy is suboptimal with respect to the original plant. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

经尿道膀胱肿瘤切除专用手术刀具的临床应用

目的对经尿道膀胱肿瘤切除专用手术刀具治疗浅表性膀胱肿瘤进行临床应用评价。方法在传统电切刀的远端添加保护襻组成膀胱肿瘤切除专用手术刀具。使用该种手术刀具治疗浅表性膀胱肿瘤48例,使用方法与普通电切刀近似。男26例,女22例。年龄23~76岁,平均43岁。肿瘤分期Tis者1例,T0~T1者47例。肿瘤分级G1~G2者36例,G3~G4者12例。瘤体直径0.5~8.0 cm。肿瘤位于膀胱顶部4例,左侧壁11例,右侧壁9例,前壁4例,后壁13例,颈部7例。肿瘤单发31例,多发17例。术后常规卡介苗膀胱灌注1年,每3个月行膀胱镜检查1次。结果48例平均手术时间(23±10)m in。术中18例(37.5%)发生闭孔神经反射,未出现膀胱穿孔病例;无瘤体后部的正常膀胱黏膜误切。46例术后随访1年,14例复发,均为远位新生膀胱肿瘤,术后3个月时发现1例,4~6个月时3例,7~9个月时6例,10~12个月时4例。结论使用该专用手术刀具治疗浅表性膀胱肿瘤容易控制切除深度,可最大限度地避免膀胱穿孔,并可保护大体积肿瘤后部盲区的正常黏膜以免误切。     

Reconstruction of pectus excavatum with silicone implants.

The pectus excavatum deformity is characterised by a deep depression usually involving the lower one-half to two-thirds of the sternum. The indications for surgery are often aesthetic. Extensive procedures, requiring fracturing and remodelling of the chest wall skeleton are associated with high morbidity and high rate of complications. In this article we describe our renewed experience with reconstruction of mild and moderate pectus excavatum deformities with custom made prefabricated silicone implants. The fabrication of the implant and the surgical technique are described in detail. An excellent aesthetic correction of the deformity was achieved in all of the patients in our series, with high patient satisfaction rate. We conclude that with careful patient selection, artistic implant fabrication and meticulous surgical technique, this approach achieves excellent aesthetic correction with minimal morbidity and a low complication rate and therefore should maintain its place in the armamentarium of surgical techniques for reconstruction of pectus deformities.     

妇产科理论授课方法改革的尝试

改革妇产科理论课讲授。改革课程设置，以病例为中心讲授，把讨论教学形式引入课堂，取得较好效果。     

QT间期相关基因研究进展

心电图反映心脏除极和复极的电位影响,心电图波形的变化主要取决于心脏本身的改变.在医学临床工作中,心电图检查对诊断心脏疾病具有重要作用.     

肺炎链球菌β-内酰胺酶TEM基因的发现

目的：探讨肺炎链球菌是否产β-内酰胺酶。方法：对2002年9月至2003年4月在苏州大学附属儿童医院就诊的呼吸道感染患儿痰标本中分离到的23株肺炎链球菌进行β-内酰胺酶TEM基因PCR检测与PCR扩增产物直接测序分析。结果：23株肺炎链球菌经TEM基因PCR检测21株阳性，阳性率达91．3％。测得1号菌株(SR001)基因序列为TEM-1型，已登录美国国立生物信息中心，注册号：AY392531。结论：从肺炎链球菌中检出β-内酰胺酶TEM基因。肺炎链球菌对青霉素耐药机制包括产β-内酰胺酶。