Readmissions of children with diabetes mellitus to a children's hospital

The characteristics of children with diabetes readmitted to Children's Hospital during a 5-year period, 1984 to 1989, were compared with those characteristics of new-onset patients admitted for stabilization and education and to outpatients in the Children's Hospital diabetes program to determine which characteristics were associated with patients who were readmitted. Changes in the frequency of readmissions were examined to determine whether the introduction of a diabetes team and a program that emphasizes the importance of ensuring that patients at risk of readmission consistently received insulin injections resulted in a reduction of readmissions. Readmissions occurred more frequently in patients who were black (71% compared with 38% of new-onset patients and 31% of outpatients) (P less than .001), from one-parent homes (56% compared with 27% of new-onset patients and 24% of outpatients) (P less than .001), and without third-party insurance (45% compared with 18% of new-onset patients and 15% of outpatients) (P less than .001). Readmissions were very common at 14 to 15 years of age (39% of readmissions vs 18% of outpatients) and very uncommon in children younger than age 9 (6% of readmissions vs 27% of outpatients) (P less than .001). Fewer readmissions for ketoacidosis occurred in the summer than in any other season (P less than .05). Readmissions fell by 47% over the 5-year period while new-onset patients increased by 85%. The reduction in frequency of readmissions was due to fewer readmissions for ketoacidosis and fewer readmissions in blacks, in patients from one-parent homes, and in patients without third-party insurance.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)     

Retention of "safe" blood donors. The Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study

BACKGROUND: There are obvious advantages to increasing donor retention. However, for reasons of blood safety, certain donors may, in fact, be more desirable to retain than others. “Safe” donors are defined as those who provided a blood donation that was negative on all laboratory screening tests and who subsequently reported no behavioral risks in response to an anonymous survey. This study identifies the most important factors affecting the intention of “safe” donors to provide another donation. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: An anonymous survey asking about donation history, sexual history, injecting drug use, and recent donation experience was mailed to 50,162 randomly selected allogeneic donors (including directed donors) who gave blood from April through July or from October through December 1993 at one of the five United States blood centers participating in the Retrovirus Epidemiology Donor Study. Before mailing, questionnaires were coded to designate donors with nonreactive laboratory screening tests at their most recent donation. RESULTS: A total of 34,726 donors (69%) responded, with substantially higher response among repeat donors. According to reported intentions only, the vast majority of “safe” donors indicated a high likelihood of donating again within the next 12 months. Only 3.4 percent reported a low likelihood of donating again. A comparison of those likely to return and those unlikely to return reveals significant differences in demographics and in ratings of the donation experience. A higher proportion of those unlikely to return were first-time donors, minority-group donors, and donors with less education. The highest projected loss among “safe” donors was seen for those who gave a fair to poor assessment of their treatment by blood center staff or of their physical well-being during or after donating. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that efforts to improve donors' perceptions of their donation experience, as well as attention to the physical effects of blood donation, may aid in the retention of both repeat and first-time donors.     

Shaping the signal response during the approach to steady state in three-dimensional magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo imaging using variable flip angles.

A theoretical algorithm for shaping the signal response during the approach to steady state in three-dimensional magnetization-prepared rapid gradient-echo (3D MP-RAGE) pulse sequences has been developed and implemented. This algorithm derives the flip angle series required to produce specifically chosen time evolutions of the signal intensities during the data acquisition segment of 3D MP-RAGE sequences. Theoretical predictions for the cases of unshaped, uniform, and mono-exponential decay signal responses were quantitatively validated with a doped-water phantom on a 1.5-T whole-body imager and in all cases there was excellent agreement between the theoretical and experimental values. The effects of RF inhomogeneities and eddy currents on the signal response shaping were also investigated. To demonstrate the potential utility of the technique, the signal response shaping algorithm was applied to a T1-weighted 3D MP-RAGE sequence to derive the acquisition flip angle series which theoretically yields the maximum white matter/gray matter signal difference (WGSD) consistent with the chosen response shape. Images obtained from a healthy volunteer using this variable flip angle sequence were compared with 3D RF-spoiled steady-state gradient-echo images obtained in the same total imaging time. The 3D MP-RAGE images demonstrated a 41% increase in the WGSD-to-noise ratio. These initial very promising results indicate that with further refinement to eliminate some intensity artifacts, the variable flip angle 3D MP-RAGE technique may, with respect to certain image properties, provide considerable improvements over currently available 3D gradient-echo imaging techniques.     

Acute action of luteinizing hormone on mouse Leydig cells: accumulation of mitochondrial phosphoproteins and stimulation of testosterone synthesis.

Upon stimulation of Leydig cells with luteinizing hormone (LH) or dibutyryl-3',5'-cyclic AMP (Bt2cAMP) at 37 degrees C, two mitochondrial phosphoproteins accumulate with the same stimulant dose response as the increased rate of testosterone synthesis. The proteins pp32 and pp30 have apparent isoelectric points of 6.6 and 6.5 and molecular weights of approximately 32 30 kDa respectively, as determined by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. These two phosphoproteins are not detected in mouse adipose or liver cells nor in the total testicular cell population, of which Leydig cells constitute a small percentage. However, both proteins are also observed in mouse adrenal cells stimulated by ACTH or Bt2cAMP. The appearance of pp32 and pp30 is prevented by inhibitors of cytosolic protein translation, indicating that only newly synthesized protein is available as a substrate for phosphorylation. Proteolytic peptide mapping indicates that both of these mouse Leydig and adrenal proteins have structural similarity to pp30 (formerly denoted as ib), the 30 kDa mitochondrial phosphoprotein that we have observed previously in peptide hormone or Bt2cAMP-stimulated rat adrenal cortex (Pon, L.A., Hartigan, J.A. and Orme-Johnson, N.R. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 13309-13316; Alberta, J.A., Epstein, L.F., Pon, L.A. and Orme-Johnson, N.R. (1989) J. Biol. Chem. 264, 2368-2372) and rat corpus luteum cells (Pon, L.A. and Orme-Johnson, N.R. (1986) J. Biol. Chem. 261, 6694-6599). Since pp32 is a larger mitochondrial protein of similar primary structure to pp30, it is a potential precursor of this protein. Finally, the detection of the mitochondrial phosphoprotein pp30 in a third steroidogenic tissue type and a third species provides further correlative evidence that the production of pp30 may be an integral part of the subcellular mechanism by which peptide hormones stimulate steroid hormone biosynthesis.     

Outpatient management of patients with large multinodular goitres treated with fractionated radioiodine

The efficacy of fractionated out-patient radioiodine therapy in 38 patients with compressive symptoms due to long-standing large multinodular goitres was assessed. The diagnosis was established by clinical assessment in addition to technetium-99m pertechnetate thyroid scan or computed tomography scan of the thyroid and mediastinum. Oral iodine-131 therapy was administered as a 2.22 GBq (60 mCi) cumulative dose over 4 months (555 MBq per month). All patients were monitored with serum thyroid-stimulating hormone and free thyroxine (± free tri-iodothyronine) assays before the treatment and after each dose fraction. Clinical and biochemical follow-up was performed on all patients and ranged from 6 to 45 months after therapy. The patients consisted of 35 female and three male patients with a median age of 59 years (range 37–87 years). Prior to treatment 20 patients were biochemically hyperthyroid and 18 were euthyroid. Overall, 71% of patients reported a subjective improvement in compressive symptoms and 29% reported no change. Clinically assessed reduction in goitre size occurred in 92% of patients while there was no change in 8%. At 3 months of follow-up, 31% of patients had become hypothyroid and at 18 months 66% were hypothyroid. Seven hyperthyroid patients (35%) became euthyroid and 13 hyperthyroid patients (65%) became hypothyroid. Three patients who became hypothyroid experienced neck soreness (transient in one patient, persistent in two patients). There were no differences in outcome between patients who were hyperthyroid and those who were euthyroid prior to treatment. Fractionated out-patient radioiodine therapy showed excellent short- and medium-term safety, was very well tolerated and offered a satisfactory alternative treatment to surgery. Received 23 May and in revised form 11 August 1997     

Accuracy of in-vivo assessment of prostatic volume by MRI and transrectal ultrasonography.

More accurate noninvasive estimation of prostate size is important in therapeutic trials for benign prostatic hyperplasia. The accuracy of MRI and transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) in assessing prostate weight was evaluated in 48 patients who underwent radical prostatectomy for stage A or B cancer. The volume derived from the wet weight of the freshly excised specimen was used as a reference. We compared that volume with volume estimates derived from the three-axis linear dimension measurement by MRI and TRUS using a tissue density of 1.05 g/cc and the standard formula for an ellipsoid object. Prostate and seminal vesicle volumes were also computed by contouring T2-weighted 5 mm thick contiguous MR images using a semiautomatic edge detection program and pixel summation. Three-axis volume MRI method versus volume from wet weight has slightly less scatter than TRUS three-axis method (r = 0.85 vs r = 0.81). Contoured MR volume method has the least scatter r = 0.93, statistically better than the linear axis method. Contoured MRI volumetric analysis appears superior to linear MRI or TRUS methods in estimating true prostate volume.     

Delusions of disfigurement in a woman with acne rosacea.

A 36-year-old woman with newly diagnosed acne rosacea is presented. Her skin changes were noticeable only under closest scrutiny, but she quit her job, became despondent about her acne, and developed suicidal ideation. The diagnosis and treatment of this patient allow a broader discussion of the somatically focused patient whose ideation reaches delusional intensity.     

Herpes zoster infection with trigeminal and facial nerve involvement

In most cases, herpes zoster (shingles) infections are benign and self-limited, requiring no treatment. However, if patients are elderly or immuno-compromised, they are at increased risk of complications such as visceral dissemination, cranial and nerve palsies, ophthalmic zoster, and postherpetic neuralgia. We present a case of herpes zoster infection complicated by both motor and sensory involvement in an elderly man.