Reengineering clinical psychiatry in academic medical centers: processes and models of change

Managed care poses a major threat to the future of clinical psychiatry in academic settings. High costs and an aversion to the business aspects of service delivery have left academic departments at a disadvantage in the marketplace. However, numerous departments have attempted to adapt to the current health care environment. On the basis of a review of these efforts, the authors identify the processes of change and seven models of change being employed to reengineer psychiatry within academic medical centers. The models are labeled transform, build, manage, buy, partner or affiliate, sell or lease, and consult. The authors discuss the strengths and weaknesses of these efforts and suggest three approaches to establishing the unique value of academic clinical services for purchasers and for the public. The first is to enhance productivity and clinical effectiveness through greater integration of clinical care, research, and training. The second is to take a leadership role in managing care, and the third is to advance the integration of behavioral health care with primary medical care and other specialties in the medical center.     

Sources of coercive behaviours in psychiatric admissions

OBJECTIVE: Coercion during psychiatric admissions has been a topic of debate for many years. Although there has been considerable research on patients' perceptions of coercion, there has been no work on who places pressures on patients to be admitted. METHOD: This article integrates interview data from interviews with patients, admitting staff and family and friends to describe the pressures brought to bear on patients to be admitted. RESULTS: Health-care professionals appear to be the most important source of pressures on patients, and to have the most impact on patients' perceptions of coercion. However, there are differences in type of pressure, and the pressures used by family and friends appear to have the most longstanding impact. CONCLUSION: Legal and clinical efforts to reduce the level of coercive pressures on patients need to recognize the importance of mental-health professionals, including especially those who are not legally mandated to participate in the admission process.     

Multifocal osteolysis with nephropathy

A patient with progressive osteolysis of the carpal and tarsal bones with glomerulonephritis of unusual severity is described. There was a notable absence of osteodystrophy in this and other reported cases who had chronic renal failure.     

Head injury and marital aggression

Of 31 consecutive male patients referred for evaluation of marital violence, 19 (61.3%) had histories of severe head injury. Although the relationship between child abuse and head injury did not reach an acceptable level of significance, it did indicate a trend toward a positive relationship. Alcohol abuse, reported by 48.4% of the sample, was significantly associated with head injury. Confirmation of biological etiologies in marital aggression would have implications for prevention and treatment.     

Transient synovitis of the hip in children: role of US

Transient synovitis of the hip remains a common diagnostic problem for the clinician. The physical signs are not pathognomonic of the condition, and the classic technical examinations are of little help. Therefore, the authors retrospectively studied the value of hip arthrosonography in 46 children with clinical symptoms suggesting pathologic hip conditions. In 20 of the 21 patients with a final diagnosis of transient synovitis, articular effusion was detected on ultrasound (US). Conventional radiography showed an increased medial joint space in only eight of these patients. Increased echogenicity of the articular fluid was found in both transient synovitis and septic arthritis. The high sensitivity of US in detecting intraarticular fluid was demonstrated by cadaver studies.     

中药贝母类的研究——ⅩⅦ.贝母鳞叶上表皮显微观察

本文对浙贝母Fritillaria thunbergii Miq.等20种贝母的鳞叶上(内)表皮进行了显微观察,发现种间在表皮细胞形状、大小和垂周壁部位角质栓(cuticular peg)的形状,大小和排列等方面有一定区别,可作为新的鉴别依据。全文除描述外,列出检索表,并附主要特征图。     

The prosecution of psychiatric patients for assaults on staff: a preliminary empirical study

A survey of five public hospitals yielded nine cases in which staff pressed charges against patients who assaulted them. Examining the effects of prosecution on the patients, the legal system, and the staff, the authors found that two patients benefited, three showed little or no change, and four were lost to follow-up. The legal system was responsive to the request to prosecute, although sometimes reluctantly, in six cases, but uncooperative in the rest. In five of the cases, staff were satisfied with the outcome of the legal intervention, even though it benefited only two of those patients. Among the authors' recommendations for dealing with assaults are to use appropriate clinical measures first, address any systems problems that an assault suggests, and, because prosecution may alienate patients from the treatment system, obtain consultation from a psychiatrist outside the patient's care system before proceeding.     

Bronchial artery embolization: monitoring with somatosensory evoked potentials. Work in progress

Surgery remains the treatment of choice for massive and recurrent hemoptysis. In some instances, however, immediate surgical intervention is contraindicated. In these situations, bronchial artery embolization (BAE) has proved to be a successful definitive treatment for non-surgical candidates and a palliative therapy in patients requiring hemodynamic stabilization prior to surgery. The most serious complication of BAE is spinal cord ischemia. This relates directly to the potential anastomotic connections between the bronchial circulation and the anterior spinal artery. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) have been used in the past to monitor spinal cord ischemia during procedures that threaten the vascularity of the spinal cord. The authors report two cases in which SSEPs were employed to monitor spinal cord ischemia during bronchial artery embolization.     

Clinical significance of anti-Yt(b). Report of a case using a 51chromium red cell survival study

Several published reports have documented the variable survival of Yt(a+) red cells (RBC) in patients with anti-Yt(a) as measured by 51Chromium (Cr)-labeled RBC survival studies. Similar studies with anti-Yt(b) have not been reported. A 51Cr-labeled RBC survival study was performed using Yt(b+) RBCs and a monocyte monolayer assay in a young hemodialysis patient who required chronic transfusion therapy and who had developed anti-Yt(b). The survival of the transfused RBCs was 100 and 93 percent at 1 and 24 hours, respectively, with a half life of 21 days at termination of the study (normal, 28 to 32 days). These results showed no evidence of rapid destruction of the Yt(b+) RBCs, indicating that this patient could be transfused safely with blood from Yt(b+) donors. Long-term survival of the 51Cr-labeled Yt(b+) RBCs was shortened moderately, however, a finding that correlated with a slightly abnormal monocyte monolayer assay test.     

两种麻醉方法对单双肺通气期间能量代谢和呼吸氧价及应激反应的影响

目的:观察胸段硬膜外复合全静脉麻醉和全静脉麻醉对单、双肺通气能量代谢、呼吸氧价和应激反应的影响,比较两者的差异。方法:选择2004-07/2005-01徐州医学院附属医院心胸外科择期行食管癌根治术且需要单肺通气的患者40例,按随机数字表法分为硬膜外复合全静脉麻醉组(n=20)和全静脉麻醉组(n=20),经患者同意并签字后进入试验。分别在单肺通气和双肺通气时进行氧耗量、二氧化碳排出量、能量代谢和呼吸商测定,同时测量肾上腺素、去甲肾上腺素、皮质醇和血糖水平。结果:40例患者全部进入结果分析,无脱落。①在单、双肺通气时硬膜外复合全静脉麻醉组的氧耗量、二氧化碳排出量、能量代谢均高于全静脉麻醉组(P<0.05);两组患者单肺通气时段氧耗量、二氧化碳排出量、能量代谢低于双肺通气时段,但差异无显著性意义(P>0.05)。②在单、双肺通气时硬膜外复合全静脉麻醉组的肾上腺素、去甲肾上腺素、皮质醇和血糖水平均低于全静脉麻醉组(P<0.05);单、双肺通气相比,两组患者肾上腺素、去甲肾上腺素变化差异无显著性意义(P>0.05)。结论:与全静脉麻醉相比,胸段硬膜外阻滞复合全静脉麻醉能够增加胸科手术的氧耗量、能量代谢,减轻应激反应。单、双肺通气期间没有明显差异。