Plasma proteins in a standardised skin mini-erosion (II): effects of extraction pressure

Background  

A standardised suction technique has been used to sample plasma proteins in dermal interstitial fluid (IF) serially for 5 to 6 days from a suction-induced skin mini-erosion. Increased protein concentrations ascribed to inflammation have been shown from day 1 onward. In this study, we assessed the effect of two different extraction pressures on IF sample composition.     

Sources of stress in Australian adolescents: factor structure and stability over time

Adolescent stress is an emerging area of importance in considerations of the health of young people. Exposure to stress predicts a range of both physical and mental health problems in adolescents and relates, as well, to the initiation of important health risk behaviours. Yet the measurement of stress in adolescents has been as fraught with methodological difficulty as it has been for adults. This paper examines the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire (ASQ) which was developed specifically to address the domain of stressors specific to adolescent experience and looks at three cohorts of responses to this questionnaire over time (1995, 1998 and 2001). It assesses the stability of the original 7‐factor structure of the ASQ over time, and while confirmatory factor analysis indicates that stability to be acceptable, it also suggests that either adolescent stressors themselves, or the language by which they are reported, vary sufficiently over time to warrant the refinement of the instrument. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Aetiology and outcome of severe community-acquired pneumonia in children admitted to a paediatric intensive care unit.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the aetiological agents and outcome of severe community-acquired pneumonia (SCAP) in children admitted to the paediatric intensive care unit (PICU) at Kalafong Hospital, Pretoria. PATIENTS AND METHODS: An audit was done after a protocol was implemented to identify the aetiological agents in children with life-threatening SCAP admitted to the PICU from the emergency room. The following investigations were done as per protocol: blood culture, culture of the tracheal aspirate, immunofluorescence and culture of the nasopharyngeal aspirate, microscopy and culture of the gastric juice for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and determination of HIV status. The following data, documented prospectively, were obtained from patient records: date of admission, age, gender, weight, duration of ventilation, duration of stay in the PICU, survival or death, and severity of illness as determined by means of the score for acute neonatal physiology (SNAP) or paediatric risk of mortality (PRISM) score depending on the child's age. RESULTS: Twenty-three children were admitted over a 1-year period (1 November 1994-30 October 1995). Their median age was 10 weeks (range 2 weeks-5 years) and the sex distribution was equal. Two children were HIV-infected. Twenty children received mechanical ventilation for a median period of 6.5 days (range 2-16 days). Aetiological agents were identified in 15/23 children (65%). Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was the most common pathogen, identified in 7/23 children, Klebsiella pneumoniae was the most common bacterial pathogen, identified in 5 children (2 blood cultures and 3 tracheal aspirates). Tuberculosis was not diagnosed. The mean PRISM score was similar in survivors and children who died. The case fatality rate was 30%. The 7 children who died had a median arterial oxygen tension/fraction of inspired oxygen (PaO2/FiO2) ratio of 94 (range 32-111) and the 16 survivors had a median ratio of 146 (range 51-252) (P = 0.01) on admission. Both HIV-infected children died and postmortem examination showed a pneumonia due to Pneumocystis carinii and cytomegalovirus. CONCLUSIONS: SCAP occurs in very young children. One or more pathogens were isolated in 65% of cases. Viral pathogens predominated, with RSV being the most common. The yield of positive blood cultures was low at 17%. Streptococcus pneumoniae and Haemophilus influenzae were not found. The case fatality rate was 30% and death was more likely with a low PaO2/FiO2 ratio on admission.     

Maxillary sinus puncture and culture in the diagnosis of acute rhinosinusitis: the case for pursuing alternative culture methods.

OBJECTIVE: Traditional assessments of the microbial flora associated with acute bacterial rhinosinusitis have relied on maxillary sinus punctures (taps) and culture. These taps are now considered the gold standard for obtaining cultures and are used as the method of identifying bacterial pathogens in antimicrobial trials. Maxillary sinus taps are limited by discomfort to the patients and technical concerns. Because of these factors, the standard of performing taps has limited antibiotic trials and microbial surveillance. Alternatives to maxillary sinus taps have been explored. STUDY DESIGN: We conducted a retrospective, systematic review of the literature from 1950 to 2000 of articles comparing culture techniques in the nose and paranasal sinuses for acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. RESULTS: Nasal cultures have poor correlation to maxillary sinus cultures, whereas there is 60% to 85% concordance between endoscopically guided middle meatal cultures and maxillary sinus cultures. These studies, however, are all limited by small sample sizes and therefore are inadequate to make any concrete recommendations regarding the relative role of endoscopically guided middle meatal cultures as a formal method of pathogen identification in acute bacterial rhinosinusitis. CONCLUSION: A formal prospective study with sufficient sample size to assess the concordance between the microbial flora of the maxillary sinus punctures and middle meatal cultures in acute rhinosinusitis is recommended.     

Comparison of ThinPrep versus conventional smear cytopreparatory techniques for fine-needle aspiration specimens of head and neck masses.

OBJECTIVES: Diagnostic accuracy of the ThinPrep process (Cytyc, Boxborough, MA) was compared with that of conventional (smear) cytopreparation for fine-needle aspiration (FNA) of head and neck masses. METHODS: In a prospective, randomized, single-blinded study, 209 patients served as their own controls and underwent 236 FNAs using ThinPrep and conventional (smear) cytopreparatory techniques. RESULTS: ThinPrep produced less air-drying artifact and less mechanical distortion than the conventional method. The conventional technique was diagnostic in 63% of samples; the ThinPrep technique was diagnostic in 55% of samples. When all results were combined, pathologists subjectively preferred the conventional technique but accepted use of ThinPrep as the only cytopreparatory technique for most head and neck masses. CONCLUSIONS: For adequately experienced cytopathologists, ThinPrep is acceptable for FNA of salivary masses, neck cysts, metastatic lymph nodes, and thyroid lesions. Conventional smear technique should be used for FNA of nonmetastatic lymphoid lesions. Use of ThinPrep can complement use of the conventional (smear) cytopreparatory technique when aspirate is nondiagnostic or bloody, when the patient has a blood-borne infectious disease, when the clinician is inexperienced, or when aspirate has entered the syringe.