The Hong Kong Society of Rheumatology consensus recommendations for the management of gout

Clinical Rheumatology - Gout is one of the most common noncommunicable diseases in Hong Kong. Although effective treatment options are readily available, the management of gout in Hong Kong remains...     

Vasodilator agents and supracollicular transection fail to inhibit cortical spreading depression in the cat

It remains an open question as to whether cortical spreading depression (CSD) is the pathophysiological correlate of the neurological symptoms in migraine with aura. In the experimental animal, CSD is an electrophysiological phenomenon mainly mediated via NMDA receptors. However, according to case reports in humans, visual aura in migraine can be alleviated by vasodilator substances, such as amyl nitrite and isoprenaline. There is also circumstantial evidence that brainstem nuclei (dorsal raphe nucleus and locus coeruleus) may play a pivotal role in the initiation of aura. In this study, CSD was elicited in alpha-chloralose anesthetized cats by cortical needle stab injury and monitored by means of laser Doppler flowmetry. Topical application of isoprenaline (0.1-1%) and amyl nitrite (0.05%) onto the exposed cortex had no effect on the elicitation or propagation of CSD. Also, after supracollicular transection, subsequent CSDs showed no differences in the speed of propagation and associated flow changes. We conclude from these data that--given CSD probably exists in humans during migraine--spreading neurological deficits during migraine aura are independent of brainstem influence and have a primarily neuronal rather than vascular mechanism of generation.     

Erythromycin treatment for gastrointestinal dysmotility in preterm infants

To report our clinical experience on the use of oral erythromycin for the treatment of severe gastrointestinal dysmotility in preterm infants.

Methodology:

A case series study of seven preterm infants (six were very low birthweight) with severe intestinal dysmotility in a tertiary neonatal centre.

Results:

All responded favourably without adverse effects and tolerated full enteral feeding within 1–2 weeks of the commencement of the drug.

Conclusions:

As prolonged total parenteral nutrition carries significant risk of complications, this therapy could be considered in selected preterm infants who fail to establish enteral feeding after an extended period, and in whom an anatomically obstructive lesion of the gastrointestinal tract has been excluded. Meanwhile, we would caution against the widespread implementation of this therapeutic approach until formal evaluation by randomized controlled trials have established the exact role of erythromycin, or its analogues, in the treatment of intestinal dysmotility in preterm infants.     

The unmasking of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pneumocystis jiroveci</Emphasis> pneumonia during reversal of immunosuppression: case reports and literature review

Background  

Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP) is an important opportunistic infection among immunosuppressed patients, especially in those infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). The clinical presentation of PCP in immunosuppressed patients have been well-reported in the literature. However, the clinical importance of PCP manifesting in the setting of an immunorestitution disease (IRD), defined as an acute symptomatic or paradoxical deterioration of a (presumably) preexisting infection, which is temporally related to the recovery of the immune system and is due to immunopathological damage associated with the reversal of immunosuppressive processes, has received relatively little attention until recently.     

Should we eradicate Helicobacter pylori infection in patients receiving nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs or low‐dose aspirin?

Whether Helicobacter pylori infection alters the risk of ulcer disease in patients receiving nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) or low‐dose aspirin is one of the most controversial topics in peptic ulcer research. This is an important management issue, particularly in countries where peptic ulcer disease is common and the prevalence of H. pylori infection is high. Current evidence shows that H. pylori infection increases the ulcer risk associated with NSAIDs or low‐dose aspirin. Eradication of H. pylori reduces the subsequent risk of endoscopic and complicated ulcers in patients who are about to start long‐term NSAIDs. Among patients with H. pylori infection and a history of ulcer bleeding who continue to use low‐dose aspirin, 1 week of eradication therapy prevents recurrent ulcer bleeding. Failure of eradication and concomitant use of NSAIDs, however, account for most cases of recurrent bleeding with low‐dose aspirin. The apparent protective effect of H. pylori in long‐term NSAIDs users reported in some studies was actually the weeding out of susceptible patients who were intolerant to NSAIDs. There is no convincing evidence that eradication of H. pylori has any clinically important adverse effect on the healing and prevention of ulcers in NSAIDs users.     

聚乙二醇在猪组织工程瓣膜制备中的应用

目的:观察聚乙二醇法在组织工程瓣膜准备中的应用价值,比较聚乙二醇去细胞前后组织工程瓣膜的物理特性。方法:实验于2005-10/2006-03在华中科技大学同济医学院基础医学院生物化学系实验室完成。①实验分组:取猪10只,由于猪主动脉瓣为三叶瓣结构,共取得瓣叶组织30个,麻醉后宰杀取其心脏动脉瓣膜,分为去细胞组和对照组,每组各15个。②实验方法:去细胞组用聚乙二醇和DNase I处理;瓣叶组织放入1kg/L聚乙二醇,室温下浸泡30～45min,振荡器加以振荡;含抗生素磷酸盐缓冲液浸泡24h,反复3次洗脱;以5×104U/L DNase I液浸泡处理1h;对照组仅以含抗生素磷酸盐缓冲液浸泡24h,反复3次洗脱。③实验评估:苏木精-伊红染色、扫描电镜观察去细胞情况,吸光度(A)值,计算去细胞率(%)=(对照组A值-去细胞组A值)/对照组A值×100%。猪去细胞瓣膜条置于力学测试仪测定最大负荷、最大应力、最大应变和弹性模量。结果:纳入猪10只,均进入结果分析。①去细胞组织形态学观察:去细胞组猪瓣膜组织中看不到细胞成分,且细胞外基质结构保存完整,胶原纤维排列整齐,无明显断裂,仍呈波浪状平行排列,结构紧凑,弹性纤维结构清晰,组织无明显水肿。②DNA含量分析:聚乙二醇处理后去细胞百分率为95.32%。③生物力学检测:与对照组比较,去细胞组瓣膜组织最大负荷[(12.586±1.693),(10.242±1.435)N,P>0.05]、最大应力[(2.346±0.342),(1.877±0.572)N/mm,P>0.05]、弹性模量(15.152±1.579,14.549±0.678,P>0.05)、最大应变[(31.685±7.533),(28.118±6.045)mm/N,>0.05]等均无显著差异。P结论:聚乙二醇法去除细胞完全,细胞外基质保存完整,对组织机械性能无明显影响,适于构建组织工程瓣膜。     

亚太地区炎症性肠病处理共识意见(一)

虽然目前亚太地区尚无炎症性肠病（IBD）的大规模流行病学资料，但一系列研究显示其发病率和患病率呈上升趋势。与西方国家相比仍呈滞后现象。溃疡性结肠炎（UC）的发病率仍较克罗恩病（CD）高。除地域差异外。在一些多民族国家中，IBD尚可见种族差异。亚太地区IBD的遗传背景有异于西方国家。如据报道该地区CD患者未检出NOD2／CARDI5变异。一般而言，该地区IBD患者的临床过程似不如西方国家严重。 亚太地区IBD的诊断存在一些特殊问题。如缺乏IBD诊断金标准。存在多种小肠结肠炎，与IBD临床表现相似，使鉴别诊断特别困难。迄今为止，亚太地区IBD的诊断标准多采用西方国家的诊断标准。诊断必须逐步排除非IBD的小肠结肠炎。确诊应有典型的组织学表现。某些患者需借助随访和诊断性治疗才能确诊。进一步研究IBD发病机制将有助于开发更好的诊断标记物。 亚太地区IBD的治疗亦存在特殊问题。由于诊断困难。IBD患者常未能及时接受适当的药物治疗，但该地区仍广泛采用药物治疗方案。结合西方指南和本地经验可制定类似的处理原则。以利诱导缓解和维持缓解。提倡逐级使用基于病变范围、活动性和严重度的阶梯式治疗方案。对不同病例采用综合性、个体化的方法。随着对IBD发病机制和亚太地区IBD独特性的深入理解。合理、实用的药物治疗指南和应用生物制剂治疗将改善该地区IBD的治疗前景。     

Two-year survival and neurological outcome of in-hospital cardiac arrest patients rescued by extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation

Background

The clinical benefit of extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (E-CPR) has been proved in short-term follow-up studies. However, the benefit of E-CPR beyond 1 year has been not known. We investigated 2-year outcome of patients who received E-CPR or conventional CPR (C-CPR).

Methods

We analyzed a total of 406 adult in-hospital cardiac arrest victims who underwent CPR for more than 10 min from 2003 to 2009. The two-year survival and neurological outcome of E-CPR (n = 85) and C-CPR (n = 321) were compared using propensity score-matched analysis.

Results

The 2-year survival with minimal neurological impairment was 4-fold higher in the E-CPR group than the C-CPR group (23.5% versus 5.9%, hazard ratio (HR) = 0.57, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 0.43–0.75, p < 0.001) by unadjusted analysis. After propensity-score matching, it was still 4-fold higher in the E-CPR group than the C-CPR group (20.0% versus 5.0%, HR = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.36–0.80, p = 0.002). In the E-CPR group, the independent predictors associated with minimal neurological impairment were age ≤ 65 years (HR = 0.46; 95% CI = 0.26–0.81; p = 0.008), CPR duration ≤ 35 min (HR = 0.37; 95% CI = 0.18–0.76; p = 0.007), and subsequent cardiovascular intervention including coronary intervention or cardiac surgery (HR = 0.36; 95% CI = 0.18–0.68; p = 0.002).

Conclusions

The initial survival benefit of E-CPR for cardiac arrest patients persisted at 2 years.     

Inflammatory bowel disease: A survey of the epidemiology in Asia

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has long been considered a disease that affects predominantly a Western population. The incidence and prevalence rates from Asian populations are much lower in comparison. More recent data, however, have shown significantly higher rates in Asians and time trend studies have shown an increase in the incidence of ulcerative colitis (UC) and a similar but lower rise in Crohn's disease (CD). The epidemiological changes that are taking place mirror that of the Western experience seen 50 years previously and seem to occur in parallel with the rapid socioeconomic development taking place in Asia. It appears that certain racial groups are more prone than others to develop IBD. For instance, Indians in South‐East Asia have higher rates compared to Chinese and Malays. While there is host genetic predisposition, environmental factor(s) may be responsible for this difference. Migrant studies of South Asians in the UK, where second‐generation immigrants have assumed incidence rates as high as the indigenous whites and Asian Jews who develop high incidence rates comparable to Jews from Europe or North America in Israel point to the role of environmental factors. It is unclear which specific factors are responsible. Studies have suggested a change in diet to a more Westernized one may underlie this epidemiological change in the Asian population. It is likely that there are racial groups amongst Asians who are more susceptible to IBD and who will demonstrate a higher frequency of IBD when exposed to putative environmental factors.     

Management guidelines for uninvestigated and functional dyspepsia in the Asia-Pacific region: First Asian Pacific working party on functional dyspepsia

Dyspepsia is most optimally defined as pain or discomfort centred in the upper abdomen. The symptom complex may be caused by peptic ulcer disease, gastro-oesophageal reflux, or gastric cancer but is most often due to functional (or non-ulcer) dyspepsia. While upper endoscopy is the method of choice to determine the underlying cause of dyspepsia, it is expensive. A more pragmatic approach is needed in the Asia-Pacific region where health services are limited. A detailed treatment algorithm is given for managing patients presenting with new-onset dyspepsia and documented functional dyspepsia after endoscopy, and evidence to support this approach is reviewed. Prompt endoscopy is recommended for patients with alarm features. In patients without alarm features, treatment for 2–4 weeks with an empirical anti-secretory or prokinetic agent, followed by investigation using non-invasive Helicobacter pylori testing and treatment for patients who do not respond or relapse, is recommended. Trials of management strategies are now needed to establish the efficacy and cost-effectiveness of the approaches recommended.