Home-based Health Risk Appraisal and screening program

In an effort to improve Health Risk Appraisals and to induce individuals to change their lifestyles, comprehensive evaluations and counseling sessions were carried out for 476 participants of an experimental preventive care program (1984). Nurse practitioners interviewed participants in their homes and collected information about their lifestyle, medical history, and family history. In addition, physical examinations were performed and blood samples were obtained for laboratory analysis. This information was used to formulate health risk profiles for all participants who were then counseled on how to decrease identified health risks. Interventions included education about health risks and specific programs which were administered to help modify high-risk behaviors. At one year follow-up, significant risk reductions were reported in many areas of increased risk.Victor W. Acquista, M.D., is a Fellow in General Internal Medicine, Rhode Island Hospital. Tom J. Wachtel, M.D., is Director, Medical Primary Care Unit, Rhode Island Hospital, and Assistant Professor of Community Health, Brown University. Celia I. Gomes, M.P.H., is Health Education Coordinator, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Michael Salzillo, M.S., is Team Leader, Statistical Analysis Department, Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Rhode Island. Melanie Stockman, R.N., is Director of Ambulatory Nursing, Rhode Island Hospital.     

Acetylcholinesterase Adaptation to Voluntary Wheel Running is Proportional to the Volume of Activity in Fast, but not Slow, Rat Hindlimb Muscles

Chronic enhancement of neuromuscular activity by forced exercise training programmes results in selective adaptation of the G₄ acetylcholinesterase (AChE) molecular form in hindlimb fast muscles of the rat, with only minor and non-selective AChE changes in the soleus. In order to shed further light on the physiological significance of this G₄ adaptation to training, we turned to a voluntary exercise model. The impact of 5 days and 4 weeks of voluntary wheel cage running on AChE molecular forms was examined in four hindlimb fast muscles and the slow-twitch soleus from two rat strains. Inbred Fisher and Sprague– Dawley rats, placed in live-in wheel cages, exercised spontaneously for distances which progressively increased up to an average of ∼3 and 18 km/day, respectively, by the end of week 4. Fast muscles responded to this voluntary activity by massive G₄ increases (up to 420%) with almost no changes in A₁₂, so that by week 4 the tetramer became the main AChE component of these muscles. The additional G₄ was composed primarily of amphiphilic molecules, suggesting a membrane-bound state. The G₄ content of fast muscles was highly correlated with the distance covered by the rats during the 5 days before they were killed ( r = 0.850-0.879, P < 0.001 in three muscles). The soleus muscle, in turn, responded to wheel cage activity by a marked selective reduction of its asymmetric forms—up to 45% for A₁₂. This A₁₂ decline, already maximal by day 5 of wheel cage running, showed no relationship with the distance covered. The present results constitute strong new evidence suggesting that the role of AChE in neuromuscular transmission is not limited solely to the rapid inactivation of just-released acetylcholine.     

Isolation of pathogenic bacteria from hospital staff apparel in Nigeria

A survey of bacteria contamination of hospital staff apparel in use in Anambra State, Nigeria, was carried out to determine the extent of contamination by clinically important bacteria. Of a total of 125 swab samples of hospital staff apparel, 72 (58%) showed bacterial contamination including 32 (70%) of 46 samples from hand gloves, 28 of 45 (62%) samples from protective gowns, and 12 of 34 (35%) samples from face-shields. The potentially pathogenic bacteria isolated were Salmonella spp, Proteus vulgaris, Shigella dysenteriae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. The isolation of clinically important bacteria from the apparel suggests the need for improved infection control measures.     

Chemotherapy and cardiotoxicity in older breast cancer patients: a population-based study.

PURPOSE: Adjuvant chemotherapy, especially with anthracyclines, is known to cause acute and chronic cardiotoxicity in breast cancer patients. We studied the cardiac effects of chemotherapy in a population-based sample of breast cancer patients aged > or = 65 years with long-term follow-up. PATIENTS AND METHODS: In the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare database, we analyzed treatments and outcomes among women > or = 65 years of age who were diagnosed with stage I to III breast cancer from January 1, 1992 to December 31, 1999. Propensity scores were used to control for baseline heart disease (HD) and other known predictors of chemotherapy, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate the risk of cardiomyopathy (CM), congestive heart failure (CHF), and HD after chemotherapy. RESULTS: Of 31,748 women with stage I to III breast cancer, 5,575 (18%) received chemotherapy. Chemotherapy was associated with younger age, fewer comorbidities, hormone receptor negativity, multiple primary tumors, and advanced disease. Patients who received chemotherapy were less likely than other patients to have pre-existing HD (45% v 55%, respectively; P < .001). The hazard ratios for CM, CHF, and HD for patients treated with doxorubicin (DOX) compared with patients who received no chemotherapy were 2.48 (95% CI, 2.10 to 2.93), 1.38 (95% CI, 1.25 to 1.52), and 1.35 (95% CI, 1.26 to 1.44), respectively. The relative risk of cardiotoxicity among patients who received DOX compared with untreated patients remained elevated 5 years after diagnosis. CONCLUSION: When baseline HD was taken into account, chemotherapy, especially with anthracyclines, was associated with a substantially increased risk of CM. As the number of long-term survivors grows, identifying and minimizing the late effects of treatment will become increasingly important.     

Antifibrinolytics in orthotopic liver transplantation: current status and controversies.

This article reviews the current status and controversies of the 3 commonly used antifibrinolytics-epsilon-aminocaproic acid, tranexamic acid and aprotinin-during liver transplantation. There is no general consensus on how, when or which antifibrinolytics should be used in liver transplantation. Although these drugs appear to reduce blood loss and decrease transfusion requirements during liver transplantation, their use is not supported uniformly in clinical trials. Aprotinin has been studied more extensively in clinical trials and appear to offer more advantages compared to two other antifibrinolytics. Because of the diverse population of liver transplant recipients and the potential adverse effects of antifibrinolytics, especially life-threatening thromboembolism, careful patient selection and close monitoring is prudent. Further studies addressing the risks and benefits of antifibrinolytics in the setting of liver transplantation are warranted.     

低浓度5-Fu24-小时持续化疗对BEL-7402肝癌细胞株的细胞周期的影响

目的研究低浓度5-Fu 24-小时持续化疗和高浓度5-Fu短时间化疗对BEL-7402肝癌细胞株的细胞周期的影响：方法用低浓度(1000．0μg/L)的5．Fu对BEL-7402肝癌细胞株进行持续24小时的培养(A组)，用高浓度(50000．0μg/L)的5-Fu对BEL-1 7402肝癌细胞株进行2小时培养(B组)，在培养后的不同时间点用流式细胞技术检测细胞周期的变化。结果A组结果显示：0h、4h、8h、12h、16h、20h和24h的S期细胞的百分数分别为25.23％、32．35％、39．28％、41．05％、46．02％、47．00％及47．14％。B组结果显示：0h、4h、8h、12h、16h、20h和24h的S期细胞的百分数分别为24．68％、68．43％、46．67％、43．67％、35．42％、33．22％及32．96％。结论5-Fu引起的S期细胞周期阻滞不但和浓度相关，也和作用时间相关。低浓度(1000．0μg/L)的5-Fu持续化疗较高浓度(50000．0μg/L)的5-Fu短时间(2小时)化疗更容易引起BEL-7402肝癌细胞株S期阻滞。     

元认知能力在医学生临床实习中的培养

元认知能力在医学生临床实习过程中起着非常重要的作用。培养医学生的元认知能力 ,必须丰富医学生的元认知知识 ,强化医学生的元认知体验 ,促进医学生加强元认知监控 ,从而使他们成为独立自主、有创造力的学习者。