Objective - To examine how general practitioners (GPs) respond to patients who are non-compliant with medical advice and who doctors believe act irresponsibly towards their health. Design - Quantitative analysis of responses to questionnaire with case histories. Setting and subjects - 93 questionnaires completed by a random stratified sample of Norwegian GPs. Main outcome measures - Scores relating to GPs' feelings and choice of main and sub-strategies for further treatment of patients. Results - The respondents typically felt discouraged or unaffected by non-compliant patients, younger doctors more often felt helpless while older ones were more content, and female doctors more often than male doctors felt irritated or angry. The main strategy preferred was to give the patient a new appointment. The young, the inexperienced, and females tended more often to ask a colleague for advice or refer to a specialist. Patient-centred sub-strategies were generally preferred, especially by younger doctors. Conclusion - GPs' feelings towards and strategies for dealing with non-compliant patients vary, and the doctor's age, sex and clinical experience are central variables. 相似文献
Pertussis is an under-recognized serious infection. Conventional cultures are insensitive and of limited utility after antibiotic exposure. We corroborated the utility of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as a diagnostic tool in pertussis and investigated its role as a prognostic tool by evaluating its benefit in the quantification of pertussis bacterial load. All pertussis-positive PCR tests (n = 104) submitted over 5 years were collected for retrospective study. PCR cycle threshold was compared to quantitative culture in 43. Compared to PCR, the sensitivity of culture was 41%. Our PCR assay reliably quantified bacterial load and was quantitatively reproducible. Higher bacterial load correlated with longer duration of hospitalization (P = 0.0003), and multivariate logistic regression models demonstrated this association to be independent. The study confirmed PCR as a superior diagnostic tool in pertussis. PCR quantification of bacterial load at initial diagnosis predicts later clinical disease severity, suggesting a potential benefit of PCR as a prognostic tool in pertussis. 相似文献
OBJECTIVES: Some patients and oncologists choose to treat localized esophageal cancer with definitive chemotherapy and radiation therapy rather than surgery. A subset of these patients have local relapse without distant metastases and therefore have no other curative intent treatment option but salvage esophagectomy. METHODS: We reviewed our experience with salvage esophagectomy from 1987 to 2000 at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center (n = 13, salvage after chemotherapy and radiotherapy group) and compared the data with those of patients receiving esophagectomy in a planned fashion 4 to 6 weeks after preoperative chemotherapy and radiation therapy (n = 99, preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy group). RESULTS: Increases in morbidity were seen after resection in the salvage after chemotherapy and radiotherapy group relative to the preoperative chemotherapy and radiotherapy group: mechanical ventilation (9.0 days vs 3.3 days, P =.08), intensive care unit stay (11.2 days vs 5.1 days, P =.07), hospital stay (29.4 days vs 18.4 days, P =.03), and anastomotic leak rates (5/13 [39%] vs 7/99 [7%], P =.005). Operative mortality (within 30 days) also tended to be increased statistically nonsignificantly (2/13 [15%] vs 6/99 [6%], P =.2). Salvage esophagectomy resulted in long-term survival (25% 5-year survival) in a subset of patients. Improved survival after salvage esophagectomy was associated with early pathologic stage (T1 N0, T2 N0), prolonged time to relapse, and R0 surgical resection. CONCLUSION: Patients who undergo salvage esophagectomy for relapse of tumor after definitive chemoradiation therapy have increased morbidity, mortality, and hospital use relative to patients undergoing planned esophagectomy after preoperative chemoradiation. Nevertheless, long-term survival can be achieved in this group, and such treatment should be considered for carefully selected patients at an experienced center. 相似文献
In 2003, the US kidney allocation system was changed to eliminate priority for HLA‐B similarity. We report outcomes from before and after this change using data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). Analyses were based on 108 701 solitary deceased donor kidney recipients during the 6 years before and after the policy change. Racial/ethnic distributions of recipients in the two periods were compared (chi‐square); graft failures were analyzed using Cox models. In the 6 years before and after the policy change, the overall number of deceased donor transplants rose 23%, with a larger increase for minorities (40%) and a smaller increase for non‐Hispanic whites (whites) (8%). The increase in the proportion of transplants for non‐whites versus whites was highly significant (p < 0.0001). Two‐year graft survival improved for all racial/ethnic groups after implementation of this new policy. Findings confirmed prior SRTR predictions. Following elimination of allocation priority for HLA‐B similarity, the deficit in transplantation rates among minorities compared with that for whites was reduced but not eliminated; furthermore, there was no adverse effect on graft survival. 相似文献
The objective of this paper is to review the current literature regarding the use of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) in preclinical models of traumatic brain injury (TBI) as well as discuss the potential role of VNS along with alternative neuromodulation approaches in the treatment of human TBI. Data from previous studies have demonstrated VNS-mediated improvement following TBI in animal models. In these cases, VNS was observed to enhance motor and cognitive recovery, attenuate cerebral edema and inflammation, reduce blood brain barrier breakdown, and confer neuroprotective effects. Yet, the underlying mechanisms by which VNS enhances recovery following TBI remain to be fully elucidated. Several hypotheses have been offered including: a noradrenergic mechanism, reduction in post-TBI seizures and hyper-excitability, anti-inflammatory effects, attenuation of blood–brain barrier breakdown, and cerebral edema. We present other potential mechanisms by which VNS acts including enhancement of synaptic plasticity and recruitment of endogenous neural stem cells, stabilization of intracranial pressure, and interaction with the ghrelin system. In addition, alternative methods for the treatment of TBI including deep brain stimulation, transcranial magnetic stimulation, transcranial direct current stimulation, and focused ultrasound stimulation are discussed. Although the primary source data show that VNS improves TBI outcomes, it remains to be determined if these findings can be translated to clinical settings.