Horizontal advancement flap for lateral dorsal nasal defects

BACKGROUND: Repairing dorsal nasal defects is a frequent challenge for dermatologic surgeons, mainly due to the high frequency of basal cell carcinomas on this site. Obvious scars, mismatched skin and distortion of the nasal contour are the surgical hazards that must be avoided in these cases. AIM: Our aim was to perform surgery involving a simple flap in order to repair medium to large defects on the dorsal side of the nose. METHODS: The dorsal horizontal advancement flap was studied in 12 patients, in order to evaluate the benefits and limits of this surgical procedure. RESULTS: The resulting scars on most of our patients were well-camouflaged among their natural skin lines, and there was neither distortion of the alar contour nor the nostril. CONCLUSIONS: This flap is easy to perform and, in selected cases, provides an outstanding alternative to second-intention healing, full-thickness skin grafts, transposition, rotation and pedicle flaps.     

Systematic overview of drug interactions with antidepressant medications.

OBJECTIVE: Antidepressants are commonly used drugs with potential for numerous drug interactions. This study aims to systematically review the literature on drug interactions with antidepressants. METHODS: We searched MEDLINE (1966 to November 2003) and EMBASE (1980 to 2003), using the heading drug interactions combined with individual antidepressant names. We restricted searches to English-language articles and human studies. We screened drug interaction texts and review articles for relevant studies. We included articles reporting original human data on drug interactions with antidepressants commonly used in North America. Articles were independently evaluated by 2 reviewers on clinical effect, clinical significance, and quality of evidence. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus. RESULTS: There were 904 eligible interactions, involving 9509 patients, for a total of 598 summary interactions. Of these, 439 (73%) demonstrated an interaction, 148 (25%) had no effect, and 11 (2%) had conflicting evidence. For 510 interactions (85%), the quality of evidence was poor. It was fair for 67 (11%) interactions and good for 10 (2%) interactions. There were no interactions with excellent quality of evidence. There were 145 (24%) interactions of major clinical significance. These were predominantly hypertensive emergencies and serotonin syndrome. Most interacting drugs had central nervous system (CNS) activity. As expected, monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) appear to be the most problematic family in terms of potential for serious drug interactions. CONCLUSIONS: Drug interactions with antidepressants are an important cause for concern, but this concern is based primarily on poor evidence. We recommend caution when combining antidepressants with other CNS drugs, particularly when coadministering MAOIs with other substances.     

Ketorolac during the induction phase of cyclosporin-A therapy.

PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to determine if the concomitant use of ketorolac 0.4% and cyclosporin-A improves patient comfort during the induction phase in treating chronic dry eye disease. METHODS: Patients (n = 52) with clinically diagnosed dry eye were randomized to receive either cyclosporin-A monotherapy twice-daily (BID) or a BID adjunctive regimen of ketorolac, followed by the instillation of cyclosporin-A 10 min later. Study visits were at baseline, week 2, and week 6. At each study visit, patients underwent an evaluation for corneal staining, Schirmer's scores, and tear break-up time tests. Patients were asked to rate ocular comfort on a 4-point scale and to complete the ocular surface disease index (OSDI). Changes from baseline readings were recorded at week-2 and week-6 visits, and final patient success on treatment regimen was evaluated at week 6. RESULTS: After 6 weeks, the mean ocular comfort score of adjunctive patients improved 2.55 +/- 0.95 points, versus 1.53 +/- 0.91 points for monotherapy (P = 0.309). The adjunctive regimen provided significantly greater corneal staining reductions versus monotherapy, mean reduction in staining of 1.74 +/- 0.9, versus 1.27 +/- 0.56 (P = 0.044). CONCLUSIONS: Concurrent ketorolac 0.4% use with cyclosporin-A significantly reduced corneal staining and increased comfort in the induction phase.     

Women's access to modern methods of fertility regulation.

Preventing unintended pregnancies through access to modern family planning could avert 20-35% of maternal deaths, saving the lives of more than 100,000 women each year. Obstacles to wider access still exist, but they may be overcome by overt policy commitment to reproductive health services, partnership between stakeholders, community involvement and quality programs.     

p53 expression and disease outcome of breast cancer patients undergoing primary chemotherapy with anthracycline-containing regimens

Primary chemotherapy administered to breast cancer patientsis the best model to identify baseline features able to predictwhich patients may be most likely to benefit or not from a cytotoxicregimen. In the March issue of Annals of Oncology two papersevaluated the predictive role of immunohistochemical p53 expressionon     

Perspectives on Health Among Adult Users of Illicit Stimulant Drugs in Rural Ohio

CONTEXT: Although the nonmedical use of stimulant drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine is increasingly common in many rural areas of the United States, little is known about the health beliefs of people who use these drugs. PURPOSE: This research describes illicit stimulant drug users' views on health and health-related concepts that may affect their utilization of health care services. METHODS: A respondent-driven sampling plan was used to recruit 249 not-in-treatment, nonmedical stimulant drug users who were residing in 3 rural counties in west central Ohio. A structured questionnaire administered by trained interviewers was used to collect information on a range of topics, including current drug use, self-reported health status, perceived need for substance abuse treatment, and beliefs about health and health services. FINDINGS: Participants reported using a wide variety of drugs nonmedically, some by injection. Alcohol and marijuana were the most commonly used drugs in the 30 days prior to the interview. Powder cocaine was used by 72.3% of the sample, crack by 68.3%, and methamphetamine by 29.7%. Fair or poor health status was reported by 41.3% of the participants. Only 20.9% of the sample felt they needed drug abuse treatment. Less than one third of the sample reported that they would feel comfortable talking to a physician about their drug use, and 65.1% said they preferred taking care of their problems without getting professional help. CONCLUSIONS: Stimulant drug users in rural Ohio are involved with a range of substances and hold health beliefs that may impede health services utilization.     

Fetal growth patterns in fetuses of women with pregestational diabetes mellitus.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the effect of glucose control on the rate of growth of fetuses in women with pregestational diabetes mellitus (Types 1 and 2). METHODS: All pregestational diabetic women booked at Mater Mothers' Hospital, Brisbane, Australia, between 1 January 1994 and 31 December 2002, were included. Pregnancies with congenital fetal anomalies, multiple pregnancies, and pregnancies terminated prior to 20 weeks' gestation were excluded. Dating scans were performed before 14 weeks' gestation and serial scans were performed at 18, 24, 28, 32 and 36 weeks. Fetal parameters, including biparietal diameter, femur length and abdominal circumference, were recorded. The daily growth rates for biparietal diameter, femur length, and fetal abdominal area were calculated and compared with those in a low-risk (non-diabetic) population. The growth rates in fetuses of women with satisfactory diabetic control (HbA1c < 6.5%) and unsatisfactory control (HbA1c > or = 6.5%) in the three trimesters were compared. RESULTS: A total of 174 diabetic pregnancies were included and a total of 997 ultrasound scans were performed. The growth rates for fetuses of mothers with diabetes mellitus were significantly higher than for those in the low-risk population. The z-scores for biparietal diameter, femur length, and fetal abdominal area were 0.18, 0.59 and 1.44, respectively. Fetuses of diabetic mothers with high HbA1c in the first trimester had significantly greater fetal abdominal area growth rate than those with normal HbA1c (fetal abdominal area z-score of 1.7 vs. 0.75, P = 0.009). Although the fetal abdominal area z-scores in fetuses of diabetic mothers with high HbA1c in the second or third trimesters were also higher than those with normal HbA1c levels, the differences did not reach statistical significance. Maternal obesity did not influence the fetal growth rate. CONCLUSION: The rate of growth of fetuses of diabetic mothers differs from that of the normal population. Growth acceleration persists until the late third trimester. Moreover, periconceptional glucose control appears to have a significant effect on accelerated growth of the fetal abdominal area.