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.     

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.     

Laryngeal edema associated with the ProSeal™ laryngeal mask airway in upper respiratory tract infection

PURPOSE: We report an unusual case of vocal cord edema associated with the use of a ProSeal laryngeal mask airway (PLMA) in an adult patient with an undiagnosed upper respiratory tract infection (URTI). CLINICAL FEATURES: A 55-yr-old woman had fixation of a radial fracture under general anesthesia with muscle relaxation. She developed audible wheezing 30 min after PLMA insertion. Bronchoscopic examination revealed significant vocal cord edema. Adequate ventilation was possible at increased airway pressures, and the administration of dexamethasone 4 mg iv produced clinical resolution of the stridor and airway obstruction. The patient admitted to having mild symptoms of an URTI on postoperative questioning. CONCLUSION: Airway hyperreactivity secondary to the URTI is the most likely etiological factor; other possibilities include trauma from insertion and chemical irritation. Although pediatric studies suggest that the LMA-Classic carries less risk than endotracheal intubation in the presence of URTI, this case report demonstrates that caution is still warranted when using supraglottic airways. The PLMA permitted effective ventilation despite increased airway resistance; nevertheless its role in patients with URTI is unclear. It is possible that the bulkier cuff design of the PLMA, compared to that of the LMA-Classic, may have partly contributed to the development of edema in this setting.     

Reversible changes in cerebral activity associated with acidosis in preterm neonates

Murdoch Eaton DG, Wertheim D, Oozeer R, Dubowitz LMS, Dubowitz V. Reversible changes in cerebral activity associated with acidosis in preterm neonates. Acta Paediatr 1994;83:486–92. Stockholm. ISSN 0803–5253
Computerized online EEG monitoring in ventilated preterm infants less than 32 weeks' gestation enabled evaluation of the effect of acidosis on cerebral function. All episodes of acidosis were found to be associated with changes in the levels of cerebral activity. In 21 of the 32 episodes, EEG activity returned to pre-acidosis levels after therapeutic intervention. The duration of EEG abnormality was related to the severity of acidosis. However, the time to recovery of the EEG after therapeutic procedures was not related to duration of the EEG change.     

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The opinions or assertions contained herein are the private views of the authors and are not to be construed as official nor as reflecting the views of the United States Air Force