Intravenous lidocaine as adjuvant to sevoflurane anesthesia for endotracheal intubation in children

IMPLICATIONS: Supplementing a sevoflurane induction of anesthesia in children with IV lidocaine 2 mg/kg can suppress cough after tracheal intubation and thus improve intubating conditions. In addition, lidocaine minimizes blood pressure fluctuations after tracheal intubation.     

Inhibition of chemical carcinogenesis by berberine in rats and mice

Berberine, an alkaloid isolated from the plant Berberis aristata, has been found to inhibit significantly the carcinogenesis induced by 20-methylcholanthrene (200 microg/0.1 mL/mouse) or N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA; 0.02% NDEA in distilled water, 2.5 mL/animal by gavage, five days a week for 20 weeks) in a dose-dependent manner in small animals. Administration of berberine (0.5, 2.5 or 5.0 mg kg(-1)) could reduce significantly the incidence of tumour in animals after an injection of 20-methylcholanthrene and increased their life span compared with the control. When berberine (10, 25 or 50 mg kg(-1)) was administered simultaneously with NDEA, the markers of liver injury (liver weight, gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity and glutathione S-transferase level) were reduced significantly compared with animals treated with NDEA only, which resulted in all the values being elevated. A similar decrease was noted in the serum levels of lipid peroxide, bilirubin and glutamate pyruvate transaminase. Morphology of liver tissue and levels of marker enzymes indicated that berberine offered protection against chemical carcinogenesis.     

皮质类固醇治疗外伤性视神经病变的四天关键时期(英文)

目的:评估静脉注射甲基强的松龙(IVMP)对外伤性视神经病变患者的疗效。方法:回顾性分析2000-01至2007-06我院收治的16例外伤性视神经病变(TON)患者的临床资料。1g甲基强的松龙分3d静脉应用,然后口服泼尼松龙11d,并逐渐减量。记录从损伤开始到治疗开始的时间。视力变化是本研究结果的主要功能评价指标。在入院时,治疗后1,2,3d;1wk和1mo时,分别记录最佳矫正视力(BCVA)。结果:共有16例患者纳入本研究,平均年龄为30岁,其中男性14例、女性2例。引起TON的主要原因有摩托车事故(占69%),打架斗殴(占19%)和体育运动(占12%)。所有患者都表现有相对传入性瞳孔障碍。在损伤后4d内开始静脉注射甲基强的松龙,采用Snellen视力表检查视力,绝大部分(56%)患者视力提高超过3行或大于等于0.5(6/12)。在损伤后5d以上才开始用类固醇治疗,视力则没有任何进步。结论:治疗TON,静脉注射中等到大剂量甲基强的松龙仍将起到重要作用。静脉注射甲基强的松龙治疗TON可能存在伤后4d的关键时期,超过了这个时期,该治疗可能就毫无效果。但还需要有更多的研究来为我们提供有明显统计学意义的数据。     

Simultaneous total arch replacement and abdominal aortic surgery

It is common to encounter patients with coexisting aortic arch aneurysm and abdominal aortic lesions. We conducted simultaneous total arch replacement and abdominal aortic surgery in 3 patients having such lesions. Mean operative time was 511 minutes and no in-hospital mortality occurred. Postoperative respiratory failure was observed in an 80-year-old patient who recovered and all three patients were discharged in good condition. No other postoperative complication was seen. Simultaneous total arch replacement and abdominal aortic surgery may thus offer advantages to patients with such double aortic lesions if it can be conducted safely.     

Behavioural Effects of the Methanolic Root Bark Extract of Securinega Virosa in Rodents

Securinega virosa is used traditionally as sedative in children and in mental illnesses. In this study, the behavioral effects of methanolic root bark extract of S. virosa were investigated in mice. The results revealed that the extract significantly (P<0.05) and dose-dependently reduced the onset and prolonged the duration of sleep. The extract significantly (P<0.05) decreased exploratory activity and reduced the rate of apomorphine-induced stereotyped climbing at the doses tested (6.25–25mg/kg). It also produced a significant and dose-dependent motor coordination deficit in mice at the doses tested (P<0.01). The intraperitoneal median lethal dose in mice was 774.6mg/kg while the preliminary phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, tannins, saponins and flavonoids. These results suggest that methanolic root bark extract of S. virosa contains biologically active principles that are sedative in nature and lend pharmacological credence to the ethnomedical use of the plant.     

Speech-controlled generation of radiology reports

Voice entry has been successfully employed to generate radiology reports with a word recognizer with a 1,000-word lexicon capacity. About 50% of reports were able to be dictated with a single 900-word lexicon. This was split into five sections by anatomic or subspecialty application. Each was augmented to 900 words. By switching from one lexicon to another, it was possible to dictate more than 70% of reports. With exclusive use of three lexicons in subspecialty areas (gastrointestinal radiology, neuroradiology, and mammography), and with further modification of the respective vocabulary, it has been possible to employ the system 88% of the time. Twelve percent of cases included wording that was beyond the scope of the lexicon. Computer subsets that allow different translations of some words when used in different contexts have been used. Some of these are used as triggers that will print whole lines, sentences, or even complete reports. Dictation times with voice entry take about 20% longer. Recognition reliability has been greater than 95%.     

The efficacy of '0.05% Clobetasol + 2.5% zinc sulphate' cream vs. '0.05% Clobetasol alone' cream in the treatment of the chronic hand eczema: a double-blind study

Background Many therapeutic modalities have been suggested for treatment of the chronic hand eczema. Despite good immediate efficacy of some of these treatments, there is high recurrence of the dermatitis following cessation of the treatment. Aim Regarding the beneficial effects of the zinc sulfate on the skin, we designed a double blind study to evaluate the efficacy of the ‘0.05% Clobetasol + 2.5% zinc sulphate’ cream versus ‘0.05% Clobetasol alone’ cream in the treatment of the chronic hand eczema. Subjects and Methods This study was a double‐blind, right to left, prospective, clinical trial. In total, 47 patients with chronic hand eczema admitted to dermatology center of Isfahan University of Medical Sciences were selected and their right hand or left hand were selected at random to be treated with either the ‘0.05% Clobetasol + 2.5% zinc sulphate’ cream or ‘0.05% Clobetasol alone’ cream twice daily for 2 weeks. All of the patients were treated for 2 weeks and were followed up at weeks 2, 4, 6 and 8 after starting the treatment. For determining the severity of chronic hand eczema, we assessed and scored 4 different characteristics of the lesions including redness; scaling; lichenification and pruritus. The data were analyzed using SPSS program (release 13) and statistical tests including Mann‐Whitney test. Results Overall, 47 patients (94 samples) were evaluated. All of these patients had similar and symmetrical lesions on their right and left hands. Out of them, 35 patients were females and 12 patients were male. In all of the evaluated characterisitics, the ‘0.05% Clobetasol + 2.5% zinc sulphate’ cream was more effective than ‘0.05% Clobetasol alone’ cream (P < 0.05). The recurrence rate of eczema was significantly lower in the group treated with this combination treatment (P < 0.05). Conclusion With regard to the encouraging results of the combination treatment with Clobetasol + zinc sulphate, we suggest that in a more extensive clinical trial, the efficacy of this treatment against chronic hand dermatitis be evaluated. In addition, evaluation of this combination therapy against other inflammatory dermatosis seems to be logical.