红花注射液治疗冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血临床观察

目的:观察红花注射液治疗冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血的临床疗效。方法:选择126例冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血的病例,分红花组及丹参组,疗程两周,详细记录治疗前后的临床表现、心电图、血糖、血脂、血液流变学检查的变化。结果:红花、丹参均可明显改善冠心病心肌缺血相应的临床症状和心电图改变,以红花较显著。红花还有降血糖、血脂作用,显著改善血液流变指标。结论:红花注射液是治疗冠心病心绞痛、心肌缺血的理想药物。     

Residents can be trained to detect abdominal aortic aneurysms using personal ultrasound imagers: a pilot study.

Our objective was to test the hypothesis that internal medicine residents can be trained to screen for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) using personal ultrasound imagers. We trained 5 randomly chosen internal medicine residents to image the abdominal aorta for patients with risk factors for AAAs using personal ultrasound imagers. Residents were trained in 3 or 4 one-on-one sessions with an instructor. To be eligible, patients had to be older than 65 years and have hypertension. After training, each of the 5 residents studied 3 patients independently. In 12 of the residents' 15 unsupervised studies, their abdominal aorta measurements were within 5 mm of the instructor's measurements with standard echocardiography (mean difference 3 mm, range 0-6 mm). Residents detected 3 previously unknown AAAs measuring 5.2, 4.2, and 3.9 cm in diameter. We conclude residents can be trained to image the abdominal aorta with personal ultrasound imagers and to identify AAAs in patients at risk.     

Assessing the validity of childhood blood pressure screening: unbiased estimates of sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values.

Blood pressure measurement in childhood can be considered as a screening test for future blood pressure levels. Evaluating this test involves calculating sensitivities, specificities, and predictive values for a blood pressure measurement at an initial time for predicting underlying true blood pressure at a subsequent time. We demonstrate the use of childhood blood pressure tracking correlations that are corrected for within-person variability to calculate unbiased estimates of these test characteristics. In a cohort of 333 schoolchildren, we measured blood pressure on multiple visits in each of 4 successive years. Using these data for within-person variances and corrected tracking correlations, and U.S. population data for means and total variances, we tabulated positive predictive values, sensitivities, and specificities for the case of predicting a 9-year-old male's true systolic blood pressure 3 years later. For example, if a 9-year-old's average blood pressure from 4 visits is 115 mmHg, the probability of his true blood pressure being greater than 116 mmHg (90th percentile) at age 12 is 0.50. With longer follow-up, the use of predictive values, sensitivities, and specificities that incorporate corrected correlations should allow determination of the accuracy of predicting adult blood pressure from childhood values, and therefore the usefulness of screening children for those at high risk of developing hypertension.     

血管内支架成形术治疗颅内动脉狭窄

目的:探讨颅内动脉狭窄血管内球囊支架成形术的可行性、安全性及其疗效。方法:17例患者术前3天给予阿司匹林300mg/天和噻氯吡啶250mg/天,6F(Envoy)导引导管放置到颈内动脉远段或椎动脉近颅底段,造影获得工作位,评价血管狭窄程度:狭窄率=(1-狭窄处管径/狭窄远端管径)×100%,微导丝在路途导引下通过颅内动脉狭窄段,向远端直至P2或M2段,确保足够的支撑力。选择支架大小的依据为狭窄远端正常血管的直径,导丝引导下支架通过狭窄部位,造影确定支架位置正确,充盈球囊至5～6大气压,支架释放后造影确认展开良好,回撤球囊,无并发症,操作完毕。随访3～10月。结果:17例患者颅内动脉狭窄处植入支架,技术成功100%,造影显示狭窄由术前(78.3±12.9)%降至术后(6.8±7.3)%,狭窄的动脉管径恢复,短期随访(3～10个月)显示很好临床效果。术中出现一例蛛网膜下腔少量出血(SAH),对症治疗痊愈。6例随访造影未见血管再狭窄。结论:颅内动脉狭窄支架植入增加血管内径,改善血流量,减轻临床症状,是一种安全、可行有效的治疗方法。     

The psychological and social characteristics of patients referred for NHS cosmetic surgery: quantifying clinical need.

PURPOSE: Elective cosmetic surgery is expanding in the UK in both the public and private sectors. Because resources are constrained, many cosmetic procedures are being excluded within the National Health Service. If guidelines on who can receive such surgery are to be evidence-based, information is needed about the level of dysfunction in patients referred for elective surgery and whether this is related to their degree of physical abnormality. METHOD: Consecutive patients referred to a regional plastic surgery and burns unit for assessment for elective cosmetic surgery completed standardised measures of physical and psychosocial dysfunction, and indicated their perception of the degree of their abnormality and their preoccupation with it. We distinguished between patients referred for physical reasons or appearance reasons only, and compared levels of physical and psychosocial dysfunction in each with published values for community and clinical samples. Surgeons indicated patients' degree of objective abnormality, and we identified the relationship of dysfunction with perceived and objective abnormality and preoccupation. RESULTS: Whether patients sought surgery for physical or appearance reasons, physical function was normal. Those seeking surgery for appearance reasons only had moderate psychosocial dysfunction, but were not as impaired as clinical groups with psychological problems. Patients seeking the correction of minor skin lesions for purely appearance reasons reported excellent physical and psychosocial function. Level of function was related (negatively) to patients' preoccupation with abnormality rather than to their perceived or objective abnormality. CONCLUSIONS: In general, patients referred for elective cosmetic surgery did not present with significant levels of dysfunction. Moreover, levels of functioning were related to preoccupation rather than to objective abnormality. Therefore, for most patients, whether surgical treatment is generally appropriate is questionable. Future guidelines must seek to identify the small minority who do have a clinical need for surgery.     

The Island Pedicle Flap

Background. Surgical defects following the extirpation of cutaneous neoplasia may present challenges to the dermatologic surgeon. There are many repair options for an individual defect, including second-intention healing, primary closure, skin graft, and skin flap closure. The island pedicle flap is a random pattern advancement flap well suited to reconstruct a variety of small- to intermediate-sized soft tissue wounds.
Objective. To review the utility of the island pedicle flap in reconstructive dermatologic surgery and to detail the operative technique to achieve reproducible functional and esthetic results.
Methods. The method of flap reconstruction is presented. A variety of defects repaired with this technique are reviewed.
Results. The subcutaneous island pedicle flap yielded excellent functional and cosmetic repair of the presented defects with minimal operative morbidity. Secondary to a well-preserved central vascular pedicle, complications are infrequent.
Conclusions. The random pattern island pedicle flap is a versatile and robust flap used to repair a variety of soft tissue wounds in a single-stage procedure with reproducible operative outcomes.     

The effect of combined Angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibition and calcium antagonism on allograft coronary vasculopathy validated by intravascular ultrasound.

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a potential risk factor for allograft coronary vasculopathy. We evaluated the efficacy of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors and calcium antagonists, and their combined use, on the development of coronary vasculopathy in hypertensive heart transplant recipients. METHODS: Eighty-two heart transplant recipients underwent serial intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) analysis at baseline (within 1 month) and at 1 year after transplantation and were evaluated for the development of coronary vasculopathy. Patients were divided into 4 groups. Nineteen normotensive recipients received no treatment, control (Group A). Hypertensive patients were treated with either ACE inhibitors (Group B, n = 37), calcium antagonists (Group C, n = 16), or both (Group D, n = 10). RESULTS: We found a significant reduction in IVUS indices of coronary vasculopathy in heart transplant recipients who used a combination of an ACE inhibitor and a calcium antagonist compared with recipients who used either drug alone (p < 0.05). This synergistic efficacy was independent of the baseline indices evaluated in a multivariate regression analysis model and was noted despite comparable mean arterial pressure among the 3 hypertensive groups at 1 year, thus suggesting the presence of a synergistic anti-proliferative effect beyond the anti-hypertensive efficacy. CONCLUSIONS: The combined use of an ACE inhibitor and a calcium antagonist is more effective than the individual use of either drug alone on the development of coronary vasculopathy in cardiac transplant recipients. Large randomized clinical trials are warranted to evaluate such a synergistic efficacy.