HPLC法测定血浆中六亚甲基二乙酰胺浓度

ＨＰＬＣ法测定血浆中六亚甲基二乙酰胺浓度赵玉喜，何晓英，蒋淼，谢景文，谢廷泉，任礼勤（兰州军区总医院药材科，兰州７３００５０）六亚甲基二乙酰胺（ｈｅｘａｍｅｔｈｙｌｅｎｅｂｉｓａｃｅｔａｍｉｄｅ，ＨＭＢＡ）是结构上与二甲基亚砜（ＤＭｓＯ）和Ｎ－甲基甲...     

An empirical evaluation of the performance of antibody identification tasks

Four empirical studies were conducted for better understanding of the nature of problem-solving activities by medical technologists and medical technology students when performing antibody identification tasks. The results indicated the importance of strategies that ensure the collection of converging evidence, as these strategies protect against the fallibility of commonly used heuristics and against errors due to simple slips. The results also indicate that not only do students make significant numbers of errors, but so do practicing technologists. In one of the studies covering a 1-year period, for instance, a group of 16 technologists made a total of 41 errors in 1057 cases. On the basis of these findings, several alternatives are proposed to reduce errors.     

Defective T suppressor-inducer cell function in human immune deficiency virus-seropositive hemophilia patients

In human immune deficiency virus (HIV)-seropositive hemophilia patients, a low number of CD4 + lymphocytes is found, as well as a low CD4+/CD8+ ratio. In previous studies, it has been shown that antigen- specific T-helper cell (CD4+) function was present and no excessive antigen-specific T-suppressor cell (CD8+) function could be demonstrated. In this report, we studied another activity of CD4+ cells, namely the capacity to induce T-suppressor cell activity. The results clearly show a selective dysfunction of CD4+ suppressor-inducer (Tsi) cell function. Since these HIV-seropositive hemophilia patients showed the presence of activated B cells in the peripheral circulation refractory to antigen-specific T-helper cell signals and secreting specific antibodies spontaneously, we raised the hypothesis that the activated B cells in the patients activate the Tsi cells in vivo. This constant activation leads to a functional exhaustion of the Tsi cell pool.     

Withdrawing versus not offering cardiopulmonary resuscitation: Is there a difference?

Conflict between substitute decision makers (SDMs) and health care providers in the intensive care unit is commonly related to goals of treatment at the end of life. Based on recent court decisions, even medical consensus that ongoing treatment is not clinically indicated cannot justify withdrawal of mechanical ventilation without consent from the SDM. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), similar to mechanical ventilation, is a life-sustaining therapy that can result in disagreement between SDMs and clinicians. In contrast to mechanical ventilation, in cases for which CPR is judged by the medical team to not be clinically indicated, there is no explicit or case law in Canada that dictates that withholding/not offering of CPR requires the consent of SDMs. In such cases, physicians can ethically and legally not offer CPR, even against SDM or patient wishes. To ensure that nonclinically indicated CPR is not inappropriately performed, hospitals should consider developing ‘scope of treatment’ forms that make it clear that even if CPR is desired, the individual components of resuscitation to be offered, if any, will be dictated by the medical team’s clinical assessment.     

Treatment of progressive Hodgkin's disease with intensive chemoradiotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation

Twenty-six patients with progressive Hodgkin's disease after conventional chemotherapy received intensive chemoradiotherapy and autologous bone marrow transplantation (ABMT); 19 also received additional involved-field radiotherapy. Twenty-one patients [81%, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 61% to 94%] attained complete (n = 18) or partial responses. Ten patients (38%, 95% CI 20% to 59%) are disease- free a median of 4.5 years later (range 3.5 to 7.0 years), including seven patients with continuous complete responses. The likelihood of overall response was not significantly influenced by any clinical or treatment variable examined. However, there was a trend favoring patients with higher Karnofsky scores, and higher scores were associated with attainment of complete responses (P = .06 and P = .02, respectively, Mann-Whitney U test). Both higher Karnofsky scores and shorter durations of disease before transplantation were associated with improved survival in a stepwise Cox multivariate analysis. The chief cause of failure was progression at sites previously involved with Hodgkin's disease. No patient relapsed in the marrow, and two of three patients with a history of marrow involvement with Hodgkin's disease achieved durable complete responses after transplantation. These data suggest that inadequate pretransplant conditioning, and not the reinoculation of occult tumor cells in the autologous marrow, caused most relapses. Fatal treatment-related toxicity occurred in six patients. Three patients died of idiopathic interstitial pneumonitis; each had previously received local mediastinal irradiation before intensive chemoradiotherapy. Intensive chemoradiotherapy and ABMT produces durable responses in some patients with Hodgkin's disease incurable with conventional therapy. Use of such therapies at the first sign of failure with conventional chemotherapy and development of more effective conditioning regimens should further improve results.     

The 14q+ chromosome in pre-B-ALL

A child who had acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) associated with an 8;14 chromosome translocation and with a pre-B phenotype is described. The leukemic cells were determined to be pre-B-cells on the basis of intracytoplasmic mu-chain immunoglobulin (cIgM+) and the common-ALL antigen, lack of receptors for sheep erythrocytes, and lack of surface immunoglobulin. The 8;14 translocation is frequently found in patients with Burkitt's lymphoma and in most patients with B-cell ALL and is known to carry a poor prognosis. Thus far, no karyotypes have been reported for patients with pre-B-ALL. The present case indicates that a 14q+ chromosome may provide a proliferative advantage not only to cells with a B-cell phenotype, but also to pre-B-cells. The short survival of our patient also suggests that the 14q+ abnormality and the pre-B phenotype may signal a poor prognosis.