Aminotriazole effects on lung and heart H2O2 detoxifying enzymes and TBA-RS at two pO2

In order to clarify the physiological role in vivo of H2O2-detoxifying enzymes at low and high levels of O2 tension we studied catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidases (GP), and in vivo peroxidation (TBA-RS) in the lung and heart of Rana perezi frogs chronically treated with hyperoxia, aminotriazole (AT) -a CAT inhibitor-, or both. Hyperoxia did not change CAT, GP or TBA-RS. Aminotriazole caused an almost complete depletion of CAT, a 30% decrease of GP and a 132% (lung) to 200% (heart) increase of TBA-RS. Changes similar to these were found in the group treated with AT in hyperoxia. No mortality or changes in total or organ weight occurred in the experimental groups. Main conclusions are: (1) The maximal hyperoxia tolerance showed by frogs among vertebrates does not need antioxidant enzyme induction from lung or heart and is probably related to the presence of high constitutive levels of GP in relation to metabolic rate. (2) Even in normoxia the tissues present significant amounts of H2O2, and CAT is needed to avoid oxidative damage. GP does not compensate its absence. The implications of these results in relation to oxygen toxicity in man is discussed.     

Small proportions: what to report for confidence intervals?

The original article to which this Erratum refers was published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety 2005; 14: 239–247.     

Liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis

Aim: To examine the survival benefit of liver and lung resection for colorectal metastasis and the potential prognostic factors that affect patient survival. Methods: All patients who had resection of lung or liver metastasis for colorectal metastasis in Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Hong Kong from 1995 to 2004 were retrospectively reviewed. The overall and disease‐free survival was analysed, in particularly between liver and lung metastasis. All factors that may have affected the survival were entered into Cox's proportional hazards regression model to identify significant variables associated with survival. Results: At 5 years, the overall survival of patients who had resection of lung and liver metastasis was 44% and 38%, respectively; the disease‐free survival was 26% and 24%, respectively. Overall and disease‐free survival of patients with resection of lung metastasis was comparable to those with resection of liver metastasis. The differentiations of primary tumour and time to metastasis were shown to be significant prognostic factors influencing overall survival. Those patients with systemic chemotherapy after resection of colorectal metastasis demonstrated a significantly higher probability of overall survival. Conclusion: Resection of lung and liver metastases from colorectal origin was safe and both procedures improved survival. The use of chemotherapy after resection of metastasis significantly improved the overall survival.     

Inguinal hernia repair in Hospital Authority hospitals: The role of laparoscopic hernioplasty

Objective: Two major changes have occurred in inguinal hernia repair during the last two decades: (i) the use of tension‐free mesh repair; and (ii) the application of laparoscopic technique for repair. The aims of the present study were to study: (i) how inguinal hernia repair was carried out; and (ii) the outcome of inguinal hernia repair in Hospital Authority (HA) hospitals. Methodology: This was a retrospective analysis on 8311 elective inguinal hernia repairs performed in 16 HA hospitals from January 2001 to December 2003. The mean age was 63.9 ± 14.2 years, and the male to female ratio was 22.0 : 1.0. Among these, 869 (10.5%) repairs were performed with the laparoscopic approach and 7442 (89.5%) repairs with the open approach. The proportion of laparoscopic hernia repair increased from 8.7% to 12.6%. Results: For open repair, 39% of cases were carried out with regional anaesthesia, 32% with general anaesthesia and 29% with local anaesthesia (LA). Furthermore, mesh repair was used in 88% of the patients. For laparosocpic repair, 98.4% of cases were carried out under general anaesthesia, and all patients had mesh repair using the totally extraperitoneal approach. A significantly higher proportion of bilateral repair and recurrent hernia repair was performed with the laparoscopic approach (P = 0.000). For primary unilateral repair, there was no significant difference in the postoperative length of stay (LOS) and the total LOS between the laparoscopic and the open surgery groups. No difference in LOS was found in recurrent hernia repair between the two groups. With respect to bilateral repair, both the preoperative LOS (P = 0.036) and total LOS (P = 0.039) were shorter in the laparoscopic group. Furthermore, a significantly higher proportion of day‐surgery patients was observed in the laparoscopic group than the open surgery group (21.3%vs 16.9%, P = 0.001). Nevertheless, when only the results of 2003 were analyzed, the postoperative LOS (P = 0.000) and total LOS (P = 0.000) were significantly shorter in the laparoscopic group than the open surgery group. The LOS parameters were significantly shorter in the open surgery LA subgroup compared with the non‐LA subgroup (P = 0.000), and they were not different from those in the laparoscopic group. Conclusions: The open mesh repair is the predominant approach for inguinal hernia repair in HA hospitals. The originally described local anaesthetic approach was under utilized, although it resulted in good outcome. The use of laparoscopic hernia repair is increasing and a learning curve was recently observed with improved outcome.     

Low HDL‐cholesterol is common in European Type 2 diabetic patients receiving treatment for dyslipidaemia: data from a pan‐European survey

Aims To measure the prevalence of low high‐density lipoprotein (HDL)‐cholesterol (men < 1.03 mmol/l; women < 1.29 mmol/l) in European Type 2 diabetic patients receiving treatment for dyslipidaemia. Methods The pan‐European Survey of HDL‐cholesterol measured lipids and other cardiovascular risk factors in 3866 patients with Type 2 diabetes and 4436 non‐diabetic patients undergoing treatment for dyslipidaemia in 11 European countries. Results Diabetic patients were more likely to be obese or hypertensive than non‐diabetic patients. Most patients received lifestyle interventions (87%) and/or a statin (89%); treatment patterns were similar between groups. Diabetic patients had [means (SD)] lower HDL‐cholesterol [1.22 (0.37) vs. 1.35 mmol/l (0.44) vs. non‐diabetic patients, P < 0.001] and higher triglycerides [2.32 (2.10) vs. 1.85 mmol/l (1.60), P < 0.001]. More diabetic vs. non‐diabetic patients had low HDL‐cholesterol (45% vs. 30%), high triglycerides (≥ 1.7 mmol/l; 57% vs. 42%) or both (32% vs. 19%). HDL‐cholesterol < 0.9 mmol/l was observed in 18% of diabetic and 12% of non‐diabetic subjects. Differences between diabetic and non‐diabetic groups were slightly greater for women. LDL‐ and total cholesterol were lower in the diabetic group [3.02 (1.05) vs. 3.30 mmol/l (1.14) and 5.12 (1.32) vs. 5.38 mmol/l (1.34), respectively, P < 0.001 for each]. Conclusions Low HDL‐cholesterol is common in diabetes: one in two diabetic women has low HDL‐cholesterol and one diabetic man in four has very low HDL‐cholesterol. Management strategies should include correction of low HDL‐cholesterol to optimize cardiovascular risk in diabetes.