Colonic diverticulitis in the neck: a late complication of laryngopharyngectomy surgery

We report a case of diverticulitis affecting a colonic segment used as an interposition graft following laryngopharyngectomy. The patient presented as an emergency to our department with a history of a red, swollen and painful neck. She had undergone laryngopharyngectomy for laryngeal cancer in 1967. Computed tomography imaging revealed several diverticula in the colonic graft and associated abscess formation. The patient’s clinical condition behaved similarly to that of conventional colonic diverticulitis. The difficulties in reaching a definite diagnosis and management of this unusual complication following laryngopharyngectomy are discussed.     

VDD起搏对缓慢性心律失常心力衰竭的血液动力学影响

为了评估ＶＤＤ起搏对缓慢性心律失常心力衰竭的血液动力学影响，对２１例心功能Ⅲ～Ⅳ级的缓慢性心律失常病人安置ＶＤＤ起搏器，并用Ｓｗａｎ－Ｇａｎｚ导管监测起搏前和起搏后３０ｍｉｎ、２４ｈ、４８ｈ、７２ｈ的心输出量（ＣＯ）、心脏指数（ＣＩ）、右房压（ＲＡＰ）、平均肺动脉压（ＭＰＡＰ）和肺毛细血管楔嵌压（ＰＣＷＰ），并记录各时期的心房率（ＡＲ）和心室率（ＶＲ）。结果：ＶＲ在术后即时及各时期显著升高（Ｐ均＜０．０５），ＣＯ、ＣＩ在起搏后３０ｍｉｎ即显著升高〔分别为４．１８±０．８１Ｌ／ｍｉｎｖｓ２．８１±０．９３Ｌ／ｍｉｎ、２．３６±０．６６Ｌ／（ｍｉｎｍ２）ｖｓ１．１８±０．６３Ｌ／（ｍｉｎｍ２），Ｐ均＜０．０５〕，起搏４８ｈ达高峰；ＲＡＰ、ＭＰＡＰ、ＰＣＷＰ在起搏后３０ｍｉｎ无显著改变（Ｐ＞０．０５），但２４ｈ开始显著性下降（分别为１．２８±０．４１ｋＰａｖｓ１．４１±０．３４ｋＰａ、２．６０±０．５１ｋＰａｖｓ３．４０±０．５６ｋＰａ、３．１０±０．５６ｋＰａｖｓ３．５４±０．６８ｋＰａ，Ｐ均＜０．０５），７２ｈ后进一步降低。结果提示ＶＤＤ起搏治疗能显著改善缓慢性心律失常心力衰竭的血液动力学，可作为治疗缓慢性心?     

二尖瓣病变定位经食道超声检查与术中发现的对照研究

目的:应用经食道超声心动图序列二尖瓣病变定位切面与术中发现进行对照研究,寻找对应二尖瓣不同小叶分区的相应切面及标准化操作规程,以供临床决策及提高手术成功率。方法:二尖瓣脱垂并伴有中度以上的二尖瓣反流拟行外科手术患者53例。术前行食道超声检测瓣膜病变类型与小叶分区定位,与术中发现进行对照。二尖瓣的解剖定位采用Carpentier命名法,将前叶分为A1、A2及A3,后叶分为P1、P2及P3。术前1周及术中食道超声应用中食道四腔心切面、中食道5腔心切面、显示冠状静脉窦的短四腔心切面、两腔心切面、二尖瓣交界区两腔心切面、中食道左心室长轴切面及胃底左心室短轴切面进行二尖瓣病变的小叶分区定位。外科医生术中记录二尖瓣瓣膜脱垂、腱索断裂等病理类型及A1、A2及A3;P1、P2及P3病变部位。结果:46例资料完整的患者276个小叶被分析。在7个可以显示二尖瓣小叶分区定位的切面中,中食道五腔心切面、中食道四腔心切面、显示冠状静脉窦的短四腔切面、三腔心切面及结合彩色血流的胃底左心室短轴切面与术中发现的吻合率较高。结论:通过食道超声选择序列合理的切面可以在二尖瓣手术前进行较为准确的病变小叶分区定位,为外科手术,尤其是二尖瓣成形术提供必要的术前资料。     

Pretreatment of donor mice with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor polarizes donor T lymphocytes toward type-2 cytokine production and reduces severity of experimental graft-versus-host disease

The incidence and severity of acute graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after allogeneic transplantation using peripheral blood progenitor cells mobilized by granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) appear to be no worse than those after bone marrow transplantation, despite the presence of large numbers of T cells in the donor infusion. Experimental studies have shown that type-1 T cells (secreting interleukin-2 [IL-2] and interferon-gamma) mediate acute GVHD, whereas type-2 T cells (secreting IL-4 and IL-10) can prevent acute GVHD. We tested the hypothesis that G-CSF modulates T-cell function toward a type-2 response and thus reduces the severity of acute GVHD. B6 mice were injected with G-CSF or diluent for 4 days, and their splenic T cells were stimulated in vitro with alloantigen or mitogen in the absence of G-CSF. T cells from G-CSF-treated mice showed a significant increase in IL-4 production, with a simultaneous decrease in IL-2 and interferon-gamma production in response to both stimuli. We also examined the effect of G-CSF pretreatment of donors in a GVHD model (B6- ->B6D2F1). Survival was significantly improved in recipients of G-CSF- treated donors. Concanavalin-A-induced cytokine production at day 13 after transplantation also showed an increase in IL-4 along with a decrease in IL-2 and IFN-gamma production by splenocytes from recipients of G-CSF-treated bone marrow and T cells. These data show that pretreatment of donors with G-CSF polarizes donor T cells toward the production of type-2 cytokines, which is associated with reduced type-1 cytokine production and reduced severity of acute GVHD.     

A systematic review of the use of aromatherapy in treatment of behavioral problems in dementia

We aimed to fill the literature gap by identifying the clinical benefits of aromatherapy in older adults with dementia, and its efficacy in reducing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) based on available randomized controlled trials (RCT). A systematic review of 11 clinical trials shortlisted from electronic databases from 1995 to 2011 was carried out. The RCT showed that aromatherapy had positive effects on reduction of BPSD, improvement in cognitive functions, increasing quality of life, enhancing independence of activities of daily living and so on. However, adverse effects were noted in some studies. Limitations on methodology are discussed and suggestions on directions of further studies are made. It is recommended that aromatherapy shows the potential to be applied as a therapeutic and safe complementary and alternative therapy for the management of BPSD on more evidence collected from better designed RCT. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2012; 12: 372–382.     

Definitions of antiretroviral treatment failure for measuring quality outcomes

Objectives

Our aim was to compare three different definitions of treatment failure and discuss their use as quality outcome measures for a clinical service.

Methods

Data for treatment‐naïve patients who attended the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) between 1 January 2000 and 31 December 2008 were analysed. Definition 1 was the strict Food and Drug Administration (FDA) definition of treatment failure as determined using the time to loss of virological response (TLOVR) algorithm. Definition 2 defined treatment failure as occurring in those whose viral load never fell to <400 HIV‐1 RNA copies/mL or who developed two consecutive viral loads ≥400 copies/mL on any treatment (switching or stopping treatment with a viral load <400 copies/mL was permitted). Definition 3 was the same as definition 2 except that individuals were also deemed to have failed if they stopped treatment for 6 months or longer.

Results

There were 310 antiretroviral‐naïve patients who started treatment in the study period. Of these, 156 [50.3%; 95% confidence interval (CI) 42.1–53.3%] experienced treatment failure under definition 1, 10 (3.2%; 95% CI 1.5–5.8%) experienced treatment failure under definition 2, and 16 (4.5%; 95% CI 2.5–7.4%) experienced treatment failure under definition 3 over the 108 months of follow‐up. The probability of failing definition 1 was statistically different from the probability of failing definition 2 or 3 (P=0.01).

Conclusion

There were significant differences in treatment failure for the three definitions. If definition 1 were used, the outcomes would be sufficiently common to enable clinics to be compared but would be less meaningful. If definition 2 or 3 were used, the events would be too rare to enable clinics to be compared, but it would be possible to set a benchmark level of success that clinics could aim to reach.     

The factor VR506Q mutation causing APC resistance is highly prevalent amongst unselected outpatients with clinically suspected deep venous thrombosis

Objective. Resistance to activated protein C (APC resistance), caused by a single point mutation in the factor V gene (FV:R506Q), is a major risk factor for venous thrombosis. As the significance of this mutation among unselected outpatients with deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) is not established, we have studied its prevalence among consecutive outpatients attending the emergency room due to a clinically suspected DVT.
Design, setting and subjects. The FV:R506Q mutation was determined in 223 consecutive Swedish outpatients with clinically suspected DVT, and in 288 healthy controls. Using phlebography, the patients were classified as DVT-positive or DVT-negative.
Main outcome measure. The prevalence of FV:R506Q mutation.
Results. The prevalence of the FV:R506Q mutation was 28% (28/99) in the DVT-positive subgroup (relative risk: 3.1; 95% CI: 1.7–5.5), and 23% (28/124) in the DVT negative subgroup (relative risk: 2.0; 95% CI: 1.1–3.6), as compared to 11% (32/288) in the control group. In the DVT-positive subgroup, the FV:R506Q mutation was most common among younger patients with primary thrombosis (47%) and least common among older patients with secondary thrombosis (19%). The high prevalence of FV:R506Q mutation among DVT-negative patients was associated with a high frequency of previous venous thrombosis. Thus, 46% (13/28) of the DVT-negative FV:R506Q carriers had a history of thrombosis, compared with only 22% (21/96) of the DVT-negative patients lacking the mutation ( P =0.01).
Conclusion. To sum up, the FV:R506Q mutation is present in more than a quarter of Swedish DVT-positive outpatients with clinically suspected DVT, indicating that APC-resistance is a major thrombotic risk factor contributing to the high incidence of venous thrombosis in Sweden.     

香港血红蛋白病分析研究——玛丽医院五年经验总结

本研究的目的是分析香港血红蛋白病的类型分布,介绍筛选病例的经验以及用统计学方法找出一些在筛选及鉴别血红蛋白病方面有用的方法。结果显示,香港以HbE为最多(69％),其中杂和性HbE占大多数。RBC在筛选血红蛋白病方面意义不大,而RDW和MCV在筛选血红蛋白病方面较MCH和Hb更为重要。另外,相关分析显示,RDW与MCV,Hb,MCH和RBC呈负相关,这在鉴别某些红细胞疾病方面可能是有用的。     

Reticulocyte maturity pattern analysis as a predictive marker of erythropoiesis in paediatrics. Part II: pilot study for clinical application

Summary. Reticulocyte quantification in peripheral blood samples is a commonly used diagnostic indicator of erythropoietic activity. A methodology based on flow cytometry additionally separates reticulocytes into 3 groups by fluorescence staining of the residual RNA. This identifies cells as‘high (HFR), medium (MFR) and low (LFR) fluorescence intensity’reticulocytes. In Part II of the study we looked for the clinical applicability in paediatrics. Selected groups of patients with ineffective erythropoiesis, i.e. suffering from renal failure, oncologic patients with suppressed bone marrow activity caused by chemotherapy and anaemic new-born infants have been observed longitudinally for their reticulocyte maturity profiles. Data were compared to the commonly used parameters RBC, Hb and Hct. In all cases in which effective erythropoiesis returned documented by a normalization of standard blood parameters, HFR cells reacted significantly earlier than the traditional markers. These preliminary observations suggest the reticulocyte maturity pattern analysis can be used as an additional aid in diagnosis and as a helpful parameter for the monitoring of any anaemic situation.