Handheld tools assess medical necessity at the point of care

An emerging strategy to manage financial risk in clinical practice is to involve the physician at the point of care. Using handheld technology, encounter-specific information along with medical necessity policy can be presented to physicians allowing them to integrate it into their medical decision-making process. Three different strategies are discussed: reference books or paper encounter forms, electronic reference tools, and integrated process tools. The electronic reference tool strategy was evaluated and showed a return on investment exceeding 1200% due to reduced overhead costs associated with rework of claim errors.     

Teaching and learning about bioscience ethics with undergraduates

Bioscience ethics acts as a practical interface between science and bioethics. It links scientific endeavour and its application into adaptive forms of bioethical consensus. Its major elements are increased understanding of biological systems, responsible use of technology, and curtailment of ethnocentric debates in tune with new scientific insights. This paper briefly describes the students' learning experience gained from the vacation unit BIOL 240, Introduction to Bioscience Ethics, as taught in biology, Macquarie University. On the basis of our evidence students were overwhelmingly positive about their learning because the unit assisted them to better face dilemmas that arise from the application of science and technology. The structure also provided active engagement with the subject matter and preferred learning environments that supported and contested their understanding of concepts relevant to bioscience and bioethics.     

Passive transfer of demyelination by serum or IgG from chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy patients

Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP) is regarded as an autoimmune disorder, but no clearly defined autoimmune mechanism has been described. Although most patients respond to plasma exchange, no convincing role for autoantibodies has yet been demonstrated. In this study, we have successfully passively transferred disease using sera and purified IgG from 4 of 12 patients responsive to plasma exchange by bypassing the blood-nerve barrier by intraneural injection or opening it by activated T cells. The sera from CIDP patients or purified IgG produced marked conduction block and demyelination, but normal sera or IgG or that from patients with multiple sclerosis or other neuropathies did not. These observations strongly support an important role for anti-myelin/Schwann cell autoantibodies in the pathogenesis of CIDP at least in some patients.     

Molecular analysis of genomic DNA allows rapid, and accurate, prenatal diagnosis of peroxisomal D-bifunctional protein deficiency.

Prenatal diagnosis was requested for a couple with a previous child affected by the peroxisomal disorder D-bifunctional protein deficiency. Prior analysis of the D-bifunctional protein cDNA sequence from the propositus had shown that it was missing 22 bp. This was subsequently attributed to a point mutation in the intron 5 donor site (IVS5 + 1G>C) of the D-bifunctional protein gene. Consistent with parental consanguinity, the patient was shown to be homozygous for this mutation, which is associated with loss of a Hph 1 restriction site in the genomic sequence. Prenatal testing of the fetus using genomic DNA isolated from uncultured amniocytes indicated that both alleles of the D-bifunctional protein had the IVS5 + 1G>C substitution. The peroxisomal defect was later confirmed biochemically using cultured amniocytes, which were found to have elevated levels of very long chain fatty acids (VLCFA). This is the first report of prenatal diagnosis of D-bifunctional protein deficiency using molecular analysis of genomic DNA.     

A prospective evaluation of scrotal ultrasonography in clinical practice

OBJECTIVES: To prospectively evaluate scrotal ultrasonography (SUS) in patients presenting with scrotal symptoms and to make recommendations about use of SUS in clinical practice. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Forty-eight men with scrotal symptoms were examined by a urologist and independently underwent SUS by one radiologist with no knowledge of the clinical diagnosis. The clinical and SUS diagnoses were compared and the effect on subsequent management recorded. RESULTS: The clinical and SUS diagnoses agreed in 35 men (73%) although SUS provided an additional diagnosis in half of these men. The SUS diagnosis differed in 13 men (27%) although the management was altered in only four patients. CONCLUSION: The clinical diagnosis is correct in most men with scrotal symptoms; the routine use of SUS is inappropriate and should be reserved for specific indications.