Abnormal fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake in benign esophageal leiomyoma

A benign esophageal leiomyoma with abnormally increased fluorine-18-fluorodeoxyglucose uptake on positron emission tomography (PET) was resected thoracoscopically. The tumor, of which the maximum standardized uptake value of the lesion was 4.7, was well defined and 38 mm in diameter. Neither mitotic activity nor degeneration was found histologically; and immunoreactivity for CD34, CD117, MIB-1, and glucose transporter-1 was negative immunohistochemically. A diagnosis of gastrointestinal stromal tumor was ruled out by an oncogenic kinase gene mutation study. This case cautions against PET-dependent evaluation for malignant potential of esophageal submucosal tumors.     

Community pharmacy services to optimise the use of medications for mental illness: a systematic review

The objective of this systematic review was to evaluate the impact of pharmacist delivered community-based services to optimise the use of medications for mental illness. Twenty-two controlled (randomised and non-randomised) studies of pharmacists' interventions in community and residential aged care settings identified in international scientific literature were included for review. Papers were assessed for study design, service recipient, country of origin, intervention type, number of participating pharmacists, methodological quality and outcome measurement. Three studies showed that pharmacists' medication counselling and treatment monitoring can improve adherence to antidepressant medications among those commencing treatment when calculated using an intention-to-treat analysis. Four trials demonstrated that pharmacist conducted medication reviews may reduce the number of potentially inappropriate medications prescribed to those at high risk of medication misadventure. The results of this review provide some evidence that pharmacists can contribute to optimising the use of medications for mental illness in the community setting. However, more well designed studies are needed to assess the impact of pharmacists as members of community mental health teams and as providers of comprehensive medicines information to people with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder     

How Should Functionally Equivalent Drugs be Reimbursed?

Statutory reimbursement agencies as well as private insurers throughout member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) reimburse the cost of medicines on the basis of criteria that include robust clinical evidence, budget impact analysis, and incremental cost effectiveness. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in the US are no exception to this rule and are, in principle, seeking to maximize benefit for their Medicare enrollees, whilst ensuring reasonable drug outlays for the small number of drugs that they reimburse. This paper provides a retrospective analysis of the way two functionally equivalent drugs are treated for reimbursement purposes by the CMS; the period under consideration was 2001–3. The two drugs, epoetin-α and darbepoetin-α, are used for the treatment of anemia in renal failure and in patients receiving chemotherapy. By reviewing the publicly available pharmacological and clinical data of epoetin-α and darbepoetin-α, the paper confirms the two drugs’ functional equivalence, despite their structural differences. The implications of dose conversion ratios and costs to Medicare are subsequently explored. It is argued that the issue of dose equivalence between epoetin-α and darbepoetin-α has significant implications for patients, practitioners, and payors. A payor’s perspective is adopted in this respect, whereby clinical evidence and pricing data are used simultaneously. Based on the clinical evidence, a dose conversion ratio for epoetin-α:darbepoetin-α is established, which achieves a comparable clinical effect for the two drugs and this is set to be <254IU:1μg. The incremental costs to Medicare are calculated subsequently. The Average Wholesale Price and the Outpatient Prospective Payment System rule that Medicare uses to reimburse providers are used and suggest that treatment of cancer patients with chemotherapy-related anemia with epoetin-α would save Medicare an estimated $US600 million each year. Patients would also benefit significantly in terms of lower co-payments for epoetin-α. The evidence is supportive of the decision made by the CMS to reimburse the two drugs at the rate reflecting the achievement of comparable clinical effects and therefore reducing the pass-through payments for darbepoetin-α to zero for the 2002–3 fiscal year.     

Traumatic Injury of the Superior Mesenteric Vein: Ligate,Repair or Shunt?

Abstract We report a case of SMV injury in a critically ill patient. The patient was a 19-year-old woman involved in a motor vehicle collision. Her injuries included grade II splenic and renal lacerations, devascularized and lacerated right and transverse colon, a transected transverse mesocolon, a massive shear injury of her abdominal wall, and two partial SMV transections. At initial damage control laparotomy, the SMV was ligated, the devascularized bowel resected and a temporary abdominal closure applied. At re-operation, a mesocaval shunt using saphenous vein was employed. The shunt failed and the patient required a saphenous vein jump graft. Although visceral vascular injuries are rare, ligation of the SMV in a damage control situation is acceptable. This case study is the first to discuss appropriate treatment when interruption to a patient's collateral visceral venous drainage limits the surgeon’s ability to ligate. In these situations, bypass shunts may be successful.     

腔内聚乙烯十二指肠-空肠导管对体重调节的作用:猪动物模型可行性研究

目的评估十二指肠-空肠导管（Endoluminal Duodeno-Jejunal Tube，EDJT）在活体猪实验动物模型中减缓体重增加的可行性，及其在中短期生存中的安全性。方法本项研究共用8只45kg重的Yorkshire猪，其中3只置入180emEDJT，1只置入360cm EDJT，另4只猪作为对照组。切开十二指肠，将EDJT导管缝合固定在十二指肠近Vater壶腹起始处。结果评估全部猪的不适反应和体重，每日一次，共7周，未发现严重并发症发生。术后7周3组动物的平均体重变化百分率：对照组、180cm组和360cm组分别是22．5％，6％和-2．8％。EDJT组（180cm组、360cm组）体重增加明显减慢，与对照组相比，有统计学意义（P=0．05）。结论EDJT可以安全使用，无肠梗阻、肠套叠或胰腺炎等并发症发生。EDJT可明显减缓体重增加。