Growth monitoring: testing the new guidelines

OBJECTIVE: To assess the impact of recent guidelines from the UK joint working party of child health surveillance recommending that all children be measured at age 5 and again between 7 and 9 years of age to determine how many normal school age children are likely to be referred for specialist assessment. METHODS: The longitudinal data of 486 children measured by school nurses in a community setting were examined and compared with measurements made in a research setting by a single, skilled observer. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Number of children identified as having abnormal stature (< 0.4th or > 99.6th centile) and abnormal growth rate height standard deviation score (HSDS) change > 0.67). RESULTS: The community survey identified seven (1.4%) children as having abnormal stature (four short, three tall), 11 (2.3%) were identified as "slow growing", and nine (1.9%) increased their HSDS by more than 0.67. These results were comparable to data collected in ideal research conditions. CONCLUSIONS: Following the recommendations would not result in an excess number of inappropriate referrals. However, this study highlights several unresolved issues such as interobserver variability and time interval between measurements. A large scale prospective study should be considered to establish realistic and cost-effective criteria before implementation of a national screening programme.     

How pediatricians can respond to the psychosocial implications of disasters. American Academy of Pediatrics. Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, 1998-1999

Natural and human-caused disasters, violence with weapons, and terrorist acts have touched directly the lives of thousands of families with children in the United States.1 Media coverage of disasters has brought images of floods, hurricanes, and airplane crashes into the living rooms of most American families, with limited censorship for vulnerable young children. Therefore, children may be exposed to disastrous events in ways that previous generations never or rarely experienced. Pediatricians should serve as important resources to the community in preparing for disasters, as well as acting in its behalf during and after such events.     

Circulatory responses to hypoglycaemia in diabetic and non‐diabetic children

The purpose of this study was to investigate the circulatory responses to hypoglycaemia in diabetic and non‐diabetic children and to determine whether these changes were associated with hormone levels or clinical variables. Plasma glucose levels in 18 diabetic and 15 control children were gradually lowered to 2.5 (0.3)?mmol/L (mean (SD)) and 2.9 (0.2)?mmol/L, respectively. Blood pressure and heart rate were recorded at 10‐min intervals, and blood samples were taken for hormone analysis. Systolic pressure increased from 110.1 (10.0) to 115.0 (11.2)?mmHg (p=0.008) in the diabetic children and from 116.9 (12.0) to 121.6 (12.7)?mmHg (p=0.049) in the controls. Diastolic pressure decreased from 61.9 (6.7) to 55.5 (7.6)?mmHg (p<0.001) in the diabetic children and from 66.5 (6.3) to 55.1 (5.1)?mmHg (p<0.001) in the controls. The increase in pulse pressure during hypoglycaemia was significantly smaller in the diabetic children (10.6 (5.5) vs. 15.7 (7.7)?mmHg, p=0.04). The final systolic and pulse pressure correlated with the final adrenaline level in the controls (r=0.66, p=0.008 and r=0.70, p=0.003, respectively). In the non‐diabetic as well as the diabetic group, the increase in pulse pressure correlated with the increase in adrenaline (r=0.66, p=0.008 and r=0.50, p=0.03, respectively). It is concluded that systolic pressure increases and diastolic pressure decreases during hypoglycaemia in children. The smaller increase in pulse pressure observed in the diabetic children is probably related to a significantly smaller increase in adrenaline in this group.     

A comparison of oral fluid collection devices for use in the surveillance of virus diseases in children

Three oral fluid collection devices (OraSure, Omni-SAL and Oracol) were compared in terms of the quality of oral fluid collected by each device for antibody testing and their acceptability to participants. Participants (143 children aged 3.5-5 y from North Hertfordshire, UK, who had recently received DTaP and MMR vaccination) were randomised to use one of the three types of collection device. Oral fluid was collected by a parent who completed a short questionaire recording information on ease of use and willingness to use the device again. A matching serum sample was collected by a nurse. Oral fluid samples were screened for total IgG and IgM by ELISA and for rubella specific IgG and parvovirus specific IgG by radioimmunoassay. Serum samples were screened for rubella specific IgG and parvovirus B19 specific IgG by ELISA. 87.4% (125) of participants provided a matching oral fluid and serum sample. Of these, 100% (125) and 10.4% (13) had serum IgG specific for rubella and parvovirus B19, respectively. The Oracol device provided oral fluid samples with the highest geometric mean titres of total IgG and IgM and with rubella specific IgG results which correlated most closely with those of matching sera. A higher proportion of parents found the Oracol and OraSure devices easier to use than the Omni-SAL (P<0.001) and the proportion who would not take another test was higher for the Omni-SAL than for the Oracol or Orasure. Oral fluid samples collected by each of the devices gave qualitative results acceptable for surveillance and epidemiological studies of rubella and parvovirus B19. The highest quality oral fluid sample for antibody testing in terms of total IgG and IgM concentration and rubella specific IgG concentration was collected by the Oracol. The acceptability to participants of both the Oracol and OraSure was high. As the cheapest device available, the Oracol is the preferred oral fluid collection device for studies involving children in the UK.     

花生四烯酸、二十碳五烯酸及二十二碳六烯酸对兔主动脉条张力的影响

外源性AA引起兔动脉条收缩,呈剂量依赖性;EPA抑制AA收缩血管亦呈浓度依赖性;DHA对AA收缩血管作用无明显影响。破坏血管内皮后AA收缩血管作用大为减弱,EPA抑制AA收缩血管作用也几乎消失。吲哚美辛能阻断AA收缩兔主动脉条的作用。兔主动脉6-keto-PGF_1α、TXB₂及其比值随AA浓度升高而增加,低剂量EPA对前列腺素类代谢无明显影响,较大剂量时则降低上述指标。     

白花丹参化学成分的研究

从白花丹参(Salvia miltiorrhiza f.alba)中分离出14个二萜醌类化合物,其中2个为新化合物,由光谱分析推定为1,2,15,16-四氢丹参醌(Ⅰ)和丹参醛(Ⅱ);另一个化合物Ⅲ与R₀-090680的结构相同。化合物Ⅰ和Ⅲ对淋巴白血病细胞P₃₈₈均有较强的抑制作用。