Limited agreement between criteria-based diagnoses of postconcussional syndrome

The objectives of this study were to compare diagnoses of postconcussional syndrome between the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed. (DSM-IV). The patient sample was comprised of 178 adults with mild-moderate traumatic brain injury (TBI). The study design was inception cohort, and the main outcome measure was a structured interview 3 months after injury. The results were that, despite concordance of DSM-IV and ICD-10 symptom criteria (kappa=0.73), agreement between overall DSM-IV and ICD-10 diagnoses was slight (kappa=0.13) because fewer patients met the DSM-IV cognitive deficit and clinical significance criteria. Agreement between DSM-IV postconcussional disorder and ICD-10 postconcussional syndrome appears limited by different prevalences and thresholds.     

Effect of raloxifene on the response to conjugated estrogen vaginal cream or nonhormonal moisturizers in postmenopausal vaginal atrophy

OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of raloxifene on the response to conjugated estrogen cream or nonhormonal moisturizer in postmenopausal women with preexisting signs of vaginal atrophy. METHODS: Postmenopausal women with preexisting and untreated vaginal atrophy were enrolled in this parallel, placebo-controlled, randomized study. A total of 187 women were randomized to four treatment groups: daily oral raloxifene (60 mg per day) or a placebo in a double-blind manner plus one application of conjugated estrogen cream (0.5 g) or one applicator full of nonhormonal moisturizer, open label. The conjugated estrogen cream or nonhormonal moisturizer was applied daily for the first 2 weeks, and then twice weekly thereafter for 3 months. Efficacy of treatment regimens on signs and symptoms of vaginal atrophy was evaluated by monitoring objective and subjective parameters. RESULTS: Signs and symptoms of vaginal atrophy improved in all four treatment groups. Raloxifene did not diminish the magnitude of improvement when administered with either vaginal preparation. Conjugated estrogen cream produced a statistically greater improvement in signs (P <.05) but not in individual symptoms or overall satisfaction relative to nonhormonal moisturizer. CONCLUSION: Postmenopausal women with evidence of preexisting vaginal atrophy may use either low-dose conjugated estrogen cream or nonhormonal moisturizer to treat the atrophy concurrently with raloxifene (60 mg per day).     

Cisplatin augments cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated antitumor immunity in poorly immunogenic murine lung cancer

OBJECTIVE: Many tumors are poorly immunogenic and resistant to cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated cell lysis. Because cisplatin has been demonstrated to increase tumor cell Fas receptor expression, we hypothesized that cisplatin will enhance cytotoxic T-lymphocyte tumor cell killing and augment the antitumor effect of an active immunotherapy strategy in a poorly immunogenic murine lung cancer model. METHODS: Lewis lung carcinoma cells were exposed to cisplatin in vitro, and Fas receptor expression and apoptosis in response to an agonistic anti-Fas antibody were quantified using flow cytometry. Wild-type and Fas ligand-deficient mice bearing Lewis lung carcinoma flank tumors were then treated with intraperitoneal cisplatin as well as an intratumoral injection of an adenovirus gene transfer vector encoding CD40 ligand. End points included tumor size, animal survival, and Fas expression (determined using immunofluorescence). Cytotoxicity assays were performed using splenocytes from adenovirus gene transfer vector encoding CD40 ligand-treated animals as effectors and cisplatin-treated Lewis lung carcinoma cells as targets. RESULTS: Cisplatin induced heightened expression of Fas receptor on Lewis lung carcinoma cells in vitro and in vivo and enhanced apoptosis in cells exposed to an agonistic anti-Fas antibody. In vivo, the combination of 1 dose of intraperitoneal cisplatin and intratumoral adenovirus gene transfer vector encoding CD40 ligand inhibited tumor growth and prolonged survival compared with adenovirus gene transfer vector encoding CD40 ligand alone, resulting in a higher cure rate. This effect was lost in Fas ligand-deficient mice. Splenocytes from adenovirus gene transfer vector encoding CD40 ligand-treated wild-type mice lysed cisplatin-treated Lewis lung carcinoma cells more efficiently than untreated Lewis lung carcinoma cells, an effect lost in splenocytes from Fas ligand-deficient mice. CONCLUSION: Cisplatin augments the antitumor effect of a cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-mediated immunotherapy strategy, resulting in a higher cure rate than seen with immunotherapy alone. This effect is associated with the enhanced ability of cytotoxic T lymphocytes to lyse tumor cells that have been exposed to cisplatin through Fas/Fas ligand interactions.     

Costs of poor birth outcomes among privately insured

Despite expansions in the public insurance coverage of pregnant women, concerns over poor birth outcomes remain. Poor birth outcomes occur among publicly and privately insured women, however, thereby imposing excess costs on employers and their insurers. Data from a large sample of privately insured for 1996 are used to examine these outcomes and costs. Almost one-fourth (24.3 percent) of the infants in our matched sample of 12,020 deliveries was premature or had other problems at birth. Costs for these infants accounted for 82 percent of the total $56 million spent on sample infants. The incremental cost of infants with poor birth outcomes versus those with normal, full-terms was approximately $14,600. We found that these relative costs had increased over time due perhaps to the increased technology and intensity of services used to save infant lives. We also found that factors other than maternal and infant complications affected cost variations. For example, employers located in the Northeast, hiring older mothers, and in unionized sectors have higher prenatal, delivery, and infant costs.     

Use of containment pans and lids for autoclaving caustic solutions

As a means of decontaminating instruments possibly exposed to Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease, the World Health Organization has recommended immersion and autoclaving in sodium hydroxide. However, this recommendation has raised concerns of possible damage to autoclaves, and hazards to operators as a result of the caustic vapors. A series of experiments has been conducted that demonstrate that there are containment pan-and-lid combinations in which instruments can be autoclaved in sodium hydroxide without risk to the autoclave or the operator.     

Effects of smoking reduction during pregnancy on the birth weight of term infants

This study was undertaken to determine 1) whether reducing tobacco exposure during pregnancy increases the birth weight of term infants and 2) the relative effects of early- and late-pregnancy exposure to tobacco on infant birth weight. Data were obtained from the Smoking Cessation in Pregnancy project, conducted in public clinics in three states (Colorado, Maryland, and Missouri) between 1987 and 1991. Self-reported cigarette use and urine cotinine concentration were collected from 1,583 pregnant smokers at study enrollment and in the third trimester. General linear models were used to generate mean adjusted birth weights for women who reduced their tobacco exposure by 50 percent or more and for those who did not change their exposure. Regression smoothing techniques were used to characterize the relation between birth weight and early exposure and birth weight and third-trimester exposure. Reducing cigarette use was associated with an increase in mean adjusted birth weight of only 32 g, which was not significant (p = 0.33). As third-trimester cigarette use increased, birth weight declined sharply but leveled off at more than eight cigarettes per day. Findings were similar when urine cotinine concentration was used. Women who smoke during pregnancy may need to reduce to low levels of exposure (less than eight cigarettes per day) to improve infant birth weight.