Psychosocial factors and ethnic disparities in diabetes diagnosis and treatment among older adults

This study examined diabetes awareness, diagnosis, and social support among Mexican Americans, African Americans, other Hispanic people, and white people living in the United States. Using a national sample of people age 60 and older, three groups were formed based on serum glucose level and diagnosis of diabetes: those who were unaware that their serum glucose level was greater than 115 mg/dl (no diagnosis), those with a diabetes diagnosis, and those with normal glucose (no diagnosis). Mexican Americans were the most likely to have a diagnosis, had the highest mean glucose levels, and, together with white people, were most likely to be classified as unaware. Mexican Americans and other Hispanic people had the lowest levels of social support and affiliation on four out of five measures.     

Menkes's syndrome. Report of a patient treated from 21 days of age with parenteral copper

In an infant with Menkes's steely-hair syndrome, early treatment (from 21 days of age) with parenteral copper failed to halt the disease. In addition to urinary tract abnormalities, panlobular emphysema was present a finding not previously noted in the syndrome.     

Pet sensitivities in asthmatic children

A history of pet contact and/or apparent clinical sensitivity was obtained in 65 (55%) of 118 unselected asthmatic children. These 65 children were skin tested and their sera examined for specific IgE using the radioallergosorbent test. Those children who had apparent clinical sensitivities had larger skin test reactions and were more likely to have positive specific IgE results than those without apparent sensitivities. Positive skin tests were very common (80%), but the larger the skin test reaction (weal diameter greater than 4 mm diameter) the more likely was there to be a positive history or a positive specific IgE result. Hence a large skin test reaction can provide a helpful pointer to animal allergy of clinical importance. Commercially available animal extracts have limitations for diagnostic tests. A questionnaire survey of 150 day schools emphasized the potential opportunities for contact with animal allergens at school.     

口服Carvedilol治疗心力衰竭多中心研究(MOCHA)

标题　Ｃａｒｖｅｄｉｌｏｌ对慢性心力衰竭患者左心室功能的改善和存活的提高呈剂量相关性作者　ＢｒｉｓｔｏｗＭＲ，ＧｉｌｂｅｒｔＥＭ，ＡｂｒａｈａｍＷＴ，等　　Ｃｉｒｃｕｌａｔｉｏｎ１９９６，９４：２８０７～２８１６　　研究疾病：充血性心力衰竭。目的：对Ｃａｒｖｅｄｉｌｏｌ治疗慢性心力衰竭患者剂量－疗效特征进行评价。　　设计：随机、双盲、安慰剂对照的多中心研究，剂量效应关系研究。病人资料：共３４５名心力衰竭患者，年龄１８～８５岁，左室射血分数≤０－３５，心力衰竭症状时间≥３月，研究前所有患者必须用利…     

Patient expectations of radiology in noninteractive encounters

Open-ended interviews with 107 patients documented specific patient expectations of radiologic procedures during which there was no direct radiologist-patient interaction. Patient expectations could be classified into those related to the facility and those related to interactions with radiology staff. Among facility-related expectations, waiting time far outweighed all other concerns. Interpersonal skills were the predominant expectation of radiology staff. The role of the radiologist in fulfilling patient expectations was less clear. Only 10% of unprompted patients cited the radiologist as a factor in their expectations. When patients were specifically prompted to discuss the radiologist's role, communication skills, accuracy of interpretation, and interpersonal skills were the predominant concerns.     

Pulmonary embolism after hip or knee replacement: postoperative changes on pulmonary scintigrams in asymptomatic patients

Serial pulmonary imaging has proved to be effective in the evaluation of patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty. A clinical dilemma arises in asymptomatic patients whose postoperative pulmonary images differ from the preoperative images. The authors prospectively evaluated 403 patients with serial imaging to determine the significance of changed postoperative images in asymptomatic patients undergoing total hip or knee arthroplasty. Twenty-two (5.5%) patients had significant changes on postoperative images. Seventeen were asymptomatic; all but one underwent pulmonary angiography. Documented pulmonary emboli were demonstrated in 100% of patients whose postoperative images changed to indicate a high probability of pulmonary embolism, 71% whose images changed to a moderate probability, and 0% whose images changed to indeterminate probability. Overall, pulmonary emboli occurred in 76% of all asymptomatic patients with significantly change postoperative images. Asymptomatic pulmonary embolism is a significant occurrence after total hip or knee repair, and a changed lung scan with appropriate clinical evaluation is an accurate indicator of pulmonary emboli in asymptomatic postarthroplasty patients.     

US-guided percutaneous biopsy: use of a screw biopsy stylet to aid needle detection

Insertion of a screw biopsy stylet into a thin-walled biopsy needle greatly enhances detection of the needle during ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsy. This technique is helpful when precise needle-tip localization is needed for biopsies of small lesions.     

Anti-Sc1 in pregnancy

Anti-Sc1 was detected in a gravida-2 patient at 12 weeks' gestation. At 29 weeks, the antibody was found to be of the IgG3 subclass with a titer of 16, score 36, by the indirect antiglobulin test, and it produced 7 percent lysis by antibody-dependent cellular cytotoxicity (ADCC) assay, a finding that suggested an unaffected fetus. The titer remained constant throughout the pregnancy, as did the IgG subclass and activity in the ADCC assay. At delivery of the full-term infant, the cord hemoglobin was 13.5 g per dL and the direct antiglobulin test was positive (3+) with anti-IgG. The infant did not require transfusion. A sample taken 9 weeks after delivery showed 44 percent lysis in the ADCC assay. The anti-Sc1 titer was 32, score 65.