Safety considerations for operating room personnel during hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy perfusion.

The new treatment strategy for Peritoneal Surface Malignancy combines a cytoreductive surgery and perioperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy. Cytoreduction removes all macroscopic tumor. Intraperitoneal chemotherapy avoids implantation of microscopic residual tumor cells on intra-abdominal surfaces when it is administered intraoperatively and/or early in the postoperative period. Delivering cytotoxic drugs directly into the peritoneal cavity maximizes dose intensity and minimizes systemic toxicity. Hyperthermia is selectively cytotoxic for malignant cells and potentiates the effect of chemotherapy. Implementation of this procedure makes the perioperative personnel to face a risk of exposure to cytotoxic agents. Furthermore, peritonectomies and electro-evaporation of tumor nodules are performed with high voltage electrocautery, generating a large amount of surgical smoke during several hours. Inhalation of these fumes may be also a risk for healthcare workers. In this article, we analyse in depth these new risks of the operating room personnel, we review the literature, and we give guidelines for secure performance of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy, as well as for early postoperative intraperitoneal chemotherapy administration. These new procedures are safe techniques for patients and healthcare workers provided adequate policies are adopted to avoid occupational exposure.     

灾难的时代错误:灾害医学的过去、现在和将来(一)

灾难,特别是地震、火山、洪水以及与战争有关的事件如饥饿和流行性传染病,是人类有记录的经历的一部分。从意大利庞贝的火山爆发,到约翰斯顿的洪水、第二次世界大战和黑色瘟疫,到西班牙流感,都发生了灾难,这不会被传说和历史书籍长期忘却。不过,在20世纪中叶以前,那些灾难的发生相对较少,且相距时间较长。从20世纪中叶以来,灾难的本质发生了变化。从恐怖分子使用“新技术”,到与气候有关的导致亿万美元经济损失的事件,表明这个世界正在发生变化。仅仅在最近的50~60年间,造成多种多样的伤亡事件,其危险性和频率的增加引人注目,并且注定要在接…     

Sex differences in the clinical presentation and management of airflow obstruction.

The aim of the present study was to explore differences in the clinical expression, clinical diagnoses and management of airway diseases in a primary-care setting. Patients aged >or=35 yrs who had ever smoked were enrolled when they presented for any reason to one of eight rural primary-care practices. Respiratory symptom questionnaires and spirometry were administered. In total, 1,034 patients had acceptable and reproducible spirometry, of whom 550 (53%) were males and 484 (47%) were females. Males smoked more than females (41.2 versus 29.2 pack-yrs) respectively, and were more likely to have a pre-bronchodilator forced expiratory volume in one second/forced vital capacity <0.70 at 22.4 versus 11.8%, respectively. However, more females than males reported breathlessness (51.0 versus 42.8%, respectively), a prior diagnosis compatible with airflow obstruction and taking respiratory medications (23.4 versus 14.9%, respectively). In conclusion, the current results suggest that females are more likely than males to report breathlessness and be prescribed respiratory medications independent of differences in the severity of airflow obstruction.     

Hypoxic ventilatory response in successful extreme altitude climbers.

A very high ventilatory response to hypoxia is believed necessary to reach extreme altitude without oxygen. Alternatively, the excessive ventilation could be counterproductive by exhausting the ventilatory reserve early on. To test these alternatives, 11 elite climbers (2004 Everest-K2 Italian Expedition) were evaluated as follows: 1) at sea level, and 2) at 5,200 m, after 15 days of acclimatisation at altitude. Resting oxygen saturation, minute ventilation, breathing rate, hypoxic ventilatory response, maximal voluntary ventilation, ventilatory reserve (at oxygen saturation = 70%) and two indices of ventilatory efficiency were measured. Everest and K2 summits were reached 29 and 61 days, respectively, after the last measurement. Five climbers summited without oxygen, the other six did not, or succeeded with oxygen (two climbers). At sea level, all data were similar. At 5,200 m, the five summiters without oxygen showed lower resting minute ventilation, breathing rate and ventilatory response to hypoxia, and higher ventilatory reserve and ventilatory efficiency, compared to the other climbers. Thus, the more successful climbers had smaller responses to hypoxia during acclimatisation to 5,200 m, but, as a result, had greater available reserve for the summit. A less sensitive hypoxic response and a greater ventilatory efficiency might increase ventilatory reserve and allow sustainable ventilation in the extreme hypoxia at the summit.     

Combined transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography for mediastinal staging of NSCLC.

There are no data available combining transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) of mediastinal lymph nodes and positron emission tomography (PET) in the staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC). The aim of the current study was to determine if these two methods can enhance the negative predictive value of the individual modality alone, for a specific lymph node station, and if this integrated approach can reduce the number of mediastinoscopies. A total of 113 patients with enlarged mediastinal lymph nodes (> or = 1 cm), who underwent both TBNA and PET scanning, were included. In 51 patients, histopathology, confirmed by surgical lymph node dissection, was compared with PET results and TBNA. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and accuracy to detect malignant lymphadenopathy was 68 (13/19), 89 (119/134), 46 (13/28), 95 (119/125) and 86% (132/152) for PET, respectively; 54% (6/11), 100 (53/53), 100 (6/6), 91 (53/58) and 92% (59/64), respectively for TBNA; and 100 (11/11), 94 (50/53), 79 (11/14), 100 (50/50) and 95 (61/64) for combined TBNA and PET, respectively. Combination of transbronchial needle aspiration and positron emission tomography has the potential to allow adequate mediastinal staging of nonsmall cell lung cancer with enlarged lymph nodes in most patients without the need for mediastinoscopy.     

无（外侧）额叶皮质是否更好？额叶病变患者解决洞察力问题

最近提出的关于额叶功能的理论认为前额叶皮质，尤其是其背外侧面在确定适合一项特殊任务的一系列反应中起重要作用，并在选择中使上述反应发生偏差。这些活动事实上是为任何类型的非常规任务而执行，而不考虑内容的差别。本研究旨在通过一项解决“洞察力”问题的测试任务（即火柴杆算术作业），来验证Frith“塑造反应空间”假说的预测效力。从Knoblich等人对健康人不能解决火柴杆问题的解释和Frith关于额叶背外侧皮质作用的理论，作者推导出与直觉相左的预测，即对这些相对复杂的任务，外侧额叶皮质局部损伤的患者可能比1组健康受试者完成得更好。要求35例经CT或MRI扫描证实为单个局部脑损伤的患者（年龄为26—65岁）和23例健康受试者（年龄为34—62岁）完成火柴杆作业。研究结果似乎与理论上的预测相一致，虽然仅有43％的健康受试者能解决最困难的火柴杆问题（“C类”），但是却有82％的额叶外侧损伤患者完成了类似问题（Fisher精确概率检验，P〈0．05）。总之，对Frith和Knoblich等人理论的结合进行了确证。