Does targeting manual therapy and/or exercise improve patient outcomes in nonspecific low back pain? A systematic review

Background  

A central element in the current debate about best practice management of non-specific low back pain (NSLBP) is the efficacy of targeted versus generic (non-targeted) treatment. Many clinicians and researchers believe that tailoring treatment to NSLBP subgroups positively impacts on patient outcomes. Despite this, there are no systematic reviews comparing the efficacy of targeted versus non-targeted manual therapy and/or exercise. This systematic review was undertaken in order to determine the efficacy of such targeted treatment in adults with NSLBP.     

原发性高血压患者左室构型与儿茶酚胺的关系

目的：了解原发性高血压心脏超声构型的分型与血浆儿茶酚胺水平的关系。方法：实验于2003—02／2005—07在泰安市中心医院完成。选择102例原发性高血压患者，采用超声心动图（Ganau标准）将患者分为：①正常构型组：左室质量指数及相对室壁厚度均在正常范围。②向心性重构组：左室质量指数正常，但相对室壁厚度增加。③向心性肥厚组：左室质量指数与相对室壁厚度均增加。④离心性肥厚组：左室质量指数增加但相对室壁厚度正常。另选择50名年龄相当的健康查体者做为正常对照组。高血压患者停用降压药2周，所有受检者实验前1d禁用烟、酒、茶及咖啡，禁食12h，于清晨采静脉血10mL，以高效液相色谱法检测其血浆中的肾上腺素及去甲肾上腺素含量。结果：152名研究对象全部进入结果分析。向心性重构组、向心性肥厚组和离心性肥厚组的肾上腺素水平、去甲肾上腺素水平均高于正常对照组及正常构型组（P分别〈0．01），而且向心性重构组〉正常构型组，向心性肥厚组〉向心性重构组，离心性肥厚组〉向心性肥厚组（P〈0．05或0．01）。结论：原发性高血压患者血浆肾上腺素、去甲肾上腺素水平的升高促进了左室构型的发展。     

Enhancing patency,safety and cost effectiveness of catheters

Catheters are generally known to be the last resort for blood access in dialysis. Because of the many problems related to catheter use, catheters are banned from vascular access courses organized by professional societies and the development of catheters and catheter related equipment relies on a few interested medical doctors with limited knowledge of hydraulics and material science. Rather than accepting the need for catheters and the need for improving catheters and catheter related procedures, vascular access meetings typically begin and end with statements saying that the use of fistulas must be increased and catheters must be banned. Several small companies have developed new catheters and catheter related equipment, which potentially overcome many of the problems related to the use of catheters. The authors had the privilege of participating in one of these developments and report about basic features and clinical experience of the DIALOCK® blood access port and an antimicrobial catheter locking solution (CLS) which is used with conventional catheters as well as with the DIALOCK®.     

Oral manifestations of toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) in patients with AIDS: report of five cases

OBJECTIVE: To describe oral findings in HIV-infected individuals with toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN). PATIENTS: In a retrospective study over a 10 year period the medical histories of 931 hospitalised HIV-infected patients were reviewed for the occurrence of TEN.
RESULTS: Five cases of TEN were diagnosed (three men, two women; median age: 41 years; median CD4⁺ T lymphocyte count: 20/μl). Four patients had been treated with biweekly pyrimethamine/sulfadoxine for prophylaxis against Pneumocystis carinii pneumonia and toxoplasmosis. In one patient flucloxacillin was administered. Signs of TEN with cutaneous epidermolysis occurred and patients showed oral lesions characterized as oropharyngeal blisters and bullae on the palate, buccal mucosa, tongue and floor of the mouth initially. Antibiotics and corticosteroids were administered; none of the patients died.
CONCLUSION: Longacting sulfonamides and antibiotics have been implicated as the cause of severe mucocutaneous reactions. Since rash and oral blisters may be the first signs of TEN in patients receiving these it is mandatory to follow up these patients closely to detect oral or cutaneous changes indicating the development of TEN.     

Three-phase radionuclide bone imaging in sports medicine

Three-phase radionuclide bone (TPB) imaging was performed on 238 patients with sports-related injuries. A wide variety of lesions was encountered, but the most frequent lesions seen were stress fractures of the lower part of the leg at the junction of the middle and distal thirds of the posterior tibial cortex (42 of 79 lesions). There were no differences in the type, location, or distribution of lesions between males and females or between competitive and noncompetitive athletes. In 110 cases, bone stress lesions were often diagnosed when radiographs were normal, whereas subacute or chronic soft-tissue abnormalities had few specific scintigraphic features. TPB imaging provides significant early diagnostic information about bone stress lesions. Normal examination results (53 cases) exclude underlying osseous pathologic conditions.     

Erythromycin-induced hepatitis: simulator of malignancy

A 67-year-old patient was admitted with a 2-week history of epigastric discomfort that began after an episode of upper respiratory tract infection treated with erythromycin. Results of liver function tests were abnormal. Abdominal ultrasound (US) and computed tomography showed multiple, poorly demarcated irregular lesions in both hepatic lobes, suggestive of diffuse metastatic invasion. Histologic examination of the biopsy specimen revealed drug-induced hepatitis. Ten weeks after withdrawal of the erythromycin, US showed complete resolution of the hyperechogenic liver lesions.     

Relationship of physical activity vs body mass index with type 2 diabetes in women

CONTEXT: Physical inactivity and body mass index (BMI) are established independent risk factors in the development of type 2 diabetes; however, their comparative importance and joint relationship with diabetes are unclear. OBJECTIVE: To examine the relative contributions and joint association of physical activity and BMI with diabetes. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: Prospective cohort study of 37 878 women free of cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes with 6.9 years of mean follow-up. Weight, height, and recreational activities were reported at study entry. Normal weight was defined as a BMI of less than 25; overweight, 25 to less than 30; and obese, 30 or higher. Active was defined as expending more than 1000 kcal on recreational activities per week. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Incident type 2 diabetes, defined as a new self-reported diagnosis of diabetes. RESULTS: During the follow-up, 1361 cases of incident diabetes occurred. Individually, BMI and physical activity were significant predictors of incident diabetes. Compared with normal-weight individuals, the multivariate-adjusted hazard ratio (HR) was 3.22 (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.69-3.87) for overweight individuals and 9.09 (95% CI, 7.62-10.8) for obese individuals. For overall activity (kilocalories expended per week), compared with the least active first quartile, the multivariate-adjusted HRs were 0.91 (95% CI, 0.79-1.06) for the second quartile, 0.86 (95% CI, 0.74-1.01) for the third, and 0.82 (95% CI, 0.70-0.97) for the fourth (P for trend =.01). In the combined analyses, overweight and obese participants, whether active or inactive, had significantly elevated risks, compared with normal-weight active individuals. The multivariate-adjusted HRs were 1.15 (95% CI, 0.83-1.59) for normal-weight inactive, 3.68 (95% CI, 2.63-5.15) for overweight active, 4.16 (95% CI, 3.05-5.66) for overweight inactive, 11.5 (95% CI, 8.34-15.9) for obese active, and 11.8 (95% CI, 8.75-16.0) for obese inactive participants. CONCLUSIONS: Although BMI and physical inactivity are independent predictors of incident diabetes, the magnitude of the association with BMI was greater than with physical activity in combined analyses. These findings underscore the critical importance of adiposity as a determinant of diabetes.