The role of complementary medicine in European and Asian patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Three hundred and eighty-two patients with known inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (190 European and 192 Asian) and 190 with coeliac disease were sent a previously validated questionnaire to investigate patients' use of alternative medicine and their views on its effectiveness. Details sought included whether they had ever consulted an alternative practitioner, whether they had followed a course of treatment and its clinical effects. Information about where patients had heard about such alternative practitioners and whether they were told to discontinue their current allopathic medication was also sought. Results were analysed after three consecutive mailings, including one in Gujurati to Asian patients. A randomly selected group was re-interviewed four months later. To validate the study alternative medicine practitioners were also interviewed to investigate what percentage of their attendees have IBD and how many of those clients were Asians.One hundred and fifty-eight questionnaires were returned from European patients with IBD (response rate = 83%), 145 from patients with coeliac disease (response rate = 76%) but only 81 Asian patients with IBD (response rate = 42%). Forty-seven European and Asian patients with inflammatory bowel disease sought advice or treatment from an alternative practitioner, compared with only 11 with coeliac disease (X² = 11.64, df = 12, P < 0.003). There was no significant difference in consultation rates between Asian and European patients with IBD (Yates corrected X² = 0.78, ns). The most common practitioners consulted by all groups were homeopaths (n = 23) and herbalists (n = 27) but 20 patients consulted more than one practitioner at a time. Patients with coeliac disease and European patients with IBD had consulted osteopaths (n = 6) and reflexologists (n = 7). Ten patients with IBD had also attended a spiritualist and five Asian patients a hakim. Common sources of information about alternative remedies included friends and relatives (n = 13), the media (n = 11), word of mouth (n = 11) and family practitioners (n = 6). Most patients were advised to continue their current medications, although two had been told to stop and 10 advised to reduce the dose of their allopathic medications. Twenty alternative medicine practitioners stated that overall between 2–5% of their attendees have IBD with 10% of those clients being Asian. Asians preferred to consult Asian practitioners rather than European practitioners. There was no clear consensus as to whether complementary therapies were felt beneficial, although many patients with IBD believed them to be helpful.     

108例创伤性动静脉瘘的介入诊疗分析

目的分析创伤性动静脉瘘（AVF）的临床特点、造影表现、造影技术及治疗方式的选择。方法回顾性分析纽约Kings County医疗中心25年间全部确诊的108例创伤性AVF的介入相关诊疗资料。分析内容包括患者外伤种类、临床表现、损伤部位、血管造影异常特征、AVF血流动力学特征（分5个类型）、治疗方式的选择等。结果 108例患者中共发现117处AVF,大多数患者临床特征不明确。创伤种类包括枪伤（导致72处AVF）、刺伤（24处）、钝性伤（8处）、高处坠落伤（3处）、医源性损伤（2处）。损伤部位常见于肢体（46例）、颈部（19例）、肝脏（13例）和锁骨下血管（11例）。所有病变均可见静脉早显,显示动脉横断52处,撕裂37处,49.6%的AVF与假性动脉瘤有关。最常见的血流特点是Ⅰ型,即瘘口所在的动脉近段和远段、静脉的近段和远段都显示,伴远侧段静脉瓣功能不全,共40处瘘（34.2%）,其次是Ⅲ型22个（18.8%）,Ⅴ型最不常见（4.3%）。34例接受手术治疗,61例栓塞治疗,7例临床观察。分别采用弹簧圈（47例）、明胶海绵（9例）、无水乙醇（3例）、可脱球囊（2例）,其中弹簧圈效果理想、并发症少。6例采用覆膜支架效果好。结论血管造影是诊断创伤性AVF的金标准,造影时准确观察动脉损伤的性质,瘘口的解剖和血流特点及所有进入瘘口的动脉分支,对于选择治疗方式及保证介入治疗的成功完成至关重要。     

Intraarterial digital subtraction arteriographic evaluation of extremity tumors: comparison with conventional arteriography

Conventional arteriography and intraarterial digital subtraction arteriography (IADSA) were compared in 36 patients with primary bone or soft-tissue tumors of the extremities. The sensitivity of IADSA was at least equal to conventional arteriography for demonstrating normal or abnormal major arteries and feeding arteries, equal to or superior for depicting tumor stains or draining veins, but slightly inferior for revealing minute tumor vessels. An increase of the matrix size from 256 X 256 to 512 X 512 improved these sensitivities. IADSA with 15% diatrizoate contrast material eliminated the contrast material-induced pain in all patients. With a computer-controlled iris setting, an average of 5 minutes of procedure time and 1.7 R of radiation (0.44 mC kg) per examination could be saved. IADSA reduced the cost of an examination by an average of $67. The results indicate that IADSA was diagnostic in all instances and can replace conventional arteriography for the evaluation of extremity tumors.     

Thymus in the superior mediastinum simulating adenopathy: appearance on CT

A soft-tissue nodule was identified in the mediastinum superior to the left brachiocephalic vein in six patients undergoing computed tomography (CT) of the chest. In one case, biopsy of the mass showed that it was thymic tissue. In the remaining cases, the nodule was identified as thymus on the basis of the CT findings. The findings include equal density of the superior mediastinal nodule and the thymic lobes anterior to the ascending aorta, no displacement or narrowing of adjacent arteries, absence of a fat plane between the nodule and the thymic lobes, and parallel reduction in size of the nodule and the rest of the thymus. Two patients were examined with magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Sagittal MR images demonstrated continuity of the superior mediastinal nodule with the more caudal portion of the thymus. Recognition of this normal variant in children is important in order to avoid unnecessary mediastinal biopsies or overstaging of malignancies.     

Arthrographic study of painful total hip arthroplasty: refined criteria

The criteria for a diagnosis of loosening or infection of hip arthroplasties on arthrographic study were further refined by a retrospective review of 178 arthrograms representing 170 patients. The 97 arthroplasties that were surgically evaluated form the basis of this report. With the refined criteria, subtraction arthrography had a sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 92% for demonstrating loosening of the femoral component and a sensitivity of 97% and a specificity of 68% for demonstrating loosening of the acetabular component. Pseudocapsule size and the presence of bursae were important factors influencing arthrographic interpretation. Arthrographic findings of pseudocapsule irregularity and the presence of nonbursal cavities were suggestive of infection but were not sensitive or specific. Laboratory evaluation of aspirated material was a more reliable predictor of infection, although its sensitivity was only 71%.     

The opacified maxillary sinus: CT findings in chronic sinusitis and malignant tumors

To distinguish opacification owing to inflammatory conditions (sinusitis) from that caused by nasomaxillary malignancy, computed tomography scans in 24 proved cases of sinusitis or tumor were reviewed for features related to sinus size, wall thickness, and character of bone erosion. An anatomic system was defined for classifying lesions according to the surface and type of bony involvement. In 12 cases of chronic maxillary sinusitis, the involved sinus was usually small and thick walled. The nasal surface of the involved sinus usually was eroded; often the orbital surface was eroded. The erosion was, however, short, irregular, and in the region of a normal dehiscence (semilunar hiatus or infraorbital canal) in all cases. The infratemporal surface was never eroded. In 12 cases of nasomaxillary neoplasia, the sinus was enlarged, one or more walls of the involved sinus being thinned and expanded. Bone erosion was present in all cases; erosion of the infratemporal surface was specific for neoplasia and significant as the usual site of recurrence.