The reliability of catheter-tip transducers for the measurement of intrauterine pressure in the third stage of labour

In order to assess the reliability of intrauterine pressure measurements in the third stage of labour, catheter-tip transducers were used in 20 women randomly allocated into two groups of 10. In each case in the first group two catheters were tied together and introduced transcervically into the uterine cavity after delivery of the placenta. In each case in the second group two catheters were inserted independently into the same uterine cavity. The active and cumulative active pressures recorded from the pairs of catheters within each uterine cavity were compared. Comparison of individual active pressure readings from separate transducers revealed good agreement whether the catheters were tied together or were seperate. Cumulative active pressure was very similar when assessed by each catheter in the same uterus. Intrauterine catheter-tip transducers can be used reliably to measure uterine activity in the third stage of labour although there may be minor contraction by contraction differences in recordings of individual active pressures.     

A comparison of patient-controlled epidural analgesia following gynaecological surgery with and without a background infusion

We conducted a randomised, controlled study to investigate the effect of adding a background infusion to patient-controlled epidural analgesia for postoperative pain relief. Forty-two patients scheduled for elective lower abdominal gynaecological surgery received patient-controlled epidural analgesia postoperatively using a mixture of 0.2% ropivacaine and 2.0 microg x ml-1 fentanyl. Patients in group B (n = 20) were given a background infusion of 5 ml x h-1, whereas those in group N (n = 21) were not. There was no difference in pain scores or patient satisfaction scores between the two groups. Patients in group B had a higher total drug consumption (156.8 +/- 34.8 ml vs. 89.5 +/- 41.0 ml; p < 0.0001) and incidence of side-effects (71.4% vs. 30.0%; p = 0.007). Motor blockade during the 24-h study period was also greater in group B (median [range] area under the curve 7.5 [0.0-39.0] h vs. 3.0 [0.0-36.0] h; p = 0.035). We conclude that the addition of a background infusion to patient-controlled epidural anaesthesia is not recommended as it confers no additional benefits.     

Invasive middle ear cholesterol granuloma involving the basal turn of the cochlea with profound sensorineural hearing loss.

STUDY DESIGN: A retrospective surgical case review. SETTING: A tertiary-care, university teaching hospital. PATIENTS: The authors describe a unique case operated on for a middle ear cholesterol granuloma, which had invaded the cochlea and vestibule causing profound sensorineural deafness. INTERVENTIONS: Extended radical mastoidectomy and labyrinthectomy with musculofascial seal. RESULTS: Successful postoperative outcome with no recurrence seen after 2 years of follow up. CONCLUSION: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of a primary middle ear cholesterol granuloma with direct invasion into the cochlea. Such invasion of the otic capsule by cholesterol granulomas is rare and presents a diagnostic challenge to the attending otologist and radiologist. Salient points of the case history, pathogenesis, imaging studies, histopathology, and management are presented with a review of the current literature.     

反相高效液相色谱法测定托拉噻米胶囊中托拉噻米的含量

目的建立高效液相色谱法测定托拉噻米胶囊中托拉噻米的含量。方法以岛津Sh impack CLC(M)C18(250 mm×4.6 mm,5μm)为色谱柱,以甲醇-0.02 mol.L-1磷酸二氢钾溶液(用磷酸调节pH至3.0)(65∶35)为流动相,检测波长为UV291 nm,流速为0.9 ml.min-1。结果托拉噻米在2~24μg.ml-1范围内具有良好线性关系(r=0.999 9),平均加样回收率为99.73%,相对标准差为0.17%;三批样品的标示百分含量(%)分别为99.8、100.1及100.4。结论本方法准确、灵敏度高、重现性好,可用于托拉噻米胶囊的含量测定。     

Tissue microarray: an effective high-throughput method to study the placenta for clinical and research purposes.

OBJECTIVE: Tissue microarray (TMA) technology allows simultaneous examination of the expression of many molecular markers (protein, mRNA, DNA, etc.) with high-throughput. The application of this technology, to date, has been largely confined to the study of cancer. Placental pathology poses unique challenges because of the size of the organ, its complex anatomy, as well as its histological heterogeneity. The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility and efficiency of TMAs for immunohistochemistry and in situ hybridization of placental tissues. STUDY DESIGN: TMAs were constructed using an automated tissue arrayer. Standard 0.6-mm or 1-mm microarray needles were used. Villous parenchyma, basal plate, and chorioamniotic membranes were targeted in each block. Five mum-thick TMA sections underwent immunohistochemical analysis of both cytoplasmic and nuclear antigens using a panel of antibodies against a variety of cytoplasmic [cytokeratin-7, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), and protein Z], membranous (endoglin), and nuclear (c-fos and c-jun) antigens. mRNA in situ hybridization for surfactant protein A (SP-A) and chromogenic in situ hybridization for the Y chromosome (DYZ1) were also performed. RESULTS: Validation of TMA immunoreactivity demonstrated comparable results with corresponding whole sections. When a two-tiered scoring system (positive/negative) was employed, there was agreement between two and three cores and whole tissue sections (kappa>0.7). When a three-tiered scoring system (negative, weak-positive, or strong-positive) was used, the data from three cores showed the highest agreement with whole tissue sections (kappa >0.7). In situ hybridization experiments for mRNA and DNA were also successful in that the signals were readily detectable. Successful transfer from the donor block to the recipient block differed according to the anatomical compartment. The transfer efficiency of villous parenchyma, basal plate, and chorioamniotic membranes were 96.9% (875/903), 76.7% (115/150), and 75.4% (224/297), respectively. CONCLUSION: TMA is a practical and effective tool for high-throughput molecular analysis of the human placenta. Duplicate and triplicate cores offer agreement with whole tissue sections for two-category distinction immunostaining. TMA also affords relevant results from in situ hybridization experiments for mRNA and DNA. The major advantages are the conservation of tissues and reagents, simultaneous comparison of molecular markers in different anatomical compartments of the placenta, and reduction of experimental error.     

Attempted suicide and polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene in Chinese patients with schizophrenia

Abnormalities of serotonin synthesis and metabolism may be associated with suicidality. The serotonin transporter gene (5-HTT) is one of the important genes involved in the regulation of serotonin neurotransmission. We examined the association of suicidal behavior in Chinese schizophrenic patients with a functional polymorphism of the promoter region of the 5-HTT gene (5-HTTLPR). The 5-HTTLPR genotype was determined by polymerase chain reaction for 76 suicidal and 262 non-suicidal patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (DSM-IV criteria). All subjects were unrelated to each other, and all were Chinese. There was no significant genotypic or allelic association of the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism with history of attempted suicide. From our results, this 5-HTTLPR polymorphism is unlikely to have a major effect on suicidal behavior in Chinese patients with schizophrenia.     

改良腭黏膜瓣整复软腭裂的临床观察

目的:探讨整复软腭裂的新术式,重建腭咽闭合的效果。方法:采用腭黏膜瓣后推术对25例软腭裂患者进行整复治疗,并对其进行随访,以了解术后腭咽闭合的情况。结果:所有患者术后腭部创口愈合良好,瘢痕不明显,软腭的活动度良好,且均有良好的腭咽闭合功能。结论:对先天性软腭裂的患者实施该术式整复,能较好地恢复腭咽闭合功能,是较为理想的手术整复方法之一。     

医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力评价研究

目的 对医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力进行综合评价,为行政管理部门决策及各医院中药制剂可持续发展提供参考。方法 以浙江省133家医疗机构中药制剂调研数据为对象,利用层次分析法构建医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力评价体系,通过反向传播神经网络构建中药制剂室/中心评价体系预测模型。结果 构建的医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力评价指标体系包含4项二级指标以及19项三级指标,其中研发品种数、超百万品种数、注册品种数、研发方式、制剂室面积指标的权重值较高,分别为 0.15758、0.12928、0.09343、0.07879和0.07458。熵权法结合层次分析法的指标权重构建反向传播神经网络,Levenberg-Marquardt算法和Scaled Conjugate Gradient算法训练模型总体相关系数分别为0.98983和0.9348。结论 本研究构建了一个科学有效的医疗机构中药制剂创新和持续发展能力综合评价体系,可实现对医疗机构中药制剂综合能力的预测评价。     

气传花粉播报平台在过敏性鼻炎预防治疗中的应用研究

目的 利用气传花粉播报平台进行花粉浓度播报及AR防治措施普及,结合相关数据分析,为患者对疾病的防治提供指导。方法 于2019及2020年的3～10月进行花粉采集及阅片计数,通过播报平台进行花粉浓度日播报,统计同期AR患者门诊就诊情况及平台用户流量,分析以上数据寻找本地区花粉分布规律与AR患者就诊相关性,为今后指导患者预防治疗打好前期工作基础。结果 呼和浩特地区花粉浓度存在春季和夏秋季两个高峰期,浓度变化趋势与门诊AR就诊人次及平台用户流量呈正相关。结论 借助本地区建立的气传花粉播报平台,在发布实时花粉浓度预警的同时可以指导AR患者及时采取预防性治疗,对减轻症状,降低严重并发症起到较好辅助作用。