隆突性皮纤维肉瘤23例临床分析

本文报告了我科1978～1990年间收治的降突性皮纤维肉瘤23例,均经组织学证实.治疗以手术切除为主,术后局部复发率为65.2%.无一例发生转移.切除不彻底是复发的主要原因.作者指出广泛切除是防止复发的主要措施,手术前后的放疗有可能减少复发.     

Doctor – How do I use my EpiPen?

Parents and children who have been prescribed an Epipen are often unable to demonstrate its correct administration. One contributory factor may be that doctors are unfamiliar with the EpiPen and are unable to demonstrate the correct administration of the pen to the family. The aim of this study was to determine the rate of correct EpiPen demonstration by junior and Senior Medical Staff at a major tertiary paediatric Hospital. Junior and Senior medical staff were scored on their ability to correctly use the EpiPen trainer. A 6 step scoring system was used. One-hundred doctors were recruited (Residents n = 31, Senior Residents n = 39, Fellow/Consultants n = 30). Junior and Senior Medical staff had similar scores for EpiPen demonstration, the number that needed to read the EpiPen instructions prior to use and the frequancy of accidental self-injection into the thumb. Only two doctors (2%) demonstrated all 6 administration steps correctly. The most frequent errors made were not holding the pen in place for >5 seconds (57%), failure to apply pressure to activate (21%), and self-injection into the thumb (16%). Ninety five doctors needed to read the instructions, and of these, only 39 (41%) then proceeded to correctly demonstrate the remaining 5 steps. Forty-five doctors had previously dispensed an EpiPen, but only three demonstrated its use to parents/children with a trainer. The majority of doctors do not know how to use an Epipen and are unable to provide appropriate education to parents/children. In 37% of cases, the demonstration would not have delivered adrenaline to a patient.     

Weight of edged spherical lenses in simulated eyewire shapes

Eyewire shapes of some currently available spectacle frames were constructed mathematically and weights of spherical lenses cut to these shapes were computed for different decentrations in three commonly used lens materials. The results confirm a previous observation that the edged shape of a negative lens has only a minor effect on its weight, although this is often not the case for positive lenses. The appropriate diameters of circular centred lenses to be used in comparing lens weight for different materials were also examined Relative to those adopted in previous studies, it was found that the weight of a larger lens, 58 mm diameter for negative lenses and 65 mm diameter for positive lenses, would more adequately represent the average weight of edged lenses in modern spectacle frames.     

Pregnancy: Oral misoprostol versus placebo for cervical dilatation before vacuum aspiration in first trimester pregnancy

Intravaginal misoprostol has been shown to be effective forcervical priming before a surgically induced abortion. The objectivewas to investigate the effectiveness of oral misoprostol incervical dilatation prior to vacuum aspiration between the 6thand 12th weeks of pregnancy. The results showed that in nulliparouspatients, the median cervical dilatation in the treatment group(7.8 mm) was significantly greater than that in the placebogroup (3.7 mm). In multiparous patients, the difference wasalso statistically significant (9.8 versus 6.0 mm). The easeof dilatation, assessed subjectively by the operating surgeons,was significantly improved in the treatment group. There wasalso a significant reduction in the duration of the operationand in the mean blood loss in the treatment group. The side-effectsencountered in the treatment group were mild and well acceptedby the women. Oral misoprostol is an effective and safe methodfor cervical dilatation prior to vacuum aspiration in firsttrimester pregnancy.     

The use and cost of HIV service provision in England in 1996. National Prospective Monitoring System (NPMS) Steering Group and NPMS Working Party on Costs.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to measure the use and estimate the cost of HIV service provision in England. DESIGN AND SETTING: Standardised activity and case-severity data were collected prospectively in 10 English HIV clinics (5 London and 5 non-London sites) for the periods 1 January 1996 to 30 June 1996 and 1 July 1996 to 31 December 1996 and linked to unit cost data. In total, 5440 patients with HIV infection attended during the first 6 months and 5708 during the second 6 months in 1996. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES AND RESULTS: The mean number of inpatient days per patient-year for patients with AIDS was 19.7 [95% confidence interval (CI): 13.7 to 25.7] for January to June and 20.8 (95% CI: 15.3 to 26.4) for July to December 1996. The mean number of outpatient visits for asymptomatic patients with HIV infection was 14.8 (95% CI: 11.9 to 17.6) and 13.3 (95% CI: 10.8 to 15.7) for the respective periods and 16.1 (95% CI: 13.21 to 18.97) and 15.7 (95% CI: 11.2 to 20.2), respectively, for patients with symptomatic non-AIDS (i.e. symptomatic patients with HIV infection but without AIDS-defining conditions). Substantial centre-to-centre variation was observed, suggesting that many clinics can continue the shift from an inpatient- to an outpatient-based service. Cost estimates per patient-year for HIV service provision for 1996 varied from 4695 Pounds (95% CI: 3769 Pounds to 5648 Pounds) for asymptomatic patients, to 7605 Pounds (95% CI: 6273 Pounds to 8909 Pounds) for symptomatic non-AIDS patients to 20,358 Pounds (95% CI: 17,681 Pounds to 23,206 Pounds) for patients with AIDS. CONCLUSIONS: Different combinations of antiretroviral therapy affect the cost estimates of HIV service provision differently. Anticipated reduction in inpatient-related activity through the increased use of combination antiretroviral therapy will further shift service provision from an inpatient- to outpatient-based service and reduce costs per patient-year. The extent and duration of such effects are currently unknown. The long term effects of combination treatment on the morbidity and mortality patterns of individuals infected with HIV are also currently unknown, as are their implications on the use and cost of HIV service provision. Multicentre databases like the National Prospective Monitoring System (NPMS) will provide healthcare professionals with information to improve existing services and anticipate the impact of new developments.     

Proanthocyanidin: a natural crosslinking reagent for stabilizing collagen matrices

While attempting to find a suitable crosslinking reagent for biopolymers, a naturally occurring proanthocyanidin (PA) obtained from grape seeds was selected to fix biological tissues. The cytotoxicity and crosslinking rate, reflected by the in vitro and in vivo degradation of fixed matrices has been studied. The shrinkage temperature of the fixed bovine pericardium increased from 66 to 86 degrees C. A cytotoxicity assay using fibroblast cultures revealed that PA is approximately 120 times less toxic than glutaraldehyde (GA), a currently used tissue stabilizer. In vitro degradation studies showed that fixed tissue was resistant to digestion by bacterial collagenase. Crosslinks between PA and tissues can be stabilized by decreasing the dielectric constant of the solution during storage. After subcutaneous implantation for periods ranging between 3 and 6 weeks, we found no apparent degradation of the GA- or PA-fixed tissues, whereas fresh tissue controls rapidly disintegrated. Beyond 6 weeks PA crosslinks began to degrade. More fibroblasts migrated and proliferated inside the PA-fixed implants compared with GA counterparts. Tissues crosslinked with PA manifested an enhanced collagen expression and deposition and did not calcify after implantation. GA, on the other hand, even after thorough rinsing continued to be cytotoxic, inhibited collagen synthesis and encouraged dystrophic calcification. Collagen matrices crosslinked with PA are expected to be of value in the design of matrices that will encourage cell ingrowth and proliferation, which are temporary in nature, and that are intended to regenerate or replace missing tissues, which can delay the biogradation of collagen. As such they should be of significant value in the emerging field of tissue engineering.     

Molecular epidemiologic studies of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-DNA adducts and breast cancer

We review our studies on the role of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH)-DNA adducts in breast cancer. Additionally we report on analyses of the reliability of the scoring procedures used with immunohistochemical assay for PAH-DNA adducts and of potential bias arising from the use of benign breast disease (BBD) controls. We conducted a case-control study utilizing two control groups: BBD controls who donated tissue and blood samples, and healthy controls who donated blood samples. In comparisons of tumor tissue from cases and benign tissue from BBD controls, increasing adduct levels were significantly associated with case-control status [odds ratio (OR) = 2.40, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.18-4.92], whereas in comparisons of nontumor tissue from cases and benign tissue from BBD controls the association was nonsignificant (OR = 1.97, 95% CI 0.94-4.17). We also show among cases, but not among BBD controls, that the GSTM1 null genotype is associated with increased adduct levels in breast tissue. Our reliability study found the scoring procedures used with the immunohistochemical assay to have high reliability, 0.93 in nontumor, 0.82 in tumor, and 0.74 in benign tissues. However, we found that the technician significantly contributed to the total variability of a series of data. Finally, we did not find a consistent bias to the null associated with the use of BBD controls; however, BBD controls may overestimate the prevalence of family history of breast cancer compared to that of healthy controls (18% vs.14%). We hypothesize that the higher prevalence results from a referral bias and discuss how this may influence our results.     

Thymocyte and peripheral blood T lymphocyte subpopulation changes in piglets following in utero infection with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Piglets infected in utero with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) are born severely immunocompromised. In this article we more closely examine the effects of in utero PRRSV infection on circulating and thymic T cell populations. Numbers of CD4+, CD8+, and dual-positive lymphocytes were quantitated in circulation and in the thymus during the 2 weeks following birth. At birth we found that the number of circulating lymphocytes was suppressed by 60%. Lymphocyte numbers were also suppressed by 42% at day 7, but by day 14 the number of lymphocytes had rebounded and was actually 47% greater than controls. At birth and day 7, a drop in the number of CD4+ cells could partially explain the suppression we observed, while the rebound in total lymphocyte numbers seen at day 14 was due to a nearly fourfold increase in the number of circulating CD8+ cells. As a result, the normal CD4+:CD8+ ratio of between 1.4 and 2.2 for neonatal pigs was reduced to 0.1-0.5. The thymuses of infected piglets were found to be 50% smaller than those of control pigs and were characterized by cortical involution and severe cortical depletion of thymocytes. Analysis of the population of thymocytes revealed that double-positive thymocytes were suppressed to a greater degree than either single positive subpopulation. In addition, we show that the number of thymocytes undergoing apoptosis was increased twofold in piglets infected with PRRSV. Taken together, these results help explain the dramatic immunosuppression observed in neonatal animals infected in utero with PRRSV.