A social-psychological perspective on successful community control of high blood pressure: A review

This review brings together studies dealing with factors that affect participation in screening, referral, and treatment for high blood pressure (HBP). Community-based screening programs are examined first, in order to describe the changing and the current distribution of hypertensives as unaware, untreated, treated but uncontrolled, and controlled by treatment. Factors influencing this distribution are examined. Next, data on referral, acceptance of treatment, and staying in treatment are discussed, with a special reference to intervention studies. The review then brings in the broader social science literature on the psychosocial dynamics of health-maintaining and risk-reducing behaviors. The article concludes with an interpretive summary and some suggestions for further action.     

新生儿窒息史对儿童神经心理发育五项功能的影响

目的：分析有新生儿窒息史儿童五项神经心理发育测查结果，了解新生儿窒息对小儿神经心理发育的影响。方法：对有新生儿窒息史儿童98例分别于6月、12月、24月进行“小儿五项神经心理发育测查”，同时选择50例无新生儿窒息史、无其它重大疾病史儿童于相同月龄进行相同测量作对照，计算测得月龄与实际月龄的相差百分比平均值作标准化对比分析。结果：轻度窒息组57例与对照组无显著性差异，重度窒息组与对照组有显著性差异。结论：新生儿重度窒息对小儿五项神经心理发育有显著性影响。     

孕妇血清标记物在中孕筛查中的应用

目的 :通过对孕妇血清标记物甲胎蛋白 (AFP)和人绒毛膜促性腺激素 ( β -HCG )测定来筛选缺陷儿。 方法 :用放射免疫法对 6 2例孕 14～ 2 3周妊娠妇女上述标记物连测 3次 ,每次隔 12～ 14d ,以两次异常为高危个体。每例筛查者跟踪至胎儿出生后。结果 :在筛查中发现了 1例先天愚型和 1例无脑儿。结论 :上述两种血清标记物可以作为神经管缺陷和先天愚型筛查的一项常规方法     

Detection of asymptomatic Leishmania donovani in healthy voluntary blood donors

ObjectiveTo check incidence of Asymptomatic Leishmania donovani reporting to Armed Forces Institute of Transfusion Rawalpindi.Material and MethodsTwo thousand (n = 2000) consecutive healthy voluntary blood donors were tested for 18 s rRNA by Real time Polymerase chain reaction. One thousand (n = 1000) subject’s permanent resident of Azad Kashmir along with a thousand (n = 1000) healthy voluntary blood donors from rest of Pakistan were included. The study was carried out over a period of three months Jun – Aug 2020.ResultsTotal of 2000 blood donors were enrolled in the study, all were males with age ranging from 16 to 60 years. Stratification based on residence, 1000 (50 %) resided in the Azad kashmir, 349 (17.45 %) were from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, 541 (27.05 %) from Punjab mainly residing in Lahore and Multan, 110 (5.5 %) were from other cities of Pakistan. Grouping on the basis of age, 55.25 % ( n = 1105) of the donors were 16–25 years old, 19.45 % ( n = 389) were in age range of 26–40 years old, 15.55 % ( n = 311) were 41–50 years old and 9.75 % ( n = 195) 51–60 years old. No donor was diagnosed as an asymptomatic carrier.ConclusionScreening of blood donors for Leishmania donovani is not recommended.     

Ethical issues in genetic screening for cancer

Genetically-based diseases with a late onset, such as BRCA1-dependent breast cancer or Huntington's disease, can be predicted by the screening of relevant mutations in members of high-risk families. Genetic screening is characterized by a conflict between respect for autonomy – e.g., the right not to know – and responsibility toward future generations (the duty to know for the sake of one's descendants). Other ethical conflicts are related to uncertainty as to benefits deriving from screening for mutations, since for most conditions no clearly effective therapeutical strategy has as yet been defined. In addition to monogenic high-penetrance conditions, polygenic low-penetrance susceptibility is attracting increasing attention, in particular with respect to environmental-genetic interactions (metabolic polymorphisms). A simple approach to genetic screening would be to weigh the benefits and costs of genetic screening against those of primary prevention, and a superficial conclusion might be that genetic screening is less expensive and, overall, more practicable than restriction of toxic exposures or other known risk factors for the disease. Economic advantage notwithstanding, however, giving precedence to screening over primary prevention would be unacceptable. A serious hazard of genetic screening is the implicit limitation of research efforts aimed at primary prevention, and a serious drawback is its potential application for selection of non-susceptible employees. The principle of equity is easily violated by genetic screening of workers in view of the fact that genetically-based metabolic polymorphisms are distributed unevenly among different ethnic groups.     

Povidone-iodine in umbilical cord care interferes with neonatal screening for hypothyroidism

Out of 1346 newborns screened for congenital hypothyroidism, 31 non-hypothyroid infants were summoned because of a thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level above 10 U/ml. False-positive TSH levels were significantly more frequent in the babies treated with povidone-iodine (4.6%) than in those treated with either alcohol or triple dye (0.7%).Conclusion Iodine containing solutions should be avoided in umbilical cord care of the newborn     

Diabetic retinal photographic screening: a model for introducing audit and improving general practitioner care of diabetic patients in a rural setting

ABSTRACT: This paper describes the addition of diabetic retinal screening using retinal photography to an existing immunisation audit by a General Practitioner (GP) Network in a semi-rural area 60-min drive from central Wellington, New Zealand. The employment of a nurse-facilitator who visited practices to assist the setting up of diabetic registers and the subsequent auditing of patterns of referral for retinal photography was seen as a first step in a process that would lead to audit of the care of diabetic patients by GPs in the Network. This should lead to a measurable improvement in health-care delivery to diabetic patients in this area and is a model that could be adapted by any group of rural or semirural GPs within a defined geographical area.     

Systematic Differences in Validity of Self-Reported Mammography Behavior: A Problem for Intergroup Comparisons?

Background. Prior studies of recall accuracy for screening mammogram behavior have examined relatively homogeneous groups. Data are limited on possible systematic group differences, so we evaluated women's recall accuracy in two separate care systems in one city.Methods. Women 50 to 70 years old with and without screening mammograms 10 to 14 months prior were identified from fiscal, clinic, and radiology records at a military care system (MCS) and a county-funded system (CFS) for indigents. Mammogram status was verified through radiology records. Women were excluded if mammograms were diagnostic, done for other than annual screening, or had abnormal results. Interview ers blinded to mammogram status surveyed randomly selected eligible women.Results. For 62 screened/31 unscreened MCS women and 78 screened/61 unscreened CFS women, specificity was similar, at 65 and 62%, respectively. In contrast, sensitivity varied significantly: 95% versus 79% (P = 0.011). Primary ethonocultural groups were Euro-American (MCS—60%) and Mexican American (CFS—85%). Although not different in specificity of recall (67% versus 61%), these major subgroups significantly differed in sensitivity (97% versus 80%, P = 0.017), proportion of true negatives due to never having a mammogram (35% versus 57%, P = 0.003), and proportion with ≥high school education (78% versus 19%, P < 0.00001).Conclusion. Systematic differences in recall validity may exist and compromise the accuracy of intergroup comparisons.     

Mammographic Screening Downstages Breast Carcinomas at Time of Diagnosis: A Community-Based Experience

Abstract: To determine the effectiveness of screening mammography in a community medical setting, data from a population-based, retrospective study was analyzed. Medical records of 827 patients with newly diagnosed breast cancer in California between October 1994 and March 1996 were reviewed. The primary care physician's record was abstracted for clinical history, including recommendation of screening mammography. The facility records where final diagnosis was made were abstracted for stage and treatment data. Among the patients who did not have previous screening mammography, 65.7% were diagnosed with "advanced" breast cancer (stages II, III, IV), while only 39.9% who had previous screening mammography were diagnosed with advanced breast cancer (p < 0.001). This study has reaffirmed that screening mammography of adult females generates downstaging at the time of diagnosis of breast cancer. Despite possession of a health insurance program and receiving educational materials, only 65% of patients over 50 years of age had screening mammography. As opposed to the once-a-year mailing of general reminders to all women 40 years old and older, developing a longitudinal electronic medical record in the managed care setting will support a more coordinated and individualized intervention based on age, date of last mammogram, and relative risk, among other factors. Continuing education efforts must also be directed to referring physicians, who may not yet recognize the value of screening mammography.     

The effect of polycythemic hyperviscosity on ischemic bowel necrosis

It is known that polycythemia decreases the fluidity of the blood and impairs tissue perfusion due to red-cell sludging in the microcirculation. In this study, the effect of polycythemic hyperviscosity (PH) on bowel necrosis was evaluated in an experimental model of intestinal ischemia. Twenty-eight Wistar albino rats (90–170 g) were divided into two groups: group 1 was transfused to create hyperviscosity and then intestinal ischemia was produced (n = 16); in group 2 ischemia was produced without transfusion (n = 12). Intestinal ischemia was produced by clamping the superior mesenteric artery and the collateral arcades of the right colic artery for 30 min. Gross and histopathologic evaluations were performed by either immediate necropsy or relaparotomy 24 h later. Microscopic findings were graded from 0 to 3 according to the degree of ischemic changes. In group 1, 2 animals (12.5%) died before 24 h postoperatively; coagulation necrosis with grade 2 or 3 ischemic changes was observed in 10 animals (62.5%). In group 2 only a few hypertrophied Peyer's patches and capillary dilation were found, and all histopathologic changes were between grades 0 and 1. The difference between the histopathologic gradings of the two groups was significant (P < 0.001). It appears that in addition to reduced splanchnic blood flow, a secondary effect of PH is needed to induce ischemic coagulation necrosis. PH of the newborn must be considered a risk factor for necrotizing enterocolitis, so-called spontaneous intestinal perforations, and even intestinal atresia.Presented at the 1st European Congress of Pediatric Surgery, Graz/Austria, May 4–6, 1995