Prenatal diagnosis for paediatricians

In Ontario, approximately 140,000 women deliver newborn infants each year. Of these women, 60,000 to 70,000 have multiple marker screening, 10,000 undergo amniocentesis or chorion villus sampling and virtually all have at least one prenatal ultrasound. Multiple marker screening is not used in every province and territory; however, amniocentesis and prenatal ultrasound are used throughout Canada. Most paediatric patients will have been exposed to some form of prenatal diagnosis. If an abnormality is found prenatally, parents may have concerns to discuss with the paediatrician after the child is born. Likewise, if a child with a problem is born following a normal pregnancy, the parents will want to know why the problem was missed prenatally. Paediatricians should be aware of prenatal tests that have been performed to understand better their patients and their families.     

Medical Specialization,Profession, and Mediating Beliefs That Predict Stated Likelihood of Alcohol Screening and Brief Intervention: Targeting Educational Interventions

Practitioner-level educational approaches that promote screening and brief intervention (SBI) seldom consider providers' profession and medical specialization. Strategies that consider these variables may be better equipped to affect change in beliefs and behavior. The aim of this study was to identify beliefs that predict stated likelihood of practicing SBI by specialty and health profession in order to guide the direction of educational strategies. Physicians and nurse practitioners were studied that specialized in family, internal, obstetric gynecology (ObGyn), and pediatric medicine. The results indicated that independent of amount of previous postgraduate alcohol education and knowledge, self-rated competence mediated between specialty and likelihood of practicing SBI. For instance, low self-rated competence for ObGyn was a barrier that suppressed likelihood of practicing SBI. Other findings were that role legitimacy mediated the association between profession and likelihood of SBI, so that lack of role legitimacy was a barrier for physicians but not for nurse practitioners. We suggest that targeted educational strategies for ObGyn and pediatric clinicians may prove more effective than the prevalent one-size-fits all approaches aimed at general adult populations.     

灯盏细辛注射液合雅施达治疗早期糖尿病肾病30例——附西药对照组28例

观察灯盏细辛注射液联合雅施达治疗早期糖尿病肾病 (DN)的疗效。 5 8例患者随机分为 2组 ,在采用口服降糖药或胰岛素有效控制血糖水平的基础上 ,治疗组服用雅施达治疗的同时 ,联合灯盏细辛注射液治疗 ,对照组单服雅施达 ,两组均治疗 4周。结果 :治疗组的 2 4h尿微量白蛋白 ,血糖 ,血脂 ,血 β2 -MG及血液流变学等指标较对照组均有显著改善 (P <0 0 5或P <0 0 1)。结论 :中西医结合治疗早期DN疗效明显优于单纯的西药治疗     

腹腔免疫治疗加化疗预防胃癌术后腹腔复发239例临床分析

评价腹腔免疫化疗对侵及浆膜的进展期胃癌根治术后预防腹腔复发的疗效。 1993年 10月～ 2 0 0 0年 12月对 2 3 9例可切除的进展期胃癌患者分成治疗组和对照组。治疗组 14 0例应用卡铂 2 0 0mg 白介素Ⅱ 2 0～ 40万单位加入生理盐水 2 0 0～ 3 0 0mL进行多点腹腔穿刺注射 ,连用 5周 ,4个月后重复。对照组 99例则常规进行优福定口服。结果治疗组和对照组 3年生存率分别为 60 6%、45 3 % ,P <0 0 1。腹腔复发率分别为 4 8%、3 49% ,P <0 0 1。腹腔免疫治疗加化疗是预防侵犯浆膜的进展期胃癌术后腹腔复发的一种有效方法。     

Evaluation of the UK breast screening programmes

National breast screening programmes were set up in the UK inthe early 1990s. Although they are quality-assured and publishprocess measures of performance, there is a lack of data linkingthe screening process to breast cancer mortality. A new analysisof trends in England and Wales suggests that the effect of screeninghas been to reduce mortality by 8% over 10 years in those eligiblefor screening in 1990.     

Primary carcinoma of the pelvic peritoneum intercepted by screening for ovarian cancer

An asymptomatic woman found to have primary pelvic peritoneal carcinoma following serum CA125 assay and ultrasound examination is reported. The close proximity of this screen detected tumor to the normal ovary supports the possibility that an extra ovarian primary origin of carcinoma with subsequent involvement of the ovary may be more common than has previously been recorded.     

The cervical cancer screening program in Mexico: problems with access and coverage

A cross-sectional study was carried out in two geographic regions of Mexico - Oaxaca (rural area) and Mexico City (urban area) - to determine the main factors for predicting participation in Cervical Cytology Screening Programs (CCSP), in populations with high mortality due to cervical cancer. We included 4,208 women aged between 15 and 49 years, randomly selected through a national household-sample frame. Knowledge of what the Pap test is used for strongly predisposes use of CCSP in Mexico City (odds ratio [OR] = 46.1, 95 percent confidence interval [CI] = 33.1-64.1) and Oaxaca state (OR = 61.5, CI = 42.0-89.9), as well as high socioeconomic level (Mexico: OR = 2.0, CI = 1.1-7.6; Oaxaca: OR = 4.1, CI = 3.1-5.3), high education level (Mexico: OR = 3.6, CI = 1.5-8.8; Oaxaca: OR = 5.3, CI = 2.8-10.0), and access to social security (Mexico: OR = 1.7, CI = 1.4-2.2; Oaxaca: OR = 2.2, CI = 1.8-2.7). Low coverage of the CCSP is confirmed as an important problem in Mexico.     

A registry-based study of follow-up failures in the screening experience of cervical cancer patients

Amadori A, Gentilini P, Bucchi L, Innocenti MP, Falcini F, Martini F, Fabbri M, Liverani M, Danesi S, Piantini B, Milandri C, Saragoni L, Amadori D. A registry-based study of follow-up failures in the screening experience of cervical cancer patients. Int J Gynecol Cancer 1998; 8 : 251–256.
Although all components of cervical screening are at risk of error, most studies of the previous screening experience of cervical cancer patients addressed only the false negative cytology results. Other reports showed the importance of screening failures not attributable to the Pap smear. We studied the relative frequency of all types of error observed in the screening history of 115 cervical cancer cases (median age, 60; range, 23–89) registered with the population-based Romagna Cancer Registry in Forlì (northern Italy) between 1986 and 1993. For each case, a search was made for all cytology, colposcopy, biopsy, and treatment reports issued prior to diagnosis. Eighty-one (70.4%) patients had never had a Pap smear. Eight (7.0%) were diagnosed at their first test. Twenty-six patients (22.6%) had had at least one previous smear. Among these, 10 were screened during the five years prior to diagnosis: three patients had false negative cytology results, one patient did not comply with the recommendation for an early repeat smear, two patients with positive cytology results underwent colposcopy with considerable delay (7 and 9 months), one patient had a negative colposcopy (without biopsy), and three patients had biopsies histologically reported as negative. An overview of the registry-based studies of screening histories reported so far from Italy (total number of cases 262) demonstrated that patients with serious shortcomings in follow-up after smear test, colposcopy, biopsy, clinical assessment, and treatment accounted for a substantial proportion of screening failures.     

Increased risk of salivary gland tumors after low-dose irradiation

Objective: To assess the risk of neoplastic development among persons exposed to scalp irradiation. Study Design: Historical cohort study initially; prospective follow-up subsequently. Method: Two control groups—population and siblings—matched for age, sex, ethnic origin, and year of immigration. Follow-up from time of irradiation (1950s) until the end of 1991. Linkage with nationwide cancer registry. Results: A 4.5–fold incidence of cancer (P < .01) and a 2.6–fold increase of benign tumors were noted. The mean length of latency period until tumor development was 11 years for malignant tumors and 21.5 years for benign. A clear dose response effect for both cancer and benign tumors was demonstrated. Conclusions: The study confirms the role of radiation in salivary gland carcinogenesis. It indicates a need for better awareness, a comprehensive examination, and long-term follow-up of patients who have been subjected to head and neck radiation.