Counterfactual (‘if only’) thinking in women with chronic widespread pain

The study explored the counterfactual thinking that women with chronic and widespread pain showed in response to what they themselves considered to be particularly stressful situations. Counterfactual thinking in 125 women sick‐listed due to chronic and widespread pain was investigated in terms of structure, function and control focus. The women were asked, for each of three types of problems that they indicated in a questionnaire to affect them most strongly, to describe a typical occurrence of it and to complete a counterfactual sentence in connection with it of the type ‘If only . . .’. The majority of counterfactuals pertained to predominantly somatic problems (e.g. musculo‐skeletal problems, pain and fatigue) classified as being affective rather than preparative and self‐focused rather than external, whereas in counterfactuals relating to predominantly psychological/psychosocial problems a preparative function and an external focus were more prominent. The numbers of problems listed and the numbers of situations responded to counterfactually were positively correlated. The counterfactuals, although often related to somatic problems, generally concerned psychological or psychosocial matters such as finances and paid or unpaid work. A contextual approach to elucidating counterfactual thinking based on subjects' own experiences is seen as providing valuable insight into what bothers them most. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Correspondence analysis as a screening method for indicants for clinical diagnosis

In clinical diagnosis, a patient's symptoms are observed and the probabilities of various diseases are assessed. A widely used method of formalizing this approach is independent Bayes in which symptoms are assumed to be independent conditional on the disease category. Correspondence analysis provides a method for examining the dependence between symptoms and assists in the selection of a reduced set of symptoms for the application of the independent Bayes method. This approach is illustrated on two data sets concerned with patients attending Accident and Emergency departments with chest pain and acute abdominal pain, respectively.     

良性前列腺增生中医证型与尿动力学参数相关性研究

目的:探讨良性前列腺增生(BPH)中医证型与尿动力学参数的相关性。方法:152例BPH患者,中医辨证分为肾阴不足、肾阳虚弱、瘀阻水道、脾气虚弱、肺热气郁、湿热下注、痰浊郁结七型,均进行尿动力学检查。结果:152例BPH患者中,肾阳虚弱型71例(46.71%),瘀阻水道型40例(26.31%),肾阴不足型14例(9.21%)。膀胱出口梗阻为III～VI度肾阳虚弱型有58例,瘀阻水道型有38例,其中严重梗阻(V～VI)26例。膀胱逼尿肌收缩功能极弱中(n=12),肾阳虚弱型4例,占33.33%(4/12),瘀阻水道型7例,占58.33%(7/12);膀胱逼尿肌收缩功能弱者中(n=48),肾阳虚弱型为27例,占56.25%(27/48),瘀阻水道型17例,占35.42%(17/48)。结论:BPH中医各辨证分型与膀胱出口梗阻和膀胱逼尿肌收缩力有一定的相关性,从而为中医证型的量化和客观化提供相应的证据。     

Severe hypoglycaemia in a person with insulin autoimmune syndrome accompanied by insulin receptor anomaly type B.

AIMS: A rare case of the insulin autoimmune syndrome (IAS) accompanied by insulin receptor anomaly is reported. METHODS: Antibodies to insulin and insulin receptor were determined in the patient with severe hypoglycaemia before and after the treatment with prednisolone. RESULTS: Titers of antibody to insulin and insulin receptors were 73.0% and 41.5%, respectively. Drug-induced lymphocyte stimulation tests were all negative for the suspicious drugs. Her HLA-DR was DRB1*0403/04051. Following steroid therapy, the formation of antibodies was suppressed and alleviated her symptoms. Scatchard analysis yielded findings specific to polyclonal antibodies. CONCLUSIONS: The changes in autoantibodies resulted in alleviation of the hypoglycemic symptoms as a result of steroid therapy.     

Toxic epidermal necrolysis; 15 years'' experience in a Dutch burns centre

BACKGROUND: Toxic epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a severe and potentially fatal drug reaction characterized by an extensive skin rash with blisters and exfoliation, frequently accompanied by mucositis. The wounds caused by TEN are similar to second-degree burns and severe cases may involve large areas of skin loss. OBJECTIVES: Analysis of our results in patients with TEN and evaluation of the variety of therapeutic interventions that has been studied and suggested in TEN. PATIENTS/METHODS: Retrospective analysis of 19 consecutive patients with TEN treated in our burns centre between 1989 and 2004. RESULTS: Immediate withdrawal of any potentially fatal drug, maximum supportive care, and a restricted and tailored antibiotic, medical and surgical treatment regimen confined mortality to 21%, whereas prognosis scores like APACHE II and SCORTEN predicted mortality of 22 and 30%, respectively. A positive contribution of selective digestive decontamination is suggested but has yet to be established. CONCLUSIONS: Because of a potentially fatal outcome, fast referral of a patient suspected of TEN to a specialized centre (mostly a burns unit or specialized dermatology centre) for expert wound management and tailored comprehensive care is strongly advised and contributes to survival.     

Lower limb blocks for children

Femoral and lateral cutaneous nerve of the thigh blocks have been performed in a group of 50 children; the method has not previously been described in paediatric practice. The technique was judged to have been successful in 48 (96%) of the children. There were no early or late complications. It is concluded that these blocks are easy to perform, even in small children and infants, and that they can produce reliable postoperative analgesia for a variety of orthopaedic and plastic procedures.     

Neuroimaging and Neurologic Complications after Organ Transplantation

Neurologic complications are common after transplantation and affect 30-60% of transplant recipients. The etiology of most of the posttransplant neurologic disorders is related to the opportunistic infections, both systemic and involving central nervous system (CNS), toxicity of immunosuppressive medications, and the metabolic insult created by the underlying primary disease and the transplant procedure. Neuroimaging studies are one of the key tools in the evaluation and enable early diagnosis of neurologic complications in transplant patients, especially posterior reversible leukoencephalopathy syndrome, central pontine myelinolysis, intracerebral hemorrhage, and fungal and bacterial abscesses. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is the preferred technique, but each of the available neuroimaging techniques offers a unique insight into the pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying neurologic complications of transplantation. The role of neuroimaging in this population includes early detection of calcineurin inhibitor neurotoxicity, opportunistic infections, neoplasia, metabolic disorders, or cerebrovascular diseases. In addition, we can monitor longitudinal progression of disease and treatment response.