Imaging of constipation in infants and children

The aims of this review article are to present epidemiology, important definitions, clinical considerations, and etiologic and pathogenetic aspects of constipation in infants and children. Anatomy, physiology, and pathophysiology of the the anorectum are described. Special attention is given to the indications for diagnostic imaging, imaging techniques, and imaging findings with different causes of constipation. Other diagnostic modalities, such as anorectal manometry, electromyography, and biopsy techniques are briefly discussed. The central question as to whether diagnostic imaging is needed for the diagnostic workup of infants and children suffering from constipation can be answered affirmatively. Especially the combination of barium enema or defecography and anorectal manometry allows definition of those infants and children who do not need biopsy and surgery for Hirschsprung's disease. The special role of defecography in this context is underlined. Received 16 May 1997; Revision received 5 August 1997; Accepted 6 August 1997     

社区传染性疾病技能培训问题调查

背景 社区卫生服务机构作为传染病防控工作的最基层单位,是传染病防治的前沿阵地和重要关口,基层医务工作者承担着辖区内疫情监测、预防接种、健康宣传及协助疾控部门调查处置暴发疫情和突发公共卫生事件等职责,在疾病群防群控、易感人群保护、传染源控制及健康宣教等方面发挥着积极作用,同时对有效防控传染病发挥关键作用。目的 了解基层医务工作者社区传染病的诊治能力,分析存在的问题和薄弱方面,有针对性地设计及开展传染病相关系列培训,提高基层传染病防控能力。方法 2021年11月—2022年3月以香港大学深圳医院全科医学科在2021年11月举办的国家级社区传染性疾病继续教育会议的所有参会者为研究对象。会前、会后通过问卷星二维码向参会者发放调查问卷,会前问卷内容包括参会者人口学特征,工作后是否参加过社区传染病培训,社区传染病诊治开展情况,社区传染病防治的主观态度（是否愿意管理社区传染病、对自己传染病诊治能力满意度）,传染病防治专业知识及会议内容相关知识,对慢性乙型肝炎的态度。会后问卷内容主要为会议内容相关知识、对慢性乙型肝炎的态度以及对本次线上会议满意度调查。会前共有301名基层医务工作者完成调查问卷,会前及...     

头颈部肿瘤射野摆位误差的差异性研究

目的：研究采用电子射野系统评价头颈部肿瘤患者摆位误差时的观察者间变异和观察者自身变异。方法：两队研究小组，分别由四名医师和四名技师组成，两组分别对6名头颈部肿瘤的患者，采用电子射野影像仪（electronic portal imaging device，EPID）拍摄验证片（electronic portal images，EPIs），在EPIs上勾画骨性标志，以放疗计划生成的数字重建图像（digitally reconstructed radiographs，DRRs）做为参考图像，定量分析不同观察研究人员之间和研究人员自身采用EPID确定头颈部肿瘤患者的射野摆位误差（field placement errors，FPEs）的差异性。结果：在前／后位射野图像上．不同医师之间、医师自身及技师自身对摆位误差的判断无明显差异，但在技师之间出现了明显的自身差异性．医师组和技师组在前／后射野图像上的均方根（root-mean—square，RMS）分别为2．52±0．46和3．43±0．43，两者具有明显差异；在侧位野图像上，医师自身对摆位误差的判断有较好的稳定性，但部分不同医师之间在腹背、头足方向上部分患者中出现差异，而不同的技师之间存在明显差异性，医师组和技师组在侧位射野图像上的RMS分别为2．72±0．16和2．62±0．22．两者无明显差异。结论：医师和技师组在采用电子射野系统对头颈部摆位误差进行判断时存在人员之间的误差，应对所有人员进行统一训练才能减少射野摆位误差，从而提高IMRT治疗效果。     

A mixture of experts network structure for modelling Doppler ultrasound blood flow signals

Mixture of experts (ME) is a modular neural network architecture for supervised learning. This paper illustrates the use of ME network structure to guide modelling Doppler ultrasound blood flow signals. Expectation-Maximization (EM) algorithm was used for training the ME so that the learning process is decoupled in a manner that fits well with the modular structure. The ophthalmic and internal carotid arterial Doppler signals were decomposed into time-frequency representations using discrete wavelet transform and statistical features were calculated to depict their distribution. The ME network structures were implemented for diagnosis of ophthalmic and internal carotid arterial disorders using the statistical features as inputs. To improve diagnostic accuracy, the outputs of expert networks were combined by a gating network simultaneously trained in order to stochastically select the expert that is performing the best at solving the problem. The ME network structure achieved accuracy rates which were higher than that of the stand-alone neural network models.     

诊断X线机辐射剂量的测量

为提高诊断X线机的诊断质量,促进放射防护工作的开展,根据"国际辐射单位和测量委员会"(International Commission on Radiological Units and Measurements,ICRU),"国际放射防护委员会"(International Commission on Radiation Protection,ICRP)关于辐射对人体的损害之划分标准,作者对岛津制作所90年代中期生产的XEB150L-20型500mA X线机按照国家规定的要求及有关标准,分别对辐射空气释动能率,半价层,输入量重复性,输出量线性,高对比分辨率,光野与照射野一致性及X线管的焦点等参数进行了测试。分析了测试的数据与结果,并进行了简要的评价。     

Missed diagnosis in hematological patients—an autopsy study

Autopsy findings of missed diagnoses that would probably have changed management or prognosis occur in up to 29% of cases in general hospitals. Such proportions may be higher in subsets of patients with complex diseases. We reviewed 2908 consecutive autopsies performed over a period of 29 months in a large-volume hospital, analyzing 118 autopsies of patients with hematological malignancies or severe aplastic anemia. A review of macroscopic reports as well as microscopic examination of tissue samples was performed. Medical records were reviewed for clinical diagnoses. Discordances between clinical and autopsy diagnoses were classified using Goldmans criteria. Additionally, we searched for clinical parameters correlated with occurrence of class-I discrepancy using a multivariate method. Median age was 46.5 years, and 25.4% had received a hematopoietic stem-cell transplant. Overall, 11.9% (6.6–19.1%) of patients died before conclusion of the hematological diagnosis and 33% (24.6–42.3%) died with no active hematological disease. We found class-I discrepancy in 31.3% (23.1–40.5 %) of cases. The most common among these diagnoses were hematological disease, pneumonia and gastrointestinal bleeding. In a univariate analysis, being elderly (P=0.04) was positively correlated with the finding of class-I discrepancies; while, having received previous specific hematological treatment (P=0.0005) or hematopoietic stem-cell transplants (P=0.013), or being admitted to a specialized hematology unit (P=0.0006) were negatively correlated to the occurrence of such discrepancies. Multivariate analysis showed that care in a specialized hematology unit (OR 0.34, 0.12–0.93) was independently associated with lower occurrence of discrepancies. We concluded that critical diagnoses are often missed in highly complex hematological patients especially in the absence of admission to specialized hematology units.     

The categorical and dimensional models of endogenous depression

We calculated a Research Diagnostic Criteria (RDC) endogenous score for 257 depressed inpatients based on the number of endogenous criteria present. The distribution of RDC endogenous scores was unimodal. There was no association between endogenous scores and results of the Dexamethasone Suppression Test, or morbid risk for depression in the patients' first-degree relatives. The morbid risk for a family history of alcoholism tended to decrease with increasing endogenous scores, although a consistent steady decline was not observed. The results suggest that the RDC criteria do not fit either the categorical or dimensional model of endogenous classification. Potential sources of difficulty with the RDC endogenous criteria are discussed.     

External quality control assessment in PCR diagnostics of dengue virus infections

BACKGROUND: Increased travelling to countries endemic for dengue fever (DF) demands efficient laboratory diagnostics. Nucleic acid amplification techniques (NAT) are now frequently used for rapid diagnosis of imported viral diseases. Different PCR systems are available. OBJECTIVES: In order to assess the quality of molecular diagnostics of dengue virus infections, an external quality assurance (EQA) in PCR diagnostics was conducted. Study design: A panel of 10 human plasma samples was prepared and spiked with dengue virus types DEN-1 to DEN-4. In addition, a 10-fold dilution series (1:10-1:10(4) ) of DEN-3 virus was included. The panel was pre-tested by nested RT-PCR, in-house real-time PCR, and a commercial real-time PCR kit. The samples were inactivated by gamma irradiation and shipped in freeze dried state. Thirteen laboratories, within the European network for the diagnostics of imported viral diseases (ENIVD) took part using either single-round, nested, or real-time RT-PCR methods. Two laboratories used two methods in parallel, summarising up to 15 comparable results. RESULTS: 33-100% correct results were achieved. All laboratories detected DEN-2 correctly, followed by DEN-1 (14 positive results of 15), DEN-3 (12/15) and DEN-4 (11/15). Testing of the serial dilution revealed low sensitivity in many labs, with results ranging from 33 to 80% of correctly tested samples. CONCLUSION: The EQA gives a feedback of the quality of the RT-PCR system used by each respective laboratory. The different test systems and amplification conditions demonstrate the importance of external quality control measures.     

Web-based Diagnostic Imaging Service Using XML Forms

Traditionally, radiology has been conceived as a support department providing patient scanning services to the other clinical departments in a hospital. However, recent advancements in networking technology and related information systems such as picture archiving and communication system (PACS) and radiology information system (RIS) provide new opportunities for inventing different types of diagnostic imaging businesses such as teleradiology. In this article, we examined the business processes of currently operating imaging centers and proposed a prototype of an information system that can facilitate their workflows in a more efficient way. The principal component of our proposed system is a report management module built on extensible markup language (XML) technologies that allows much flexibility and convenience for both imaging technicians and radiologists.     

Fetal RhD genotyping: A more efficient use of anti-D immunoglobulin

The most important application of blood group genotyping by molecular genetics is the prediction of fetal RhD phenotype in pregnant women with anti-D, in order to assess the risk of haemolytic disease of the fetus and newborn. This diagnostic test performed on cell-free fetal DNA in the maternal plasma, is now a routine procedure in some countries. High-throughput modifications of this form of fetal D-typing would be valuable for testing fetuses of all D-negative pregnant women to avoid unnecessary antenatal treatment with anti-D immunoglobulin in the 40% of D-negative pregnant women with a D-negative fetus. The results of trials in Bristol and Amsterdam suggest that such routine testing is feasible and accurate.