Infrared spectroscopy: A new diagnostic tool in Alzheimer disease

Biological markers play an evolving role in the diagnosis of Alzheimer disease (AD). We compare conventional measurements of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) tau and β-amyloid_1–42 proteins to a novel approach – Fourier transformed infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy – a simple technique derived from chemical and physical sciences that characterizes intramolecular bonds. For automatic diagnostic analysis, we developed an artificial neural network (ANN). We examined 71 patients with a clinical diagnosis of AD and 66 controls. β-Amyloid_1–42 was decreased (sensitivity 80% and specificity 78%); tau was elevated (sensitivity 76% and specificity 88%) in CSF of AD patients. The combined tau/β-amyloid_1–42 quotient was able to distinguish healthy from diseased subjects with 99% sensitivity and 86% specificity. The ANN could separate FT-IR spectroscopy data with 88.5% sensitivity and 80% specificity. FT-IR spectroscopy proved to be cost-effective and simple to perform. Diagnostic sensitivity and specificity is in the range of CSF tau and β-amyloid_1–42 protein analysis. Larger sample numbers for ANN training and validation could increase diagnostic accuracy and thus prove to be a useful screening tool.     

Ultrasound in Obstructive Jaundice

The ultrasonographic findings of 44 patients, with obstructive jaundice were retrospectively reviewed. Our conclusions from this study are:

• (i) Ultrasound is an excellent modality for detecting dilatation of the biliary tree (in part or in total) and assessing the degree of dilatation, but it does not reliably detect the obstructing lesion often enough.
• (ii) It is important to adequately visualise the area of the extra-hepatic biliary tree and pancreatic head before suggesting the aetiology of any biliary tract dilatation regardless of the findings more proximally in the biliary tract.
• (iii) The optimal role of ultrasound is to detect a mass if one is present: tissue-typing requires histological or cytological examination of material from the mass.

     

Review of 1,000 consecutive cases of severe head injury treated before the advent of CT scanning

Summary This is a review of 1,000 consecutive cases of severe head injury admitted to our Neurosurgical Department between January 1973 and August 1976, before the advent of CT scanning. All patients were comatose following head injury (GCS8) and were treated homogeneously by the same neurosurgical team by a protocol that included immediate resuscitation on arrival, diagnosis of intracranial lesions by angiography, early surgery when needed, mechanical ventilation, steroids, and mannitol. Extracranial lesions, even if preponderant, were treated by various specialists in the Neurosurgical Department, which for all practical purposes operated as an Emergency Department. Admission criteria were very broad with no preadmission selection. The overall mortality for this series was 45%. A little less than half the patients made good recoveries or remained moderately disabled (47%); 6% were severely disabled, and 2% survived in a persistent vegetative state. More than two-thirds of the patients were brought to our Neurosurgical Department after a short stay at a general hospital; 72% were admitted within 6 hours of injury; 71% were traffic accident victims; and 34% had significant associated extracranial injuries. Carotid angiography was performed in 78% of the patients and indicated the presence of an intracranial haematoma requiring surgery in 36% of the whole series. Mortality was significantly higher in operated than in unoperated patients (56% versus 39%); those treated surgically, however, were older, in worse clinical condition, and showed a higher incidence of acute subdural haematomas associated with brain contusion. Carotid angiography proved very effective in revealing the presence of an expansive lesion but failed to reflect the severity of brain damage, since the group with negative angiograms showed a high mortality (52%). Patients with a lucid interval had a higher percentage of surgical lesions than those with immediate coma (58% versus 26%); but fully 42% of them did not require surgery, and 25% had negative angiograms. From the prognostic point of view the clinical data elicited after initial resuscitation were highly predictive of the outcome: some individual neurological signs, such as mydriasis, posturing and eye movements, were not inferior to the GCS score in that respect. Age also proved a strong predictor, since elderly patients are more likely to have severe subdural and parenchymal lesions and their clinical severity is accordingly greater.Our series amounts to a data bank of cases both contemporary to and in good agreement with that collected by Jennett and his associates in their 1977 multinational study; and it affords a useful reference in the assessment of epidemiological variations and alternative management in relation to outcome.     

聚合酶链反应检验法在阴道炎患者阴道细菌检查中的应用价值

目的探讨聚合酶链反应检验法在阴道炎患者阴道细菌检查中的应用价值。方法选取2019年6月~2020年6月于我院行细菌检查的58例阴道炎患者为研究对象,所有患者均采用阴道分泌物细菌培养、聚合酶链式反应(PCR)检验,比较两种检验方法阳性检出率。结果PCR检验阳性检出率(89.66%)高于细菌培养法(70.69%),差异有统计学意义(P<0.05)。结论PCR检验法应于阴道炎患者阴道细菌检查中,阳性检出率高,可为阴道炎的诊断及治疗提供较准确的科学依据,具有较高的临床应用价值。     

重点高中生的心理状态与高考成绩的相关性研究

目的;了解重点高中学生的心理状态与高考成绩之间的关系。方法：以398例应届生为对象,应用16PF人格测验,气质测量工具（STI,TTI）及焦虑自评量表（SAS）,对考生进行测试分析,结果：文理科学生的16PF的人格特质有明显的差别,判别分析和多因素回归分析显示16PF人格特质中的Q1因素（实验性F＝8．76,P＜0．01）,Q2因素（独立性F＝8．23,P＜0．01）,与高考成绩呈正相关,与M因素（幻想性F＝4．88,P＜0．01）,呈负相关;气质中的神经过程灵活性（F＝8．15,P＜0．01）和时间特质中的灵活性（F＝12．36,P＜0．01）与高才成绩呈正相关。结论：高考生的实验性,独立性高分及幻想性低分的个性特质和气质上的灵活性有助于高考成绩的发挥,学生文理科分班宜参考学生人格特质这一特点,。     

二维超声诊断胎儿脐带绕颈136例分析

目的 了解胎儿脐带绕颈时对胎儿安危及窘迫和缺氧的影响程度。方法 采用日本Aloka-630型超声诊断仪,孕妇孕周为28-42周。结果 二维超声诊断胎儿脐带绕颈136例,经分娩证实129例。符合率94.85%。结论 二维超声诊断与分娩后证实比较,超声是诊断脐带绕颈的可靠方法之一。为分娩方式提供依据。     

El manejo de la torsión testicular en Urgencias: lecciones aprendidas de las reclamaciones por responsabilidad profesional médica

ObjectiveTo evaluate emergency care for testicular torsion in medical professional liability claims.MethodClaims related to testicular torsion from 2000 to 2018 were located. The assistance provided and the association with medical professional liability were analyzed.ResultsEighty complaints were identified, testicular pain was reported in 83.75% of first consultations, with a mean evolution time of 15.5 h. The mean time to diagnosis was 7.98 days. The first consultation was at the hospital in 75.1% of cases, but an ultrasound was performed only in 7.5%. When testicular torsion diagnosis was performed, 97.3% had undergone ancillary tests. The medical professional liability was significantly associated with non-criminal proceedings and with less than 6 h of symptoms’ evolution, and, within this subgroup, without undergoing an ultrasound scan.ConclusionsLate consultations, wrong diagnosis and late diagnosis are claimed. When medical professional liability are claimed by means of non-criminal law, the existence of responsibility is frequently considered, even more in those cases when the consultation took place before 6 h of evolution with no ancillary tests having been performed.