Correlations between bone mineral density and demographic, lifestyle, and biochemical variables in community-dwelling Japanese women 69 years of age and over

Introduction A few epidemiologic studies have comprehensively attempted to identify risk factors for low bone mineral density (BMD) in elderly Asian women. The purpose of this study was to identify demographic, lifestyle, and biochemical factors correlated with BMD in elderly Japanese women 69 years of age and over.Methods The study design was cross-sectional. The subjects were 583 ambulatory women aged 69 years and over, and their average age was 74.3 (SD 4.4) years. Predictor variables were age, reproductive history, anthropometric indices, grip strength, calcium intake, lifestyle information, and serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D, 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D (1,25(OH)₂D), osteocalcin (OC), and undercarboxylated osteocalcin (ucOC) values. The outcome variable was forearm BMD measured with a DTX-200 osteometer.Results Simple linear regression analyses showed that BMD was significantly positively associated with body height, weight, body mass index, grip strength, serum albumin concentration, and “housework,” and negatively associated with age, years since menopause, age at menarche, number of children, serum 1,25(OH)₂D concentration, serum OC concentration, and ucOC concentration. The stepwise multiple regression analysis showed that weight (β=0.00316, SE=0.00028, R²=0.180), age (β=−0.00321, SE=0.00050, R²=0.108), log-transformed serum OC (β=−0.0445, SE=0.0064, R²=0.053), log-transformed serum 1,25(OH)₂D (β=−0.0401, SE=0.0074, R²=0.050), “farmwork” (β=0.00904, SE=0.00426, R²=0.005), and serum 25(OH)D concentration (β=0.000281, SE=0.000120, R²=0.003) were significantly associated with BMD.Conclusion It was concluded that body weight is a major predictor of forearm BMD among the factors measured in this study in independent Japanese women 69 years of age and over and that serum 1,25(OH)₂D concentration may be associated with cortical BMD. Maintenance of body weight is very important for maintaining BMD in this population, unless a large weight aggravates obesity-related diseases. A follow-up study is needed to confirm these findings.     

丙泊酚、氯胺酮全凭静脉麻醉应用于烧伤病人的临床研究

目的:研究微量注射泵输注丙泊酚和氯胺酮全凭静脉麻醉在烧伤患者切痂植皮手术中的临床效果。方法:选择期手术患者,随机分为丙泊酚、氯胺酮组(P·K组)和咪达唑仑、氯胺酮组(M·K组)。P·K组术前10min首次静注丙泊酚2mg·kg和氯胺酮2mg·kg。M·K组术前10min首次静注咪达唑仑0 2mg·kg、氯胺酮2mg·kg ,随后两组以微量注射泵输注控制在P·K组丙泊酚6 6 . 6 6 μg·kg-1·min-1和氯胺酮4 1 .6 6 μg·Kg-1·min-1。记录注药后5、10min、切痂、取皮、植皮及停药后5、10min各时段无创血压(MAP)心率(HR)脉搏氧饱和度(SpO2 )及两组氯胺酮用药量变化。结果:P·K组氯胺酮用药量比M·K组少,P·K组MAP和HR无明显变化(P >0 . 0 5 ) ,M·K组MAP、HR均较麻醉前升高(P <0 . 0 1) ,两组SpO2 于诱导注药后均有一过性下降,数分钟恢复正常,两组比较差异无显著意义(P >0 . 0 5 )。结论:微量注射泵输注丙泊酚和氯胺酮全凭静脉麻醉安全可行,副作用小,可控性强,适用于烧伤患者切痂植皮手术。     

Patient satisfaction with and recommendation of a hospital: effects of interpersonal and technical aspects of hospital care.

OBJECTIVES: To examine patient satisfaction with and recommendation of a hospital, with a special focus on the correlation of these measures to patient ratings of interpersonal and technical performance of the hospital. DESIGN: Telephone survey of patients with four specific conditions after their discharge from hospitals. SETTING: Accredited district teaching hospitals and above, nationwide in Taiwan. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 4945 patients from 126 hospitals diagnosed with or undergoing procedures related to stroke, diabetes mellitus, Caesarean section, or appendectomy were interviewed by telephone. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Overall patient satisfaction and recommendation were measured by single-item questions. Interpersonal skills were measured by three items: doctors' explanation, attitude, and caring. Technical skills were measured by another three items: hospital equipment, clinical competence, and outcome of treatment. RESULTS: Interpersonal skills were as influential or more influential than clinical competence on patient satisfaction for three of the four disease categories. In contrast, technical competence was a more influential predictor for recommendation for patients in all four disease categories. CONCLUSION: The preliminary results imply that a hospital with high percentage of patient satisfaction does not necessarily receive a high level of recommendation. This finding provides new insights for researchers and for hospital managers who devote resources exclusively for achieving the highest possible levels of patient satisfaction.     

SRTR Center-Specific Reporting Tools: Posttransplant Outcomes

Measuring and monitoring performance—be it waiting list and posttransplant outcomes by a transplant center, or organ donation success by an organ procurement organization and its partnering hospitals—is an important component of ensuring good care for people with end-stage organ failure. Many parties have an interest in examining these outcomes, from patients and their families to payers such as insurance companies or the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; from primary caregivers providing patient counseling to government agencies charged with protecting patients.
The Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients produces regular, public reports on the performance of transplant centers and organ procurement organizations. This article explains the statistical tools used to prepare these reports, with a focus on graft survival and patient survival rates of transplant centers—especially the methods used to fairly and usefully compare outcomes of centers that serve different populations. The article concludes with a practical application of these statistics—their use in screening transplant center performance to identify centers that may need remedial action by the OPTN/UNOS Membership and Professional Standards Committee.     

167例老年人心力衰竭的循证治疗实践

目的:探讨老年人充血性心力衰竭(CHF)的循证医学(EBM)标准化治疗。方法:167例确诊为CHF的住院患者,年龄60￣90岁,平均(74.38±6.84)岁,按照循证医学的基本原理,在病因、诱因和改善心衰症状的基础上,强调能改善预后的神经内分泌拮抗剂的应用。结果:本组167例CHF患者,显效96例(57.5%),有效62例(37.1%),总有效率94.6%,死亡9例(5.4%)。神经内分泌拮抗剂践行率分别为:ACEI类119例(71.3%),β受体阻滞剂69例(41.32%),醛固酮拮抗剂88例(52.7%);随访6￣36个月,平均(16.25±9.30)个月;107例(67.7%)再入院1￣5次,院外死亡6例。结论:按照EBM原理对老年CHF患者制定的个体化治疗方案,效果理想。在老年CHF患者中,神经内分泌拮抗剂践行率较低,可能是再住院次数多的原因之一。     

Challenging the world: patient safety and health care-associated infection.

Improving the safety of patient care is an issue which affects health systems in both developed and developing countries. To co-ordinate and accelerate improvements in patient safety, the World Health Organization (WHO) has supported the creation of the World Alliance for Patient Safety which was launched in October 2004. The six action areas of the Alliance are Patients for Patient Safety, Taxonomy, Research, Solutions for Patient Safety, Reporting and Learning, and a biennial Global Patient Safety Challenge. The first Challenge covering 2005-2006 was launched in October 2005 under the banner 'Clean Care is Safer Care'. The Challenge addresses health care-associated infection, a major, patient safety problem affecting hundreds of millions of people worldwide.     

Diabetic and nondiabetic hyperglycemia in the ICU

Hyperglycemia is a common feature in critically ill patients, whether they are diabetic or not, and it is associated with unfavorable outcome. The more severe the underlying disease, the more important the hyperglycemia appears to be although, we still cannot define whether hyperglycemia is just a marker of the severity of the acute illness or rather an active contributor to poor outcome. The review of the literature on this subject published from 2001 up today conveys a massive amount of information the interpretation of which is equivocal, due to the heterogeneity of patients (nondiabetic vs. diabetic, medical intensive care unit (ICU) pts vs. surgical ICU pts) and of interventions (dose and modality of insulin infusion).The association between high glucose level and mortality is strong in critically ill patients without a previous history of diabetes. Admission hyperglycemia seems to be an independent risk factor of in-hospital mortality in patients both with and without diabetes in cardiac, cardiothoracic and neurosurgical ICUs. No data are still available on general surgical ICU patients.Tight control of blood glucose levels has been demonstrated to improve outcome in both diabetic and nondiabetic critically ill patients. In surgical ICUs, tight glucose control improves mortality and reduces morbidity only among patients admitted in ICU for more than 5 days, while outcome is not improved in patients who stay in ICU for less than 3 days.However, it is not yet understood if such favorable effect is secondary to glucose control itself or if insulin plays a part, by means of its nonglucose, anabolic effects. More randomized controlled trials are needed, addressing specific issues—such as the optimal target glucose concentration and the most effective insulin regimen—especially in the general surgical patient.     

老年牙周组织疾病216例证候分析

目的 探讨老年牙周组织疾病的证候特点。方法 对 1998 年 1 月-2003 年 12 月门诊接诊的 216 例老年牙周组织疾病进行回顾性分析。结果 阴虚火旺型 124 例(57.4%),气血不足型 51 例(23.6%),胃火炽盛型 16 例(7.5%),气滞血瘀型 14 例(6.4%),痰湿阻络型 11 例(5.1%)。结论 老年牙周组织疾病证候表现以虚为主、虚中夹实,阴虚火旺型和气血不足型是其主要证候类型。     

沈阳市961名老年干部牙健康状况调查

目的了解并分析沈阳市老年干部牙健康状况。方法按第二次全国口腔健康流行病学抽样调查标准,对沈阳市961名60岁以上的老年干部进行口腔健康调查,结果用SPSS软件处理。结果患龋率为67.12%,患龋者的龋均随着年龄的增长而逐渐增高(P<0.05),龋齿全部充填率为33.18%。缺牙率为80.65%,人均失牙7.38颗,人均保留牙的数目与年龄呈负相关(P<0.01)。无牙牙合率为10.20%,无牙牙合与牙列缺损的修复率分别为98.98%和36.04%。牙周健康状况与年龄呈负相关(P<0.01)。结论牙列缺失及缺损是老年人常见的口腔疾患,龋病和牙周病是其主要原因。加强老年人的口腔保健意识,是提高口腔疾病治疗成功率的重要环节,进而增进老年人的全身健康。     

瑞波西汀与多虑平治疗老年抑郁症对照研究

目的观察瑞波西汀治疗老年抑郁症的疗效和安全性。方法随机将60例年龄≥60岁的老年抑郁症患者分为多虑平组（30例）和瑞波西汀组（30例），疗程6周，采用汉密尔顿抑郁量表（HAMD）和副反应量表（TESS）在治疗前和治疗后1、2、4、6周末评定药物疗效和副反应。结果两组疗效无显著差异，HAMD总分反各因子分从疗后2周至6周均较治疗前显著降低，两组间比较无显著性差异；治疗结束时TESS评分瑞波西汀组显著低于多虑平组。结论瑞波西汀适合于老年抑郁症患者的治疗，服用方便、安全，可首选使用。