Psychosocial effects of vitiligo

A limited number of studies have paid attention to the psychosocial well-being of patients affected with vitiligo. We review the psychosocial effects of vitiligo, how patients deal with them and the psychiatric morbidity in vitiligo patients. Given the appreciable comorbidity, it is important to consider these observations in the management of patients, for example in patient-physician interaction but also in treatment strategies and evaluation of treatments. The effects of the psychological state on the disease itself together with the potential therapeutic implications are reviewed. Based on these data, we suggest how to further improve patient's management.     

田径运动员最大摄氧量和无氧功测试中血乳酸的应用

目的:研究田径运动员最大摄氧量和Wingate测试后血乳酸的变化,分析血乳酸对测试结果的意义。方法:测试田径短跑运动员36例和中长跑运动员29例的最大摄氧量和Wingate无氧功,以及测试后的血乳酸值。结果:最大摄氧量测试后血乳酸数值为9～11mmol/L左右,摄氧量与乳酸值没有直接相关关系,但不同项目之间有一定的差异;Wingate测试后血乳酸数值一般大于12mmol/L,测试的主要评价指标与乳酸值都有较高的相关关系。结论:血乳酸值对于最大摄氧量测试意义不大,但对于Wingate测试可以作为一项辅助评价指标。     

实施责任护士竞聘制的做法与成效

目的 :营造良性竞争的机制和氛围 ,全面提高护理质量。方法 :通过资格认定、理论技术考试、民主测评及双项选择 ,由护理部聘任。结果 :较好地进行了人力资源的开发 ,竞聘上岗后的护士有责任感和使命感 ,工作积极主动 ,自觉地成为科室各项工作的带头人。加之岗位工资的兑现 ,更有利于护士长在科室开展工作 ,使科室各项护理工作质量显著提高。结论 :良性的竞争运行机制 ,使优秀护理人才脱颖而出 ,体现能级对应的原则 ,从而使护理质量不断提高。     

胫腓骨交叉愈合对踝关节运动的影响

目的探讨胫腓骨交叉愈合后对踝关节运动的影响。方法回顾性分析1999年9月～2003年11月期间7例胫腓骨交叉愈合患者的临床资料。左侧4例,右侧3例。其中2例开放性骨折行钢板内固定,5例闭合性骨折行髓内钉固定。术后随访中测定踝关节的跖屈、背伸。结果7例患者获平均30个月(10～54个月)随访。参照Kofoed踝关节评分系统评价:优6例,良1例。胫腓骨交叉愈合对踝关节的背伸有6.3°左右的影响,对正常行走步态影响轻微。5例患者踝关节有不同程度不适感。结论胫腓骨交叉愈合可能对踝关节退变有重要影响,可通过术中应用合适长度的髓内钉远端锁钉、避免钻孔过深、采用微创手术及早期功能锻炼等方法来预防胫腓骨交叉愈合。     

浅析《内经》之闭经证治

收集了《内经》有关闭经方面的相关阐述从而探讨闭经的病因病机、诊断与治疗,并详细记述了《内经》对血滞经闭和血枯经闭这两类型经闭的不同治疗法度。     

Chromatic pattern-reversal electroretinograms (ChPERGs) are spared in multiple system atrophy compared with Parkinson’s disease

Abstract Idiopathic Parkinson’s disease (IPD) patients have abnormal visual evoked potentials (VEPs) and pattern electroretinograms (PERGs), attributed to dopaminergic transmission deficiency in visual pathway, probably the retina. VEP abnormalities are not reported in multiple system atrophy (MSA). The aim of this study was to investigate and compare chromatic (Ch) red-green (R-G) and blue-yellow (B-Y), and luminance yellow-black (Y-Bk) PERGs in patients with MSA and IPD. We investigated 6 MSA patients (mean age: 62±7.4 years) not undergoing any pharmacological treatment, as well as 12 early IPD patients (mean age: 60.1±8.3 years) and 12 age-matched normal observers. ChPERGs were recorded monocularly in response to full-field equiluminant R-G, B-Y and Y-Bk horizontal gratings. In MSA only responses to R-G stimuli showed minimal insignificant changes (slight but not significant amplitude reduction without any significant latency delay); no significant abnormality was detected for B-Y and luminance Y-Bk stimuli. By contrast, in IPD all responses were reduced in amplitude and delayed in latency, above all for B-Y stimuli. Present data indicate that both chromatic and achromatic PERGs are virtually unaffected in MSA, whereas in early IPD they are clearly impaired, suggesting different pathogenic retinal mechanisms and a useful simple tool for distinguishing MSA from IPD.     

The Effect of Cuts in Medicare Reimbursement on Hospital Mortality

Objective. To determine if patients treated at hospitals under different levels of financial strain from the Balanced Budget Act (BBA) of 1997 had differential changes in 30-day mortality, and whether vulnerable patient populations such as the uninsured were disproportionately affected.
Data Source. Hospital discharge data from all general acute care hospitals in Pennsylvania from 1997 to 2001.
Study Design. A multivariate regression analysis was performed retrospectively on 30-day mortality rates, using hospital discharge data, hospital financial data, and death certificate information from Pennsylvania.
Data Collection. We used 370,017 hospital episodes with one of four conditions identified by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality as inpatient quality indicators were extracted.
Principal Findings. The average magnitude of Medicare payment reduction on overall net revenues was estimated at 1.8 percent for hospitals with low BBA impact and 3.6 percent for hospitals with a high impact in 1998, worsening to 2 and 4.8 percent, respectively, by 2001. Operating margins decreased significantly over the time period for all hospitals ( p <.05). While unadjusted mortality rates demonstrated a disproportionate rise in mortality for patients from high impact hospitals from 1997 to 2000, adjusted analyses show no consistent, significant difference in the rate of change in mortality between high-impact and low-impact hospitals ( p =.04–.94). Similarly, uninsured patients did not experience greater increases in mortality in high-impact hospitals relative to low-impact hospitals.
Conclusions. An analysis of hospitalizations in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania did not find an adverse impact of increased financial strain from the BBA on patient mortality either among all patients or among the uninsured.     

Tumour-associated epilepsy: clinical impact and the role of referring centres in a cohort of glioblastoma patients. A multicentre study from the Lombardia Neurooncology Group

Abstract Epilepsy in high-grade glioma patients is a major concern, mainly as regards indications to treatment and best choice; toxicities, and pharmocokinetic and pharmacodynamic interactions of drugs. All these generally unsolved problems complicate patients’ quality of life and interfere with the evaluation of response criteria in clinical trials. A prospective, multicentre data collection on 132 adult newly diagnosed, histologically proven glioblastomas from 9 Lombardy hospitals collected in the same database during a one-year period was recently published. From this database we report epidemiological and clinical characteristics in epilepsy-symptomatic (31%) glioblastoma patients vs. the group with other presenting symptoms (69%). We analyse demographic and clinico-radiological features, timing of onset and the course of seizures, and modalities of treatment in the two groups of patients. No statistically significant differences were observed between the two groups as regards age, site of lesion(s), extent of surgery and survival in relation to anticonvulsant treatment status or pharmacokinetic properties of drugs.     

International multicenter pilot study of the first comprehensive self-completed nonmotor symptoms questionnaire for Parkinson's disease: the NMSQuest study.

Nonmotor symptoms (NMS) of Parkinson's disease (PD) are not well recognized in clinical practice, either in primary or in secondary care, and are frequently missed during routine consultations. There is no single instrument (questionnaire or scale) that enables a comprehensive assessment of the range of NMS in PD both for the identification of problems and for the measurement of outcome. Against this background, a multidisciplinary group of experts, including patient group representatives, has developed an NMS screening questionnaire comprising 30 items. This instrument does not provide an overall score of disability and is not a graded or rating instrument. Instead, it is a screening tool designed to draw attention to the presence of NMS and initiate further investigation. In this article, we present the results from an international pilot study assessing feasibility, validity, and acceptability of a nonmotor questionnaire (NMSQuest). Data from 123 PD patients and 96 controls were analyzed. NMS were highly significantly more prevalent in PD compared to controls (PD NMS, median = 9.0, mean = 9.5 vs. control NMS, median = 5.5, mean = 4.0; Mann-Whitney, Kruskal-Wallis, and t test, P < 0.0001), with PD patients reporting at least 10 different NMS on average per patient. In PD, NMS were highly significantly more prevalent across all disease stages and the number of symptoms correlated significantly with advancing disease and duration of disease. Furthermore, frequently, problems such as diplopia, dribbling, apathy, blues, taste and smell problems were never previously disclosed to the health professionals.     

肝癌患者血清P-选择素测定及临床意义

目的：研究肝癌患血清P-selection(P-sel)在肝癌复发和转移中的作用。方法：采用ELISA法分别测定原发性肝癌患和对照组血清P-选择素的含量，同时测定AFP含量。结果：肝癌患P-sel含量显高于正常人，且与AFP含量呈线性正相关，术后2周浓度降低；P-sel含量以Ⅰ、Ⅲ和Ⅳ期肝癌患显高于Ⅰ期患；且大肝癌患显高于小肝癌患，有癌栓组、有肝内转移组明显高于无癌栓组和无转移组。结论：P-选择素测定在原发性肝癌的诊断和检测术后复发方面有重要价值，联合检测AFP和sP-sel可提高诊断敏感性。