Association Between Outpatient Follow-Up and Pediatric Emergency Department Asthma Visits

Background. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) guidelines recommend that patients receive a follow-up outpatient asthma visit after being discharged from an emergency department (ED) for asthma. Objective. To measure the frequency of follow-up outpatient asthma visits and its association with repeat ED asthma visit. Design. We conducted a retrospective cohort study of children with asthma using claims data from a university-based managed care organization from 01 1998 to 10 2000. We performed a multivariate survival analysis using Cox proportional hazards model to determine the effect of follow-up outpatient asthma visits on the likelihood of a repeat ED asthma visit, after controlling for severity of illness, patient age, gender, insurance, and the specialty of the primary care provider. Results: A total of 561 children had 780 ED asthma visits. Of these, 103 (17%) had a repeat ED asthma visit within 1 year. Almost two-thirds of children (66%) did not receive outpatient follow-up for asthma within 30 days of an ED asthma visit. Outpatient asthma visits within 30 days of an ED asthma visit are associated with an increased likelihood (relative risk = 1.80; 95% confidence interval 1.19, 2.72) for repeat ED asthma visits within 1 year. Conclusions. Most patients do not have outpatient follow-up after an ED asthma visit. However, those patients that present for outpatient follow-up have an increased likelihood for repeat ED asthma visits. For the primary care provider, these outpatient follow-up visits signal an increased risk that a patient will return to the ED for asthma and are a key opportunity to prevent future ED asthma visits.     

上唇短缩畸形的手术治疗

目的 针对微笑时鼻唇部出现上唇上提并短缩,鼻小柱下方褶沟,上唇牙龈外露等现象,探讨一种治疗上唇短缩畸形的手术方法.方法 采用经口或鼻前庭切口,将鼻小柱根部鼻中隔降肌肌纤维切断及部分切除,并广泛剥离使上唇下降.结果 共为27例上唇短缩畸形患者进行手术治疗.其中9例采用了双侧鼻小柱外侧与前庭基底贯穿切口,18例采用了上唇唇龈沟切口.通过手术,患者获得微笑时上唇中部适度降低,鼻小柱下方褶沟变浅或消失,上唇牙龈外露消失的效果.6例患者还在手术矫正上唇动态短缩畸形的同时,实施了鼻整形术.通过手术可矫正鼻唇牙龈部的综合动态缺陷,获得满意的美学效果.结论 手术方法治疗上唇短缩畸形,可改善患者微笑时的表情,是值得推广的治疗方法.     

不同微生物诱导家蝇幼虫表达抗菌肽的特性

研究不同微生物诱导家蝇幼虫表达的抗菌肽特性.用3种不同的病源菌通过针刺感染的方法诱导家蝇幼虫表达抗菌肽,通过Sephadex G25分离,用Hult mark改进法和抑菌圈测定法作抑菌试验,用毛细管电泳（CE）分析不同微生物诱导得到的抗菌肽样品差异,检测抗菌肽的热稳定性和酸碱耐受性.发现不同微生物诱导产生的家蝇抗菌肽具有广谱抑菌性,但不同样品对不同病源菌抑菌活性有差异,不同测定抑菌效果的方法对抑菌结果有影响,各种抗菌肽样品CE蛋白谱具有明显不同.抗菌肽样品都具有热稳定性和酸碱耐受性.说明不同微生物诱导产生的家蝇抗菌肽类型以及抗菌肽含量与诱导源有关,抗菌肽为家蝇幼虫体内固有成分,诱导增加了抗菌肽的表达量同时刺激新抗菌肽的产生.用志贺氏菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、鼠伤寒沙门氏菌诱导家蝇幼虫可产生较多含量高活性好的抗菌肽.     

颈椎病伴椎管狭窄患者再手术问题探讨

目的：探讨颈椎病伴椎管狭窄患者再手术的原因、手术方式及其相关问题。方法：我院2002年7月～2003年12月对40例颈椎病伴椎管狭窄术后疗效不佳或症状复发的患者进行了后路多节段（5个或以上）减压手术。根据其手术治疗方式及影像学资料分析再手术原因，并进行术后疗效评价。结果：经前路手术者再手术的主要原因为：（1）伴有多节段颈椎管狭窄因素时，只选择部分压迫重的节段行减压融合15例；（2）经前路多节段（≥3个节段）减压融合后，相邻节段继续退变，出现新的脊髓压迫表现及椎间不稳定9例；（3）伴有OPLL时，行部分节段前路减压融合后，病变呈进展表现，产生或加重对脊髓的压迫8例。经后路手术者再手术的原因为：（1）后路减压节段不够5例（包括1例前后路联合手术者）；（2）后路减压不充分3例。再手术后随访1．3～2．7年，平均2．1年，所有患者脊髓功能获得一定的提高，JOA评分改善率为51．3％。结论：颈椎病伴椎管狭窄病例再手术的主要原因为椎管狭窄因素仍然存在，经后路多节段（5个或以上）减压手术治疗可彻底去除颈椎管狭窄因素，有效解除脊髓前、后方所受的压迫，可获得较满意的临床疗效。     

Development of a new Adolescent Patient-Provider Interaction Scale (APPIS) for youth at risk for STDs/HIV

PurposeAlthough an adult model of patient-provider mutual exchange of information has been proposed, there is no guiding model for adolescents or measurement methodology. Our purpose was to develop a new scale of patient-provider interaction for adolescents accessing reproductive health care and at risk for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), and assess the reliability and validity of the scale.MethodsThe Adolescent Patient-Provider Interaction Scale (APPIS) was developed from the Roter and Hall theory of doctor-patient relationships, previously validated adolescent satisfaction and communication scales, and focus group and individual elicitation interviews. To assess construct validity, the new nine-item APPIS was compared with the satisfaction scale used by the Young Adult Health Care Survey (YAHCS), and Kahn’s Provider Communication Scale. Pearson correlation coefficients were used to examine convergence across scales, and factor analysis of the APPIS was performed.ResultsThe study recruited 192 African American girls aged 17.9 ± 1.7 years (range 15–21 years) from three sites: a county STD clinic (n = 51), urban adolescent clinic (n = 99), and a family planning clinic (n = 42). Most participants (85%) rated their overall health care highly (≥ 7 on a 10-point scale); 49% felt that both the provider and patient were “in charge” of the visit, and 88% “strongly agreed” or “agreed” that there was an equal “exchange of information” during the visit. The APPIS showed good internal consistency (Cronbach alpha = .75), and moderate convergence with the six-item YAHCS scale (r = .57, p < .001) and seven-item Kahn scale (r = .48, p < .001). Three factors emerged from exploratory factor analyses, supporting our conceptualization of patient-provider interaction as being multi-dimensional.ConclusionsA new theory-based scale of adolescent patient-provider interaction compares favorably with previous scales of health care satisfaction and communication. The new APPIS may be useful for evaluating approaches to improve health care outcomes for adolescents at-risk for STDs and HIV.     

Time to REST: epidemiology and burden

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a neurological disorder characterized by a compelling urge to move, accompanied by disturbing sensations within the legs. It is now recognized that RLS is a common condition that has a substantial impact on sleep, daily activities and quality of life. Recent data from the REST (RLS Epidemiology, Symptoms, and Treatment) general population study show that symptoms of RLS are present in approximately 7% of the general population, and that 2–3% experience moderate or severe symptoms at least twice a week. Amongst this RLS cohort, approximately 88% reported sensory disturbances and 76% reported sleep-related symptoms. These symptoms had a marked effect on everyday life, with up to 50% of the RLS cohort reporting disruption of everyday activities or personal relationships. Sleep disturbances in turn lead to impaired daytime functioning. RLS is associated with a significant impairment of quality of life, comparable with that seen in chronic medical conditions such as diabetes or depression. Given the significant burden of morbidity associated with RLS, there is a strong case for treatment in patients with troublesome symptoms.     

溃疡散预防消化性溃疡复发临床观察

目的 :观察溃疡散对消化性溃疡的抗复发治疗的临床效果。方法 :随机将 80例患者分成溃疡散治疗组 (4 2例 )和雷尼替丁对照组 (38例 )并同时观察两组患者治疗前后溃疡复发情况。结果 :治疗后治疗组溃疡复发率明显低于对照组 ,P <0 .0 1,两组对比有非常显著性差异。结论 :治疗组能明显的改善患者临床症状和降低消化性溃疡复发率。     

某地13所医院1997-2001年门诊费用的基本分析与评价

采用回顾性调查分析方法,对某地13所医院1997-2001年门诊费用变动情况进行分析。统计学处理结果提示样本医院5年来门诊费用平均发展速度和平均增长速度加快明显。作者对此提出借鉴国外教训、避免浪费的建议,以应对医疗费飞涨给全局工作带来的各种冲击。     

Leptomeninges as a site of relapse in locally controlled,diffuse pontine glioma with review of literature

Case report Leptomeningeal involvement in diffuse intrinsic brain stem gliomas is rarely diagnosed clinically and in majority of the instances diagnosed only on postmortem examination. We report two cases of diffuse pontine glioma diagnosed clinicoradiologically and treated with conventional radiotherapy.Observations On follow-up, both patients showed clinical features suggestive of meningeal spread although imaging for pontine tumor showed stable disease. Leptomeningeal disease in the spine was confirmed on imaging and in one case by cerebrospinal fluid examination also. During the follow-up of patients with pontine glioma, the possibility of leptomeningeal involvement must be borne in mind.