Auditing your acute pain service—a UK NHS model

This audit has been conducted in order to provide an evidence base that clarifies the strengths and weaknesses of acute pain management at a UK hospital. Consequently, it sets the strategic direction for service improvement. Awarding up to three stars has identified the quality of each component that constitutes the acute pain service. Six different components were audited and star ratings have been awarded as shown below:

• Pain tool (including patient and staff understanding): no stars.

• Pain team (including education and clinical support): two stars.

• Intermittent opioid analgesia (sub-cut and oral morphine): two stars.

• Epidural patient controlled analgesia (EPCA): two stars.

• Intravenous patient controlled analgesia (IVPCA): two stars.

• Single-dose intrathecal opioid analgesia: three stars.

These star ratings were pulled together in order to award the acute pain service an overall rating. Consequently, the acute pain service was awarded two stars. The findings of this audit identify that this acute pain service provides a safe way to deliver hi-tech pain relief at ward level and can be relied upon to provide good quality pain management. However, too many patients are likely to miss out on the full benefits of the service due to the weaknesses as identified. The quality of the pain relief is impeded across the hospital due to low patient expectation and poor patient education, and also due to a lack of relevant knowledge amongst nursing staff. Developments in the role of the acute pain nurse, staff training and education programs, and a reduction in the variety of pain management pumps are combining to facilitate the opportunities required to address the weaknesses and to build on the strengths of the acute pain service.     

急性病毒性心肌炎的发病机制和临床特征

急性病毒性心肌炎是由病毒侵犯引起心肌本身的病变,包括病毒感染对心肌的损害、细胞免疫以及多种细胞因子等介导的心肌损害和微血管损伤。这些变化损害心脏功能和结构,而危及生命。且近年发病呈逐年上升趋势,其发病症状隐匿突然,加重了其危害性。本文就急性病毒性心肌炎发病机制和临床特征进行总结。     

建立具有中国特色的临床医学工程体系势在必行

我们提出了一个建立具有中国特色的临床医学工程体系新理念，并且提出了一些具体建设性的意见。它涉及到政府行政管理、医学院校教育、医院科室人员配置以及传统观念的管理模式等，由于理念新、涉及面广，会有许多问题，仅供各界人士共同去探讨。     

实习期医学生心理健康状况、应对方式及压力状况的调查

目的探讨实习期医学生心理健康状况、应对方式及压力状况。方法将进入临床实习期的364名临床医学生作为研究组,而选取379名非实习期的临床医学生作为对照组,问卷评定采用症状自评量表(SCL-90)、应对方式问卷及心理身体紧张松弛测试表。结果研究组SCL-90的人际关系敏感、强迫、抑郁、焦虑、敌对因子得分显著高于对照组(t=2.25~5.17,P<0.05);与对照组相比,研究组的应对方式中解决问题因子分有显著性降低,自责、退避因子分则有显著性增高(t=-1.97~2.89,P<0.05);研究组的心理压力状况明显差于对照组,且差异具有显著性意义(χ2=56.03,P<0.05)。结论实习期的临床医学生存在不同程度的心理问题,应予以足够重视。     

Regional Variation and Use of Exception Letters for Cadaveric Liver Allocation in Children with Chronic Liver Disease

The Pediatric End-Stage Liver Disease (PELD) score was designed to reduce subjectivity in liver allocation and to advantage patients with a higher probability of waiting list mortality. The aims of this study were to determine the impact of PELD implementation for children with chronic liver disease and to assess whether PELD met its goal of standardization of liver allocation for children. This study used data reported to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) registry for children with chronic liver disease receiving primary cadaveric liver transplant between January 2000 and December 2001 (pre-PELD) and March 2002 and July 2003 (PELD). PELD reduced the percentage of children transplanted while in an intensive care unit and as status 1. A calculated PELD score was used for allocation in only 52% of recipients. Thirty percent were status 1 at transplant and PELD scores granted by exception were used for allocation in 18% of patients. There was regional variation in PELD score at allocation and use of exception scores with a significant relationship between PELD score and percentage of exception cases. Regional variation suggests that PELD has not resulted in standardization of listing practices in pediatric liver transplantation.     

Evaluating therapeutic outcome in epileptic patients using the changes of interval and duration

BACKGROUND: Seizure frequency is in abnormal distribution, and it is not enough to express the trend of concentration using means, and its median loses a lot of information, thus it lacks of a standard for evaluating the therapeutic effects based on seizure frequency. OBJECTIVE: To establish a method for evaluating the therapeutic effects on anti-epileptic drugs using changes of interval and duration of seizure. DESIGN: A prospective cohort study. SETTING: Zhumadian Psychiatric Hospital. PARTICIPANTS: Outpatients and inpatients suffering from epilepsy attending firstly visited Zhumadian Psychiatric Hospital from June 2001 to June 2002 were enrolled. They were diagnosed as epileptic according to the International Classification of Epileptic Seizure by International League Against Epilepsy (1981) based on the clinical history, physical examination, and investigations. The interval time was no more than 6 months. Informed consent was obtained from all the subjects, and the study was approved by the hospital ethical committee. METHODS: ① For the first visit and each follow-up, the following data were recorded, including general demographic information, seizure type, the date and time of ictus, the duration of ictus, and inducement or situation related, according to which the following indexes could be calculated, including seizure styles, interval, duration, cluster frequency and cluster duration. The information from the first review was noted as annals A. The second interview was taken at the end of the evaluating period; the information from the second review was noted as annals B. The third interview was taken within two weeks after the second one; the information from the third review was noted as annals C. The annals B or the annals C were respectively compared with the annals A in the light of the same types or the same styles of the same patient. Summation of the scores of interval change and duration change of the same type or the same style and 5 of basic score was the score of a corresponding seizure type or a corresponding style of one patient. In order to test its reliability and validity, the score of change of frequency or duration plus 5 scores respectively was the score of frequency or duration. ② Reliability and validity were tested by calculating corresponding correlation coefficient with SPSS 11.0. ROC curve was used for developing diagnostic criterion of predicting therapeutic effects with SPSS 11.0. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: ① Reliability and validity; ② Diagnostic criterion for predicting therapeutic effects one year later. RESULTS: Totally 28 patients were involved in the final analysis of results. ① Reliability and validity were high: rinter-rater=0.98, rtest-retest=0.99, rconstruct validity=0.83. ② A total score > 6 was the optimal diagnostic criteria for predicting therapeutic effects one year later, in other words, a patient who scored more than 6 at the evaluating period may be seizure-free one year later. CONCLUSION: It is a potential tool for evaluating epileptic therapeutic outcome, and it can be diffusely used in interrelated fields after being further validated.     

增白牙膏去除牙面外源性色素临床实验

目的测试一种增白牙膏用于减少牙面外源性色素的效果. 方法 研究对象121例,年龄21～57岁.实验组60例,对照组61例,两组年龄和性别分布差异无显著性.采用双盲法两组平行设计,根据Lobene色斑指数(LSI)和性别均衡分为两组,随机分配使用实验牙膏或对照牙膏.实验组牙膏含3 %植酸钠和1.3 %焦磷酸钠,对照组牙膏不含相应成分.临床检查分别在基线、3周和6周后进行,由同一人测定LSI.问卷询问刷牙情况. 结果 基线检查、实验3周和6周后实验组LSI分别为3.00、2.16和1.47, 对照组分别为3.10、3.08和2.18.基线检查两组LSI差别无显著性意义, 实验3周和6周后两组LSI比较差异均有显著性意义. 实验组LSI在3周和6周后分别比基线时降低28 %和51 %. 结论含3 %植酸钠和1.3 %焦磷酸钠牙膏能有效减少牙面色素,效果随使用时间而增强.     

Autologous implantation of chondrocytes on a solid collagen scaffold: clinical and histological outcomes after two years of follow-up

Abstract From our overall experience in 56 patients, we here report the treatment with matrix-induced autologous chondrocyte implantation (MACI) of 35 patients suffering from knee cartilage defects measuring about 4 cm², and followed for a minimum of 6 months. A total of 36 knees were treated (1 patient on both knees) and clinically observed for 22 months (in some cases for over 39 months), in accordance with a standardised protocol. Subjective parameters (pain, well-being, functional state, symptoms during specific activity) and objective outcomes (IKDC score and Lysholm and Tegner scores) were recorded. One or 2 years after implantation, some biopsies of the regenerated cartilage were histologically evaluated. The subjective parameters (VAS pain score, 2.80±1.49, p<0.0001; change vs. basal score, 2.72) promptly normalized after 1 month, as did the objective ones (IKDC score after 6 months, 1.53±0.59, p<0.0001; change vs. basal score, 1.78). Similar results were observed after the treatment of a femoropatellar kissing lesion. The three cartilage biopsies that were analysed from different patients showed a tissue positivity to immunohistochemical markers of hyaline cartilage. The conclusions of this preliminary analysis are that the clinical outcome and histological evaluation suggest that MACI is able to relieve pain and restore the functionality of the knee, and that the treatment appears capable of regenerating hyaline cartilage.     

The validity of a simple clinical classification of acute ischaemic stroke

The aim of the study reported here was to test the validity of a simple clinical classification of acute ischaemic stroke (Oxfordshire Community Stroke Project, OCSP) in predicting the site and size of cerebral infarction on computed tomography (CT). Consecutive patients admitted to hospital with acute ischaemic stroke were prospectively identified and classified into one of four clinical syndromes according to the OCSP classification, blind to the result of CT. The CT brain scans were classified blind to the clinical features into those demonstrating: small, medium or large cortical infarcts; small or large subcortical infarcts in the anterior circulation territory; and posterior cerebral circulation territory infarcts. A total of 108 patients were included. A recent infarct was seen. on the CT scan in 91 patients (84%), and the clinical classification correctly predicted the site and size of the cerebral infarct in 80 of these (88%; 95% confidence interval 77–92%). The positive predictive value was best for large cortical infarcts (0.94) and worst for small subcortical infarcts (0.63). The OCSP clinical classification is a reasonably valid way of predicting the site and size of cerebral infarction on CT and can, therefore, be used very early after stroke onset before the infarct appears on the scan.