Lucian Leape on Patient Safety in U.S. Hospitals

PURPOSE: To describe and discuss the status of patient safety in U.S. hospitals. METHODS: Personal interview. This report is part of a series of discussions with a leading expert on patient safety. FINDINGS AND CONCLUSIONS: Some improvements have been made in the past 10 years. But changes have not been adequate. Continuing barriers include the punitive environment in hospitals, physicians' denial of the scope of the problem, lack of national leadership, and lack of systems thinking.     

援外针灸临床综述(二)

介绍我国援外医疗队在 3 6个国家以 17种治疗方法为主治疗 40多种病的概况。     

Serum IgA and IgG functional antibodies and their subclasses to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular antigen found in two aged‐matched cohorts of children with and without otitis media with effusion

Serum IgA and IgG functional antibodies and their subclasses to Streptococcus pneumoniae capsular antigen found in two aged‐matched cohorts of children with and without otitis media with effusion The relationship between acute otitis media and otitis media with effusion (OME) is uncertain and the aetiology of OME is multifactorial. Otitis media with effusion may be an inflammatory condition; both bacteria and viral infections could play a part in this inflammation. The four bacteria Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenza, Staphylococcus aureus and Branhamella catarrhalis cause 60% of the infections whereas S. pneumoniae accounts for up to 35%. IgA provides the dominant surface response to polysaccharide and lipopolysaccharide antigens, of which IgA₂ is the main subclass. Once the mucosa has been breached, most protection is provided by IgG. IgG₂ acts mainly against bacterial capsular antigens. This study looked at two groups of 50 children with and without OME who were aged between 3 and 10 years. The aims were to determine if, firstly, the levels of the serum immunoglobulins were different in the two groups, secondly whether these children made the appropriate antibody response to the capsular antigen to S. pneumoniae (PCP), and finally if there was a delay in the maturity of the IgA response. The total IgG, IgA and all subclass levels were measured using radial immunodiffusion. Levels of functional IgA and IgG were measured using ELISAs (25 patients in each group). The results were analysed with non‐parametric tests. The immunoglobulin levels were within the normal levels for both groups. There were very good correlations between the IgG total anti‐PCP and the IgG₂ anti‐PCP (R > 0.9, p = 0.001). There was a good correlation between the levels of both IgG total and IgG₂ anti‐PCP against IgA total anti‐PCP in both groups (R > 0.85, p > 0.01). This confirms a normal antibody response between both groups of patients. The ages of the controls and patients (50 samples) were correlated with increasing titres of circulating functional antibodies (P = 0.001). This is highly suggestive of a normal age‐related response. In conclusion, the findings were contradictory to our original hypothesis that there is a subtle difference in surface protection between children with and without OME. We believe that a previous history of recurrent acute otitis media is unrelated to the development of OME after 3 years of age.     

Impact of cosmetic care on quality of life in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy and radiotherapy: an initial randomized controlled study

BACKGROUND: Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women and therefore represents a major problem in public health. Data from patients' self-report questionnaires provide valuable information about the side-effects that patients may view as having a significantly detrimental impact on their quality of life (QOL) and yet are not always recognized as important by healthcare professionals. Cosmetology is a specific care for patients and there is actually no scientific evidence regarding effects on QOL for women with breast cancer. OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to assess the impact of cosmetic care on QOL in breast cancer patients during chemotherapy and radiotherapy. METHODS: We developed a prospective, multicentre, randomized, controlled study including 27 patients. All the patients had to fill in a French-validated dermatologic specific quality-of-life questionnaire to compare the QOL of the two groups, the cosmetic group and the control group, at three different times of the adjuvant treatment. RESULTS: The results show a statistically significant difference between the cosmetic group and the control group in two areas of QOL: mood state and self-perception of the disease. CONCLUSION: This study emphasizes the interest of cosmetic care in breast cancer patients. However, further larger trials are needed to confirm this study.     

Natural killer cell activity and quality of life were improved by consumption of a mushroom extract, Agaricus blazei Murill Kyowa, in gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy

A mushroom extract, Agaricus blazei Murill Kyowa (ABMK), has been reported to possess antimutagenic and antitumor effects. Here, we investigate the beneficial effects of ABMK consumption on immunological status and qualities of life in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. One hundred cervical, ovarian, and endometrial cancer patients were treated either with carboplatin (300 mg / m(2)) plus VP16 (etoposide, 100 mg / m(2)) or with carboplatin (300 mg / m(2)) plus taxol (175 mg / m(2)) every 3 weeks for at least three cycles with or without oral consumption of ABMK. We observed that natural killer cell activity was significantly higher in ABMK-treated group (ANOVA, n = 39, P < 0.002) as compared with nontreated placebo group (n = 61). However, no significant difference in lymphokine-activated killer and monocyte activities was observed in a manner similar to the count of specific immune cell populations between ABMK-treated and nontreated groups. However, chemotherapy-associated side effects such as appetite, alopecia, emotional stability, and general weakness were all improved by ABMK treatment. Taken together, this suggests that ABMK treatment might be beneficial for gynecological cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy.     

眼轴线后部眶容积增大与眼球内陷比值的测定研究

目的:通过测量眼眶爆裂性骨折伴有眼眶扩大患者的后部眼眶容积、观察眼球内陷出现的时间及程度,研究后部眶容积扩大与眼球内陷的关系比值,为病情预测和眶内填充手术提供比较精确的参考数据。方法:将96例患者按发病时间分为早期病例组(60例、受伤时间1周以内)和晚期病例组(36例、受伤时间3个月以上),早期组除进行后部眼眶容积测量外,分别于1周、2周、3周测定眼球突出度(相差>1mm为阳性),记录眼球内陷出现时间,用卡方检验进行统计学分析;晚期组测量后部眶容积增大值和眼球内陷量,对其相关性采用Pearson统计方法进行统计学分析,并得出回归方程及相关系数。结果:早期组60例患者中,(58.33%)例患者在1周内出现眼球内陷,4(880%)例在2周内出现内陷,3周时有5(388.33%)例呈现出内陷;2周时出现眼球内陷的例数与1周时有显著性差异(χ2=62.484,P<0.001),2周时出现眼球内陷例数与3周时无差异(χ2=1.563,P>0.05),1周时出现眼球内陷例数与3周时有显著差异(χ2=76.885,P<0.001),后部眶容积增大与眼球内陷的比值约为1.0,两者之间呈正相关(r=0.994,P<0.001),即后部眶容积每增加1ml,产生1.0mm的眼球内陷。结论:眼球内陷通常于伤后2周～3周出现,3个月时趋向稳定;后部眶容积增大与眼球内陷产生比值为1.0,呈正相关;后部眶容积扩大与眼球内陷比值可预测发生眼球内陷的可能性和程度,为手术矫正眼球内陷提供可靠、精确的参考,具有十分重要的临床指导意义。     

护士执业权及其法律保护初探

护士执业权是依法取得护士执业证书,以护士名义为社会提供护理服务的医务人员进行护理工作的权利和相关权益,是护士执业规则的核心内容,护士执业权属于公民劳动权益的范畴,是一种具有职业特权性质的特殊劳动权,应立法保护。本文试图通过对护士执业权的法理初步探讨,结合目前存在的侵害护士执业权的突出现象分析,提出保护该项权利的立法建议。