Early Stroke Recognition: Developing an Out-of-hospital NIH Stroke Scale

Objective : To develop an abbreviated and practical neurologic scale that could assist emergency medical services or triage personnel in identifying patients with stroke.
Methods : A prospective, observational, cohort study was performed at university-based EDs. Participants were 74 patients treated in a thrombolytic stroke trial and 225 consecutive non-stroke patients evaluated during 4 random 12-hour shifts in the ED. Scores on the NIH Stroke Scale were obtained for all patients by physicians. Items of this scale were modified and recoded to a binomial (normal or abnormal) scale. Serial univariate analyses using χ² were performed to rank items. Recursive partitioning was then performed to develop the decision rule for predicting the presence of stroke.
Results : Three items identified 100% of patients with stroke: facial palsy, motor arm, and dysarthria. An Abbreviated NIH Stroke Scale based on these items had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 92%. A proposed Out-of-hospital NIH Stroke Scale consisting of facial palsy, motor arm, and a combination of dysarthria and best language items (abnormal speech) had a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 88%.
Conclusion : Using the derivation data set, a proposed Out-of-hospital NIH Stroke Scale had a high sensitivity and specificity for identifying patients with stroke when performed by physicians in this group of 299 ED patients. Prospective studies of other health care professionals using the scale in the out-of-hospital arena are needed.     

Restless legs syndrome in Parkinson's disease: a case-controlled study.

Restless legs syndrome (RLS) is a disorder of motor activity with a circadian pattern, occurring frequently in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We sought to estimate the prevalence of RLS in Indian PD patients. One hundred twenty-six consecutive PD patients and 128 healthy age- and sex-matched controls were evaluated using a predesigned questionnaire. RLS was present in 10 of 126 cases of PD (7.9%) and 1 of 128 controls (0.8%, P = 0.01). PD patients with RLS were older than those without RLS (63.70 +/- 7.80 years vs. 57.37 +/- 10.04 years; P = 0.05) and had higher prevalence of depression (40% vs. 10.3%; P = 0.023). No demographic factors or factors related to PD correlated with the presence or severity of RLS. RLS is more common among patients with PD than controls. A greater medical recognition of this disorder is needed in view of available effective treatment.     

Comparison of the treadmill exercise score and single-photon emission computed tomographic thallium imaging in risk assessment

Background  

This study compared the prognostic value of exercise single-photon emission computed tomographic (SPECT) thallium imaging with that of treadmill exercise score in medically treated patients with coronary artery disease (CAD)     

Dietary intake in the elderly estimated by a 24 hour recall and a food frequency questionnaire

Two hundred and thirty-five tenants living in sheltered housing in Scotland were surveyed to identify the extent of under-nutrition and the social factors which contribute to its development. A validated 24 h recall and the nutrient checklist published by NAGE were used to evaluate patterns of dietary intake. A questionnaire was developed which included scales designed to measure depression, social engagement, cognitive function, mobility and functional ability. The results show considerable evidence of a number of major nutrients in which there were low intakes. In order to express the extent of poor nutrition, a nutrient score was developed where points are awarded based on the number of nutrients falling below the Lower Reference Nutrient Intake, the Estimated Average Requirement or below half the daily Estimated Average Requirement.     

采用基因配型行同种异体肾移植术

目的 探讨基因配型技术在同种异体肾移植中的应用。方法采用顺序特异引物聚合酶链反应法(PCR-SSP)分别进行供、受体的基因分型，为3例配型适当的终末性肾病患者行同种异体肾移植术，并观察其术后肾功能恢复情况。结果所有接受肾移植的患者于术后2d肾功能恢复至正常水平，无急性和超急性排异发生。随访11-15个月，各项检查指标均正常。结论 基因配型的准确率较之传统的血清学配型显著增加，显著提高同种异体肾移植的成功率。     

影响胸部钝伤患者治疗方式临床因素分析

目的 探讨影响胸部钝伤住院患者治疗方式的因素，对胸部X线片判读的差异进行分析，作为改进处置胸部钝伤患者的依据及参考。方法 采用回顾性研究方法，收集2004—2006年因胸部钝伤或其外伤合并胸部钝伤，经急诊评估损伤严重指数（ISS）≤15，且对胸部钝伤暂采保守疗法的住院患者共96例（男76例，女20例）。对患者年龄、既往史、ISS、胸部X线片判渎等对治疗方式的影响与关系分为因病情需要改采用手术治疗组和继续采用保守治疗组来比较分析。结果两组在平均年龄、性别、ISS的统计上无差别。影响患者住院期间采用手术治疗的因素有年龄〉65岁（OR，3．14；95％CI，1．21～8．12；P〈0．05）；过去有心肺疾病病史（OR，2．85，95％CI，1．24～6．52，P〈0．05）；第一次的胸部X线片判读有血胸（OR，3．97；95％CI，1．43～10．98；P=0．015）。结论 年龄〉65岁，有心肺病史、第一次的胸部X线片判读有血胸是胸部钝伤患者在住院后改采用手术治疗的危险因子。有必要住院后追踪胸部X线片。     

基于组合不变量配准的数字减影算法

在现代医学中，DSA是X光片血管可视化技术的重要组成部分之一，在DSA中图像配准对消除运动伪影起着关键作用。运用一种基于组合不变量的相似度测量的模板匹配和弹性TPS算法配准减影方法，并根据实际情况有所改进。经过试验证明这种方法可以自动并有效地去除运动伪影，其速度和血管图像质量均比较理想。     

运用Cox模型和Sokal,Hasford积分系统对慢性髓细胞白血病患者的预后分析

本研究分析影响慢性髓细胞白血病（CML）患者预后的危险因素。采用回顾性研究分析204例CML患者的临床及实验室检查资料，用Kaplan—Meier法绘制生存曲线，用Logrank检验比较生存率，运用Cox回归模型进行单因素及多因素分析，并分别计算Sokal，Hasford积分。结果表明：204例患者中位生存时间为50（32—65）月，5年生存率32．3％（95％CI，23．7％-42．6％）。干扰素组与羟基脲组的中位生存时间分别为56（41—67）月和41（19—56）月，5年生存率分别为45．4％（95％CI，37．5％-54．2％）和26．8％（95％CI，21．6％-33．3％）（P〈0．001）。经Cox回归分析，Ph染色体阴性、乳酸脱氢酶含量增高、外周血嗜碱性粒细胞≥10％、出现有核红细胞、骨髓原粒细胞≥4％、骨髓原始＋早幼粒细胞≥10％和红细胞压积降低是CML预后不良的危险因素，而治疗方法也是影响CML预后的重要因素。羟基脲组经Sokal积分检验，高危组占72．9％，中危组占21．5％，而低危组占5．6％，中位生存时间分别为34（23—49）月、43（32—58）月、50（38—62）月；干扰素组经Hasford积分检验，高危组占17．6％，中危组占25．1％，低危组占57．3％，中位生存时间分别为44（33—57）月、56（45—70）月和66（52—76）月。结论：Ph染色体、乳酸脱氢酶含量、红细胞压积、外周血嗜碱性粒细胞、出现有核红细胞、骨髓原始和早幼粒细胞以及治疗方法是影响CML预后的重要因素。以Sokal积分系统评价羟基脲组患者不能很好区分危险组，而Hasford积分系统评价干扰素组患者，能够区分危险组。     

Routinely collected general practice data aids identification of people with hyperglycaemia and metabolic syndrome.

AIMS: To assess the performance of a risk score comprising data routinely available in general practice records (age, gender, body mass index, family history of diabetes, smoking habits and prescribed anti-hypertensive drugs or steroids) in detecting diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance and metabolic syndrome. METHODS: In a population-based, cross-sectional study in a semi-rural general practice in Jutland, Denmark, Cambridge Risk Scores were calculated for 1355 patients without known diabetes (69% response rate) who completed questionnaires and underwent anthropometric measurement and an oral glucose tolerance test. RESULTS: Prevalences of diabetes, impaired glucose tolerance and metabolic syndrome were 2.29% (95% CI: 1.56-3.23), 6.64% (95% CI: 5.38-8.10) and 13.4% (95% CI: 11.5-15.2), respectively. Area under the ROC curve for the risk score and diabetes was 83.8% (75.9-91.7) and for metabolic syndrome [European Group for the Study of Insulin Resistance (EGIR)] was 78.1% (74.6-81.6). Twenty per cent of the population had a risk score above 0.246; at this threshold the sensitivity to detect diabetes was 71.0% (53.4-83.9), the specificity 81.2% (79.0-83.2), positive predictive value 8.1% (6.6-10.0) and likelihood ratio 3.77 (2.94-4.85). For metabolic syndrome (EGIR) corresponding values for sensitivity were 50.3% (43.1-57.5), specificity 84.7% (82.5-85.6), positive predictive value 33.6% (28.2-39.4), and likelihood ratio 3.28 (2.69-4.00). CONCLUSIONS: Undiagnosed hyperglycaemia and metabolic syndrome are common. The Cambridge Risk Score is a practical first step in a screening procedure to identify individuals with these disorders who might benefit from diagnostic testing or to direct preventive interventions.