Otitis media with effusion in Nigerian children with cleft palate: incidence and risk factors

Otitis media with effusion is common in children with cleft palate, and the aim of this study was to find out its incidence and risk factors in Nigerians. We prospectively studied 84 patients (42 with cleft palate and 42 control subjects); 27 were male and 15 female, who were age and sex matched with control subjects. The extent and size of the clefts were measured using a dental cast and Vernier calipers, and the otitis media was diagnosed with otoscopy and tympanometry. The mean (SD) age of the groups was 11 (7) months (range 1–33). Twelve children in the cleft group had otitis media compared with three in the control group. Infants and boys were more likely to be affected. There was a significant association between age (p = 0.02), sex (p = 0.01), and size of cleft (p = 0.00). However, only the size of the cleft was confirmed to be an independent predictor, with children who had extremely wide clefts being more likely to develop otitis media than those with narrow clefts (OR = 8.71, 95%CI = 1.07 to 70.5).We conclude that the incidence of otitis media with effusion was higher among children with cleft palate than among those who did not have a cleft. Infants had a higher incidence than older children, and boys had a higher incidence than girls. Age, sex, and the size of the palatal cleft were significantly associated with otitis media, but not the extent of clefting.     

老年人血清氧化型低密度脂蛋白水平与颈动脉内膜中层厚度的相关性分析

目的：探讨老年人血清氧化型低密度脂蛋白（ oxLDL）水平与颈动脉内膜中层厚度（ CA?IMT）的相关性,判断血清oxLDL水平升高与老年人颈动脉内膜中层增厚的关系。方法吴江区第一人民医院2013年10月至2014年2月行颈部动脉血管超声检查的住院老年患者217例,根据颈动脉彩色多普勒超声测量结果分为正常组113例,CA?IMT增厚组104例,同时记录患者一般临床资料并检测血脂和oxLDL水平,进行危险因素和相关性分析。结果老年人CA?IMT增厚组血清oxLDL水平显著高于正常组（ P＜0?01）,多因素Logistic回归结果显示血清oxLDL回归系数最高（ OR＝2?911,P＜0?01）,相关性分析显示血清oxLDL水平与CA?IMT显著相关（ r＝0?762, P＜0?01）。结论老年人血清oxLDL水平是CA?IMT增厚的较强危险因素,与CA?IMT厚度有着较高的相关性,具有一定的临床提示价值。     

Bedside Ultrasound Is a Practical and Reliable Measurement Tool for Assessing Quadriceps Muscle Layer Thickness

Background: Critically ill patients commonly experience skeletal muscle wasting that may predict clinical outcome. Ultrasound is a noninvasive method that can measure muscle quadriceps muscle layer thickness (QMLT) and subsequently lean body mass (LBM) at the bedside. However, currently the reliability of these measurements are unknown. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the intra‐ and interreliability of measuring QMLT using bedside ultrasound. Methods: Ultrasound measurements of QMLT were conducted at 7 centers on healthy volunteers. Trainers were instructed to perform measurements twice on each patient, and then a second trainee repeated the measurement. Intrarater reliability measured how consistently the same person measured the subject according to intraclass correlation (ICC). Interrater reliability measured how consistently trainer and trainee agreed when measuring the same subject according to the ICC. Results: We collected 42 pairs of within operator measurements with an ICC of .98 and 78 pairs of trainer‐to‐trainee measurements with an ICC of .95. There were no statistically significant differences between the trainer and trainee results (trainer and trainee mean = ?0.028 cm, 95% CI = ?0.067 to ?0.011, P = .1607). Conclusions: Excellent intra‐ and interrater reliability for ultrasound measurements of QMLT in healthy volunteers was observed when performed by a range of providers with no prior ultrasound experience, including dietitians, nurses, physicians, and research assistants. This technique shows promise as a method to evaluate LBM status in ICU or hospital settings and as a method to assess the effects of nutrition and exercise‐based interventions on muscle wasting.     

青年高血压患者静息心率与颈动脉结构关系的研究

目的 探讨青年高血压患者静息心率与颈动脉结构的关系。方法 选择2009年1月至2012年1月新疆医科大学第一附属医院高血压科663例年龄在18。45(38.ol-4-5.78)岁的青年原发性高血压住院患者。按每分钟静息心率水平分为3组:A组(<70次,n=163).B组(70次≤心率<80次,a=268),C组(≥80次,n=232)。超声检双侧颈动脉内膜中层厚度和动脉内径,观察颈动脉血管壁斑块发生情况;对比各组颈动脉结构相关参数,进行方差分析和双变量相关分析。结果 (1)3组患者人院时SBP、DBP总体差异均有统计学意义(P<0.01),A组DBP高于B组(P结论 青年高血压患者静息心率增快可出现血压增高、颈动脉内径减少的趋势。     

An evaluation of five different dressing materials on split‐thickness skin graft donor site and full‐thickness cutaneous wounds: an experimental study

The objective of this study was to investigate the healing effect of five different products on split‐thickness skin graft (STSG) donor sites and full‐thickness cutaneous wounds (FTCWs) using an occlusive dressing model. Six groups were included: 1 control and 5 experimental groups, with a total of 24 rats, using an occlusive dressing model. STSG donor sites and FTCWs were established in two separate areas, to the right and left on the animals' backs. Wound sites were dressed with one of the following materials: fine mesh gauze, microporous polysaccharide hemosphere (MPH), clinoptilolite, alginate, hydrogel or biosynthetic wound dressing (Biobran^®). These materials were compared in terms of healing rate, healing quality and histopathological findings. Occlusive dressings were applied to each wound on days 0, 3, 5, 7, 10 and 14. Area measurements were taken using images of each dressing. The alginate and clinoptilolite groups gave the best healing rate results for both STSG donor sites (P = 0·003) and FTCWs (P = 0·003). MPH came third in each group. The alginate group produced better results in terms of healing quality criteria, followed by hydrogel, MPH, clinoptilolite and Biobran^®, in that order. Statistically significant results were obtained in all groups compared to the control group (P < 0·0007). Rapid and good healing quality for both the STSG donor sites and FTCWs were obtained with alginate. Healing with clinoptilolite and MPH was rapid, but poor quality, while slower but good healing quality was obtained with hydrogel. Slower and worse quality healing was obtained with Biobran^®.