Variables Associated With Seeking Information From Doctors and the Internet After Exposure to Direct-to-Consumer Advertisements for Prescription Medications

This study examines variables associated with seeking information from doctors, the Internet, and a combination of both doctors and Internet after exposure to direct-to-consumer advertisements. Data were analyzed from 462 college students. Younger age, women, and health insurance were associated with greater odds for doctor; women, subjective norms, intentions, and greater time since seen doctor were associated with greater odds for Internet; and African American, Hispanic, subjective norms, intentions, and health insurance were associated with greater odds for both doctor and Internet. Marketers of direct-to-consumer advertisements can use these findings for tailoring and targeting direct-to-consumer advertisements.     

Candida species distribution and antifungal susceptibility testing according to European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing and new vs. old Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute clinical breakpoints: a 6-year prospective candidaemia survey from the fungal infection network of Switzerland

We analyzed the species distribution of Candida blood isolates (CBIs), prospectively collected between 2004 and 2009 within FUNGINOS, and compared their antifungal susceptibility according to clinical breakpoints defined by the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) in 2013, and the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI) in 2008 (old CLSI breakpoints) and 2012 (new CLSI breakpoints). CBIs were tested for susceptiblity to fluconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin by microtitre broth dilution (Sensititre^® YeastOne™ test panel). Of 1090 CBIs, 675 (61.9%) were C. albicans, 191 (17.5%) C. glabrata, 64 (5.9%) C. tropicalis, 59 (5.4%) C. parapsilosis, 33 (3%) C. dubliniensis, 22 (2%) C. krusei and 46 (4.2%) rare Candida species. Independently of the breakpoints applied, C. albicans was almost uniformly (>98%) susceptible to all three antifungal agents. In contrast, the proportions of fluconazole- and voriconazole-susceptible C. tropicalis and F-susceptible C. parapsilosis were lower according to EUCAST/new CLSI breakpoints than to the old CLSI breakpoints. For caspofungin, non-susceptibility occurred mainly in C. krusei (63.3%) and C. glabrata (9.4%). Nine isolates (five C. tropicalis, three C. albicans and one C. parapsilosis) were cross-resistant to azoles according to EUCAST breakpoints, compared with three isolates (two C. albicans and one C. tropicalis) according to new and two (2 C. albicans) according to old CLSI breakpoints. Four species (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis and C. parapsilosis) represented >90% of all CBIs. In vitro resistance to fluconazole, voriconazole and caspofungin was rare among C. albicans, but an increase of non-susceptibile isolates was observed among C. tropicalis/C. parapsilosis for the azoles and C. glabrata/C. krusei for caspofungin according to EUCAST and new CLSI breakpoints compared with old CLSI breakpoints.     

The accuracy of diagnostic tests for adenoid hypertrophy: A systematic review

BackgroundAdenoid hypertrophy may cause sleep-disordered breathing and altered craniofacial growth. The authors conducted a study to gauge the accuracy of alternative tests compared with nasoendoscopy (reference standard) for screening adenoid hypertrophy.MethodsThe authors conducted a systematic review that included searches of electronic databases, hand searches of bibliographies of relevant articles and gray literature searches. They included all articles in which an alternative test was compared with nasoendoscopy in children with suspected nasal or nasopharyngeal airway obstruction.ResultsThe authors identified seven articles that were of poor to good quality. They identified the following alternative tests: multirow detector computed tomography (sensitivity, 92 percent; specificity, 97 percent), videofluoroscopy (sensitivity, 100 percent; specificity, 90 percent), rhinomanometry with decongestant (sensitivity, 83 percent; specificity, 83 percent) and clinical examination (sensitivity, 22 percent; specificity, 88 percent). Lateral cephalograms tended to have good to fair sensitivity (typically 61-75 percent) and poor specificity (41-55 percent) when adenoid size was evaluated but excellent to good specificity when airway patency was evaluated (68-96 percent).ConclusionsNo ideal tool exists for dentists to screen adenoid hypertrophy, owing to access constraints, radiation concerns and suboptimal diagnostic accuracy. Research is needed to identify a low-risk, easily acceptable, highly valid diagnostic screening tool.Practical ImplicationsAlthough lateral cephalograms (which have good to fair sensitivity) and a thorough medical history (which has good specificity) are imperfect individually, when they are used together, they can compensate for each other's weaknesses. This combined approach is the best tool available to dentists for screening adenoid hypertrophy.     

Focus on Fluorides: Update on the Use of Fluoride for the Prevention of Dental Caries

Improving the efficacy of fluoride therapies reduces dental caries and lowers fluoride exposure.BackgroundFluoride is delivered to the teeth systemically or topically to aid in the prevention of dental caries. Systemic fluoride from ingested sources is in blood serum and can be deposited only in teeth that are forming in children. Topical fluoride is from sources such as community water, processed foods, beverages, toothpastes, mouthrinses, gels, foams, and varnishes. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the American Dental Association (ADA) have proposed changes in their long standing recommendations for the amount of fluoride in community drinking water in response to concerns about an increasing incidence of dental fluorosis in children. Current research is focused on the development of strategies to improve fluoride efficacy. The purpose of this update is to inform the reader about new research and policies related to the use of fluoride for the prevention of dental caries.MethodsReviews of the current research and recent evidence based systematic reviews on the topics of fluoride are presented. Topics discussed include: updates on community water fluoridation research and policies; available fluoride in dentifrices; fluoride varnish compositions, use, and recommendations; and other fluoride containing dental products. This update provides insights into current research and discusses proposed policy changes for the use of fluoride for the prevention of dental caries.ConclusionsThe dental profession is adjusting their recommendations for fluoride use based on current observations of the halo effect and subsequent outcomes. The research community is focused on improving the efficacy of fluoride therapies thus reducing dental caries and lowering the amount of fluoride required for efficacy.     

Long-term follow-up mortality study of petroleum refinery and chemical plant employees

A previous report presented the 1948–1983 mortality patterns of the Shell Deer Park Manufacturing Complex employees who where employed for at least 3 months from 1948 through 1972. The present study updates the earlier investigation by extending the vital status follow-up through 1989 and by expanding the cohort to include employees hired after 1972. As in the previous study, the overall mortality and cancer mortality for both refinery and chemical employees were quite favorable compared to residents in the local population. Among refinery workers, cancers for which a suspicion of work-relatedness was raised in the previous study, i.e. leukemia and cancers of the central nervous system and biliary passage/liver, no supportive evidence was found in this update. For both refinery and chemical plant employees, the mortality rate due to cancers of all lymphopoietic tissue increased with increasing duration of employment; this finding was also noted by the original study. This was also evident for lymphoreticulasarcoma in refinery employees and for leukemia in chemical plant employees. However, elevations of cancers of all lymphatic and hematopoietic tissue are primarily confined to employees who started work at the complex before 1946. By contrast, deaths from cancer of all lymphatic and hematapoietic tissue for employees hired after 1945 were 22% lower than the comparison population. Seven deaths with mesothelioma mentioned on the death certificates were identified, with 3.2 deaths expected, resulting in a statistically nonsignicant SMR of 219. © 1996 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

耳鸣评价量表（TEQ）的耳鸣疗效评定新标准探索

目的通过对比耳鸣评价量表(TEQ)治疗前后得分变化和等级变化计算的疗效,并与耳鸣残疾评估量表(THI)的疗效相对比,为TEQ评估耳鸣疗效的评定标准提供参考。方法 TEQ得分疗效是根据国际上使用的标准差/2原则,即治疗前后得分变化≥TEQ初诊得分标准差/2视为治疗有效;TEQ等级疗效是TEQ等级变化≥1级视为治疗有效。THI得分疗效标准分为文献推荐的变化≥7分和变化≥20分,及标准差/2计算的变化≥12分分别视为有效。结果本次调查的165例患者中,按TEQ得分原则(SD/2原则)、TEQ等级原则、THI7分原则、THI12分原则(SD/2原则)及THI20分原则计算的疗效分别为60.00%、49.09%、61.82%、52.73%、及32.73%。通过卡方检验,TEQ得分疗效及TEQ等级疗效与THI7分及THI12分疗效比较均无统计学差异(P>0.005),均明显高于THI20分疗效(P<0.005)。结论使用耳鸣评价量表(TEQ)进行耳鸣疗效评定时,除了通过等级变化外,还可以采用以治疗前后得分变化为基础的疗效评定标准。     

Validity of establishing pediatric reference intervals based on hospital patient data: A comparison of the modified Hoffmann approach to CALIPER reference intervals obtained in healthy children

Objectives

To compare pediatric reference intervals calculated using hospital-based patient data with those calculated using samples collected from healthy children in the community as part of the CALIPER study.

Methods

Hospital-based data for 13 analytes (calcium, phosphate, iron, ALP, cholesterol, triglycerides, creatinine, direct bilirubin, total bilirubin, ALT, AST, albumin and magnesium), measured on the Vitros 5600, collected between 2007 and 2011 were obtained. The data for each analyte were partitioned by age and gender as previously defined by the CALIPER study. Outliers in each partition were removed using the Tukey method. The cumulative distribution function (cdf) was then determined for each analyte value following which, the inverse cdf values of a standard Gaussian distribution were calculated. The analyte values were plotted against the inverse cdf of the standard Gaussian distribution. Piece-wise regression determined the linear portion of the resulting graph using the statistical software R. Linear regression determined an equation for the linear portion in each partition and reference intervals were calculated by extrapolating to identify the 2.5th and 97.5th centiles in each partition based on the inverse cdf values (which would correspond to the values − 1.96 and 1.96 of the Gaussian distribution). Using the 90% confidence intervals for the reference intervals defined by CALIPER and the Reference Change Value (RCV) as the criteria, these calculated reference intervals were compared to those reported previously by CALIPER. Reference samples were also measured on the Vitros 5600 analyzer in an attempt to validate the calculated reference intervals.

Results

In general, the reference intervals calculated from hospital-based data were generally wider than those calculated by CALIPER. None of the reference intervals calculated using the Hoffmann approach fell completely within the 90% confidence intervals calculated by CALIPER.

Conclusions

These results suggest that calculating pediatric reference intervals from hospital-based data may be useful, as a guide, in some cases but will likely not replace the need to establish reference intervals in healthy pediatric populations.     

凯里市2001-2006年食品及公共场所从业人员乙型肝炎检测结果分析

目的为了解凯里市食品及公共场所从业人员乙肝表面抗原(HBsAg)携带状况,为公共卫生监督提供依据。方法对2001-2006年到我中心进行健康体检的19383名从业人员采血用ELISA法检测乙肝感染指标。结果6年HBsAg阳性率为4.06%,其中男性(5.27%)高于女性(3.46%);20岁以下年龄组HBsAg阳性率最高(5.89%),随着年龄的增加,阳性率有降低的趋势;从民族来看HBsAg阳性率最高的是苗族(5.81%),最低的是汉族(2.56%);从文化程度来看HBsAg阳性率最高的是具有初中及以下学历的从业人员(4.68%)。2001-2003年有52.79%体检HBsAg阳性者进行两对半检测,将近1/3的受检者(为模式1、3)正处于急性乙肝病毒(HBV)感染或复制期,2004-2006年有65.56%HBsAg阳性者进行HBeAg检测。结论为了阻断HBV传播,首先,必须加强卫生监督执法和监测工作,对查出具有传染性的人员必须调离该工种;其二,定期进行卫生知识培训;其三,要立法对HBsAg阴性者进行乙肝疫苗的强制接种;其四,加强餐饮娱乐场所环境和物品的消毒和监测。     

医疗机构临床试验质量控制标准实践研究

目的:建立机构内部的临床试验质量控制标准,规范临床试验质量控制工作.方法:根据质量控制实施阶段及侧重点,对质控进行分类;制定以项目启动质控细则及知情同意书、筛选入选表、研究者文件夹等单元模块质控细则,并依照已制定的质量控制标准实施质量控制.结果:制定以质控分类、质控标准细则、质控流程、质控问题判定为内容的临床试验质量控...