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.     

Teaching school health to undergraduate medical students

This paper describes a teaching programme for final- (sixth-) year undergraduate medical students during their 10-week term in child health. Students attend schools on two occasions and are actively involved in the physical, educational and emotional assessment of children. The advantages of the programme include active participation by the students, contact with children in a less threatening environment, learning new skills in the assessment of children, and knowledge of common screening procedures. Student evaluation of the programme has been positive.     

The potential of an anaesthesiologist–manned ambulance service in a rural/urban district

The use of anaesthesiologists in prehospital emergency care is controversial. We wanted to assess the impact of an anaesthesiologist and a short time interval from acceptance of a mission to take–off at survival rates in a rural/urban emergency medical service. Prospectively registered data for 991 consecutive patients through a 12–month period were retrospectively evaluated by an independent foreign expert. Of all primary missions, 3.3% were considered probably lifesaving from site of injury to receiving hospital. Of these, the lifesaving result in 50% were dependent on both the qualifications of the anaesthesiologist and a short response time. Survival from hospital admission to discharge was 44%. All patients were discharged to their own homes, able to live a fully functional life. The consistent use of anaesthesiologists compared to less qualified personnel and the maintaining of response times below presently required minima doubles the potential for lives saved in services comparable to the one studied.     

Development of quality of care indicators for Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a major cause of disability. To date, there have been no large-scale efforts to measure the quality of PD care because of a lack of quality indicators for conducting an explicit review of PD care processes. We present a set of quality indicators for PD care. Based on a structured review of the medical literature, 79 potential indicators were drafted. Through a two-round modified Delphi process, an expert panel of seven movement disorders specialists rated each indicator on criteria of validity, feasibility, impact on outcomes, room for improvement, and overall utility. Seventy-one quality indicators met validity and feasibility thresholds. Applying thresholds for impact on outcomes, room for improvement, and overall utility, a subset of 29 indicators was identified, spanning dopaminergic therapy, assessment of functional status, assessment and treatment of depression, coordination of care, and medication use. Multivariable analysis showed that overall utility ratings were driven by validity and impact on outcomes (P < 0.01). An expert panel can reach consensus on a set of highly rated quality indicators for PD care, which can be used to assess quality of PD care and guide the design of quality improvement projects.     

北京市农村居民医疗费用研究

了解北京市农村居民医疗费用情况。方法：分4个季度调查农村居民医疗卫生服务需要及利用情况，同时调查三级医疗机构门诊及住院病人的医疗功用。结果：农村居民年人均医疗费用80．95元，其中老年人为166．01元，居民年人均医疗费用最高的疾病为感冒及心脑血管病。结论：建议加强农村老年保健工作，发展和完善农村合作医疗制度。     

社区卫生服务信息系统功能建模研究

理顺功能关系、理清业务流程是构建社区卫生服务信息系统的前提和基础,功能建模是理顺功能关系的一个重要手段。在研究现有的各种功能分析方法的基础上,本文以IDEF0模型方法为基础,提出了社区卫生服务信息系统功能建模方法。通过建立功能、数据和约束之间的内在联系,为系统的功能设计和数据分析提供了基础。     

871例干部体检的X线胸片分析

871例干部体检的X线胸片分析结果表明:正常者254例,正常率仅29.2％,且随年龄的增长而降低。主要病变有慢性支气管炎、主动脉增宽与迂曲,而且还发现了3例肺癌,说明胸部平片检查在体检中仍具有重要的意义。     

大叶牛奶菜孕甾甙成分研究

用硅胶层析及反相硅胶层析法，从大叶牛奶菜（MarsdeniakoiTsiang）抗生育活性的甲醇提取物中分离获得一孕甾四糖甙。经化学反应，波谱分析，酸碱降解及其水解产物的鉴定，确定其结构为12-0-cvnnamyl-dihydrosarcostin-3-0-β-D-glucopyranosyl（l→4）-0-3-0-methyl-6-deoxy-β-D-allopyranosyl(1→4)-0-β-D-oleandropyranosyl(1→4)-0-β-D-cymaropyranoside,命名为大叶牛奶菜甙庚（marsdekoisideG）。经系统文献检索证明其为首次自该植物中分离得到。