Liver and intestine transplantation

The most significant development in liver transplantation in the USA over the past year was the full implementation of the MELD- and PELD-based allocation policy in March 2002, which shifted emphasis from waiting time within broad medical urgency status to prioritization by risk of waiting list death. The implementation of this system has led to a decrease in pretransplant mortality without increasing post-transplant mortality, despite a higher severity of illness at the time of transplant.
The trend over the last few years of rapidly increasing numbers of adult living donor liver transplants was reversed in 2002 by a decline of more than 30% in the number of these procedures. In 2002, a greater percentage of women received livers from living donors (43%) than deceased donors (34%), possibly because of size considerations.
From 1993 to 2001, the waiting list increased more than sixfold, from 2902 patients to 18 047 patients. For the first time since 1993, the waiting list size decreased in 2002, dropping 6% to 16 974 candidates. The percentage of temporarily inactive liver candidates also increased from 2001, thus the net decrease in the active waiting list for 2002 was 12%. This may reflect a trend toward less pre-emptive listing practices under MELD.
Intestine transplantation remains a low-volume procedure limited to a few transplant centers and is still accompanied by significant pre- and post-transplantation risks. As this procedure matures, its application may increase to include recipients at an earlier stage of their disease with better likelihood of success.     

Does the health status of chronically ill patients predict their judgements of the quality of general practice care?

Patients' health status as well as patients' judgements of care are used for assessing patients' perspectives, but the relation between those two concepts is unclear. In this study we explored whether health status predicts patients' judgements of the quality of general practice care. Hand-distributed and mailed surveys were performed by 28 general practitioners in The Netherlands. Chronically ill patients were approached when visiting the general practice or drawn from the practice registers. Health status was measured by WONCA/COOP charts, and patients' judgements by the CEP, a previously validated questionnaire. The response rate was 63% (n=762). When controlled for other patient characteristics, a poor overall health predicted less positive judgements of medical care, information, counselling, relation and communication, continuity of care and the organization of appointments (p[lessthan]0.01). Poor mental well-being predicted less positive judgements of the cooperation between care providers and a stronger need for more care (p[lessthan]0.001). The four other aspects of health status did not predict the patients' judgements. Judgements about the premises and the availability for emergencies were not predicted by health status. It can be concluded that a multidimensional approach should be used for interpreting the relations between patients' health status and their judgements of general practice care.     

Open mesh versus non-mesh repair of groin hernia meta-analysis of randomized trials leased on individual patient data

Abstract Background. The EU Hernia Trialists Collaboration was established to provide reliable evaluation of newer methods of groin hernia repair. It involved 70 investigators in 20 countries. Materials and methods. Twenty eligible trials (5016 participants) of open mesh vs. non-mesh groin hernia repair were identified. Meta-analysis was performed using raw individual patient data where possible. Results. Fewer hernia recurrences were reported after mesh repair. There were no clear differences between mesh and non-mesh groups in complications. Overall, those in the mesh groups had a shorter hospital stay, quicker return to usual activities and less frequent persisting pain, but individual trial results varied. Conclusions. The review provides strong evidence that open mesh repair is associated with a reduction in the risk of recurrence of between 50% and 75%. There is also some evidence of quicker recovery and of lower rates of persisting pain following open mesh repair. Electronic Publication     

护患交流效果及交流技巧分析

目的：探讨护患交流效果及恰当的交流技巧。方法：对300例住院病人进行问卷调查，分析护患交流结果，提出相应的交流技巧。结果：良好的护患交流能增强病人对护理人员的信任感，增强病人战胜疾病的信心，增加病人康复知识。预防和减少护理纠纷的发生。结论：娴熟的护患交流技巧能帮助护理人员达到交流目的，形成良好的护患关系，提高护理质量。     

《野叟曝言》创作人格批判

《野叟曝言》的“文格”与夏敬渠的创作人格有一致性，但存在明显的、不可忽视的矛盾，这种矛盾对《野叟曝言》的文本价值产生了极复杂的影响。导致夏敬渠“人格”与《野叟曝言》“文格”矛盾的原因是多方面的，研究视角不能简单化、绝对化。     

新生儿呼吸机选择的要素

根据新生儿和成人之间呼吸生理的不同，认为新生儿呼吸机与儿童、成人呼吸机无论从那方面来讲都有较大的区别，并从新生儿呼吸生理的特点出发，提出购买新生儿呼吸机时要注意的几个要素。     

CTI和3G技术在120急救指挥中心的应用

介绍了120急救指挥中心的结构、计算机电话一体化和卫星定位系统、地理信息系统以及无线通讯系统的功能，分析了CTI和3G技术在120急救指挥中心的实际应用和取得的成效。     

放疗肿瘤病人直系亲属陪护者心理卫生状况的调查

本文采用症状自评量表（ＳＣＬ－９０）对１６２名放疗肿瘤病人直系亲属陪护者进行了心理卫生状况的调查。结果表明：陪护病属焦虑和抑郁因子分显著高于全国常模。文化程度较高、非农村居住、非农民、与患者共同生活及对病人病情主观感觉较重为不良心理反应的主要影响因素。提示：医护人员在对病人进行诊治的同时，还应对病属的身心状况给予关注，以使他们以较佳的心理状态正视亲人患病这一负性生活事件。     

conference report: Mental health and intellectual disability: an international perspective

The present paper reports on the inaugural meeting of the Mental Health Special Interest Research Group (SIRG) of the International Association for the Scientific study of Intellectual disability which was held at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, UK, in March 1998. The meeting was organized in conjunction with the Ninth Annual SIRG on ageing and intellectual disability. Representatives from North America, several European and Scandinavian countries, Australia, and Israel attended. Two broad themes had been determined prior to the meeting: ‘Improving the detection of mental health problems’ and ‘Research strategies for identifying risk factors for mental health problems’. In the presentations and subsequent discussions, it was apparent that there were extrenely diverse perspectives both across and within the different countries represented. Not only were individuals' experiences very different, but most strikingly, the theoretical frameworks were very diverse. This was partly a function of there being understandable differences in perspectives across disciplines, but at its most marked, there were fundamental differences in the way both intellectual disability and mental health were conceptualized.