Waiting times for radiotherapy: variation over time and between cancer networks in southeast England

The aim of this study was to investigate variations in the length of time that patients with cancer wait from diagnosis to treatment with radiotherapy. A total of 57,426 men and 71,018 women diagnosed with cancer between 1992 and 2001 and receiving radiotherapy within 6 months of diagnosis were identified from the Thames Cancer Registry database. In total, 12 sites were identified for which a substantial number or proportion of patients received radiotherapy: head and neck, oesophagus, colon, rectum, lung, nonmelanoma skin cancer, breast, uterus, prostate, bladder, brain and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Median waiting times from diagnosis to radiotherapy were calculated, together with the proportion of patients who received radiotherapy within 60 days of diagnosis, and analysed by year of diagnosis, cancer site, deprivation quintile, age at diagnosis, sex and cancer network of either residence or treatment. Logistic regression was used to adjust the proportion receiving treatment within 60 days for the effects of the other factors. There were significant differences in the proportions receiving radiotherapy within 60 days between different networks and different cancer sites, which remained after adjustment. Median waiting times varied from 42 to 65 days across networks of residence, with the adjusted proportion treated within 60 days ranging from 44 to 71%. There was no difference between male and female patients after adjustment for the other factors, particularly site. There was a highly significant trend over time: the median wait increased from 45 days in 1992 to 76 days in 2001, while the adjusted proportion being treated within 60 days declined by almost a half, from 64 to 35%, over the same period.     

The relative survival of COPD patients on long-term oxygen therapy in Australia: A comparative study

OBJECTIVE: The survival of patients with COPD on long-term oxygen therapy (LTOT) has been studied using both univariate and multivariate procedures. There has been only one previous report of relative survival. Relative survival takes into account the risk of death due to increasing age. The objective of this study was to determine the relative survival of a group of South Australian patients prescribed home oxygen therapy for COPD. METHODOLOGY: A method proposed by Hakulinen was used to determine relative survival. The results were compared with the relative survival of a similar group of French COPD patients. RESULTS: A total of 505 COPD patients (249 males, 256 females) were included in the survival analysis. Relative survival corrected for life expectancy was 78.1%, 56.7%, 23.1% and 1.1% at 1, 2, 5 and 10 years, respectively, which was less than that reported in a recent French study of comparable patients. Our patients were similar with respect to age, severity of hypoxaemia and oxygen usage to those in the French study. CONCLUSIONS: Using relative survival analysis, Australian LTOT patients with COPD have worse outcomes than some European patients. Factors contributing to the excess mortality in South Australian COPD patients need to be investigated.     

运用整形技术及原则美容性修复鼻外伤

目的：观察美容整形技术在鼻外伤修复治疗中的应用效果。方法：在107例鼻外伤患者的整个修复治疗过程中,均按照专业操作规程要求,严格应用美容整形技术进行鼻外伤的修复治疗。术后对患者进行随访观察,针对愈合过程中出现的相关问题进行相应的后期处理,以达到最佳修复效果。结果：所有患者一期修复效果均满意。对62例进行了0.5～3.5年的随访观察,其中3例进行了二次修复手术,61例远期效果满意（98.4%）。结论：美容整形技术是修复鼻外伤的有效方法,值得推广。     

贲门周围血管离断术治疗晚期血吸虫病门静脉高压症的近远期疗效

目的评估贲门周围血管离断术(PCDV)治疗晚期血吸虫病门静脉高压症近远期疗效。方法总结1980年1月～2010年1月采用PCDV治疗晚期血吸虫病门静脉高压症患者的资料,统计相关数据,分析近远期疗效。结果治疗性手术493例(急诊手术264例,择期治疗性手术229例),预防性手术1 380例。近期止血率98.1%,手术死亡率1.87%,急诊手术死亡率10.2%,择期治疗性手术死亡率2.6%,预防性手术死亡率0.14%。随访1 629例,总出血率为11.2%,其中治疗性手术后再出血率30.8%,其5、10、20和30年再出血率分别为5.2%、10.1%、1.5%和0.6%。预防性手术后出血率2.3%。5、10、20和30年生存率分别为90.9%、87.6%、80.3%和79.6%,5、10、20和30年肝性脑病发生率分别为1.29%、3.2%、4.5%和4.8%。肝功能好转79.8%,腹水好转87.3%,脾功能亢进症消失81.0%,好转12.3%,食管静脉曲张好转79.8%。结论 PCDV是治疗晚期血吸虫病门静脉高压症的最佳术式;保护已经建立的不碍生命安全的侧支循环,常规联合大网膜包肾术,保留胃冠状静脉的完整性,是保证疗效的关键要点。     

介入治疗下肢动脉缺血性疾病的中长期疗效分析

【目的】探讨介入治疗下肢动脉缺血性疾病的中长期疗效。【方法】选择下肢动脉缺血性疾病的患者106例,其中42例患者经数字减影血管造影（DSA）证实为髂动脉和／或股动脉闭塞,64例髂动脉和／或股动脉、胭动脉不同程度管腔狭窄,术中采用经导管动脉内溶栓治疗64例,机械开通31例,经皮血管腔内成形术（PTA）101例,支架置入69例（116枚支架）,术后随访12～60个月,分析介入治疗后的中长期疗效。【结果】术中未出现血管破裂、穿孔等严重并发症;术后所有患者下肢缺血症状明显减轻或消失。随访期间1例患者于术后15个月死于急性心肌梗死,21例患者再次出现下肢缺血症状,经DSA检查6例内膜增生引起支架阻塞,6例非治疗部位血管病变进展所致下肢缺血,9例溶栓及PTA治疗部位血管再狭窄,均经PTA或支架置入治疗后症状好转出院;其余84例症状无复发,血管超声复查提示管腔通畅、血流良好。【结论】介入治疗下肢动脉缺血性疾病操作创伤小、中长期疗效好,具有良好的临床应用价值。     

Regional differences and secular trends in the incidence of epilepsy in Finland: a nationwide 23-year registry study

Purpose: Regional variations and temporal trends in the incidence of new‐onset epilepsy are clinically important and may offer clues on how to prevent epilepsy. Methods: We examined regional differences and secular trends in the incidence of new‐onset epilepsy in the Finnish population based on the nationwide full‐refundable antiepileptic drug registry and the population registry in the years 1986–2008. Key Findings: The overall incidence of epilepsy was significantly higher in eastern Finland than in middle [risk ratio (RR) 1.08 (95% confidence interval, CI 1.05–1.12)), p < 0.0001] and western Finland [RR 1.32 (1.30–1.35), p < 0.0001] but it was declining from 1986 to 2008 in all regions [RR 0.83 (0.81–0.84), p < 0.0001]. The mean annual decline was 0.6%. Although the incidence of epilepsy was falling from 1986 to 2008 in childhood [annual decline 1.9%, RR 0.80 (0.75–0.86), p < 0.0001] and in middle age [annual decline 0.8%, RR 0.88 (0.84–0.93), p < 0.0001], it increased significantly in the elderly (age 65 years or older) in all of Finland [annual increase 3.5%, RR 1.25 (1.18–1.33), p < 0.0001], and particularly in east versus west Finland [RR 1.48 (1.42–1.55), p < 0.0001]. As a result, starting with the year 2000, the incidence rate of epilepsy was higher in the elderly than in children for all of Finland. Significance: In view of the falling incidence of epilepsy in childhood and middle‐age in all of Finland from 1986 to 2008, the significant increase in the incidence of epilepsy in the elderly is of concern. The regional increase of epilepsy may offer clues for allocating resources and, possibly, population epileptogenesis between west and east Finland and for strategies to prevent epilepsy in the elderly.     

Accelerated long-term forgetting in temporal lobe but not idiopathic generalised epilepsy

Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) has been associated with the phenomenon of accelerated long-term forgetting (ALF), in which memories are retained normally over short delays but are then lost at an accelerated rate over days or weeks. The causes of ALF, and whether it represents a consolidation deficit distinct from the one associated with forgetting over short delays, remain unclear. In addition, methodological issues have made results of some previous studies difficult to interpret. This study used improved methodology to investigate the role of seizure activity in ALF. Forgetting was assessed in participants with TLE (who have involvement of temporal lobe structures) and idiopathic generalised epilepsy (IGE; in which seizures occur in the absence of identified structural pathology in the temporal lobes). Learning of novel stimuli was matched between patients with TLE, patients with IGE and healthy controls matched for age and IQ. Results indicated that the TLE group showed accelerated forgetting between 30-min and three-weeks, but not between 40-s and 30-min. In contrast, rates of forgetting did not differ between patients with IGE and controls. We conclude that (1) ALF can be demonstrated in TLE in the absence of methodological confounds; (2) ALF is unlikely to be related to the experience of epilepsy that does not involve the temporal lobes; (3) neither seizures during the three-week delay nor polytherapy was associated with ALF.