Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde allergy: relationship between patch test and repeated open application test thresholds

Background  Hydroxyisohexyl 3-cyclohexene carboxaldehyde (HICC) is a synthetic fragrance ingredient. Case reports of allergy to HICC appeared in the 1980s, and HICC has recently been included in the European baseline series. Human elicitation dose–response studies performed with different allergens have shown a significant relationship between the patch-test threshold and the repeated open application test (ROAT) threshold, which mimics some real-life exposure situations. Fragrance ingredients are special as significant amounts of allergen may evaporate from the skin.
Objectives  The study aimed to investigate the relationship between elicitation threshold doses at the patch test and the ROAT, using HICC as the allergen. The expected evaporation rate was calculated.
Materials and methods  Seventeen HICC-allergic persons were tested with a dilution series of HICC in a patch test and a ROAT (duration up to 21 days). Seventeen persons with no HICC allergy were included as control group for the ROAT.
Results  The response frequency to the ROAT (in μg HICC cm⁻² per application) was significantly higher than the response frequency to the patch test at one of the tested doses. Furthermore the response rate to the accumulated ROAT dose was significantly lower at half of the doses compared with the patch test. The evaporation rate of HICC was calculated to be 72% over a 24-h period.
Conclusions  The ROAT threshold in dose per area per application is lower than the patch test threshold; furthermore the accumulated ROAT threshold is higher than the patch test threshold, which can probably be explained by the evaporation of HICC from the skin in the open test.     

Relevance of 10-min delayed recall in dementia screening

Within the context of early diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease (AD), there is a growing interest in neuropsychological screening tests. Amongst these tests, we focused on the largely used Memory Impairment Screen (MIS). The objective of the present work was to show that adding a 10-min delayed recall to the MIS, improves the test psychometric characteristics in order to detect dementia in the earliest stages. A prospective study was carried out on a cohort of 270 consecutive elderly ambulatory subjects attending the Broca Hospital Memory Clinic: normal controls ( n  = 67), mild cognitive impairment subjects ( n  = 98) and mildly demented patients [ n  = 105, Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) = 23 ± 4]. This study consisted in testing the advantage of the 10-min delayed recall entitled MIS-D compared with the MIS. At a cut-off score of 6, the MIS-D revealed satisfying psychometric characteristics with a sensitivity of 81% and a specificity of 91%, whilst the MIS alone indicated a sensitivity of 60% and a specificity of 88% in detecting dementia. In demented patients with MMSE score ≥26, MIS-D properties still remained satisfying (sensitivity: 75%, specificity: 92%). MIS-D is a more relevant screening test than MIS alone at very early stages of dementia.     

慢性肝病合并细菌感染临床特点分析

目的 :分析慢性肝病合并细菌感染的特点。方法 :对 1997～ 2 0 0 2年住院的慢性重度、重症肝类及肝硬化合并细菌感染患者 52例进行回顾性分析。结果 :其中医院内感染占 2 9 8%。感染的部位 :腹腔感染 40 4% ,血液感染17 3 % ,呼吸道感染 18 1% ,肠道感染 9 6% ,胆道感染 7 7% ,口腔感染占 6 3 % ,其他感染占 3 3 % ,重型肝炎的感染率最高 ,其次为肝硬化和慢性重度肝炎。结论 :肝病患者免疫力低下 ,易于合并细菌感染 ,感染使病情加重 ,影响肝病的愈后 ;提高患者免疫力 ,增强控制医院感染的措施 ,重视潜伏感染状态病灶的处理 ,早期诊治感染可提高肝病患者的生存率     

一种滑移式微动振幅测量装置的设计

根据微动滑移振幅具有小位移的特点，设计制作了一种弓形传感装置，该装置能把小幅位移信号转换为电信号，并通过示波器实时显示出来，用这种测试装置来测量滑移式微动振幅具有测试方法简单而测试精度较高的优点。     

平板运动试验阴性患者最大ST/HR斜率对冠心病的诊断价值

目的探讨平板运动试验阴性患者最大ST/HR斜率对冠心病的诊断价值.方法选择122例平板运动试验阴性而临床有明显冠心病指征的患者进行冠状动脉造影,测定其最大ST/HR斜率.结果平板运动试验阴性患者最大ST/HR斜率诊断冠心病的敏感性为68.2%,特异性为80.8%,准确性为76.2%;运动峰值心率＜预计最大心率之85%组最大ST/HR斜率诊断冠心病的敏感性为92.8%,特异性为86.7%,准确性为89.7%,高于运动峰值心率≥预计最大心率之85%组.结论平板运动试验阴性患者最大ST/HR斜率对冠心病的临床诊断有较高的敏感性、特异性和准确性,尤其是对低运动水平的患者,对减少运动试验诊断的漏诊率具有重要意义.     

尿干化学法检测阴性不可偏废沉渣镜检

通过对 5 0 0例经尿 11项试纸检查阴性的标本 ,沉渣镜检发现尚有 6 7例阳性 ,阳性率为 13.4 %。提示尿沉渣镜检 ,不失为泌尿系统疾病检查的必要手段不应忽视及偏废     

预适应锻炼对急进高原新兵脑功能的保护作用

目的探讨预适应锻炼对新兵急进高原后脑功能的改善作用。方法120名新兵随机分为4组:对照组、面罩组、运动组和面罩复合运动组。在进入高原前,面罩复合运动组佩带低氧呼吸器小步快走10 min,休息5 min后重复进行,上、下午各进行4次,连续进行7 d;面罩组、运动组分别只佩带低氧呼吸器或单纯运动。在空运进入高原后,比较进高原前、后的神经行为核心测试组合系统指标的改变,并对急性高原反应症状进行分析。结果使用低氧呼吸器复合小步快走5 min时动脉血氧饱和度可降到(80.5±5.7)%,达到预缺氧的目的。新兵进入3 658 m高原后,对照组、面罩组和运动组的数字跨度、目标追踪测试分值明显下降(P<0.05),而面罩复合运动组无明显改变(P>0.05);各组进藏前、后的简单反应时、数字译码和视觉保留均无显著性改变(P>0.05),手敏捷度则显著提高(P<0.05)。对照组、面罩组、运动组和面罩复合运动组的急性高原反应发病率分别为13.3%、20.0%、20.0%、3.3%。结论进入高原前,应用低氧呼吸器辅以适当运动,能改善急进高原人群的即时听觉记忆能力和手部运动的速度及准确性,避免部分脑功能的损害,并使急性高原反应发病率呈降低趋势。     

A simulation study of three sequential methods for the comparison of two treatment groups when the response criterion is censored

Three recent sequential methods, group sequential analysis (GSA), the sequential probability ratio test (SPRT) and the triangular test (TT) are well suited to randomized clinical trials with a censored response criterion, as they do not require matched pairs of patients. We undertook a simulation study to investigate their statistical properties and to compare these three methods with the fixed-sample design. Our results suggest that the three methods have the expected statistical properties for size and power; they allow an important reduction of the average number of events before stopping, except with GSA when there is no treatment difference; the triangular test (closed design) appears the optimal design, as the variance of the number of events is smaller than with the sequential probability ratio test (open design) and analysis after every twenty new events does not alter the statistical properties of these sequential methods and enhances their usefulness.     

Contact urticaria from protein hydrolysates in hair conditioners

Protein hydrolysates (PHs) are added to hair-care products (to "repair" broken hair), soaps, bath gels, creams, etc. From one to 22 PHs used in hair-care products (collagen, keratin, elastin, milk, wheat, almond, and silk) were tested in three patient groups: A) 11 hairdressers with hand dermatitis B) 2160 consecutive adults with suspected allergic respiratory disease subjected to routine skin prick tests C) 28 adults with atopic dermatitis.
In group A, all the 22 PHs were tested with scratch and patch tests. In groups B and C, one to three PHs were tested with prick tests. Positive scratch/prick test reactions were seen in 12 patients from three PHs altogether. All were women with atopic dermatitis, and all reacted to at least hydroxypropyl trimonium hydroly:ed collagen (Crotein Q"). In three patients, prick and open tests with a hair conditioner containing Crotein Q were performed with positive results. One patient reported contact urticaria on her hands, and two reported acute urticaria on their head, face, and upper body from a hair conditioner containing Crotein Q. In seven of the eight studied sera, specific IgE to Crotein Q was detected. In conclusion, PHs of hair cosmetics can cause contact urticaria, especially in patients with atopic dermatitis.