Intravenous cidofovir treatment for recalcitrant warts in the setting of a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome

Cidofovir is an acyclic nucleoside phosphonate with broad-spectrum activity against DNA viruses, including human papilloma virus (HPV). However, data on the efficacy of cidofovir in an immunosuppressive setting remain contradictory. We report for the first time on the promotion of the healing of recalcitrant warts in a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome with intravenous cidofovir treatment.     

COSTING ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION IN NEW SOUTH WALES,AUSTRALIA, BASED ON INCIDENCE RATHER THAN PREVALENCE METHODS

Estimating the economic costs of a disease is an important prerequisite to determining the costs and benefits of various preventive programs. For preventive programs, incidence-based costing is a more appropriate means of estimation than is prevalence-based costing. In this study the cost of acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in New South Wales has been estimated using an incidence-based approach. The calculated cost of AMI in 1979 was $301.0 million, made up of $32.3 million as direct costs and $268.7 million as indirect costs. In a sensitivity analysis, the cost was shown to be most sensitive to the incidence of AMI, the discount rate, and the assumption of a wage for housework. Both the direct costs and indirect costs per case are substantially higher in the United States than in Australia, and this reflects higher physician charges, higher hospital costs, and in the case of indirect costs, higher average weekly earnings.     

Digital radiography of subtle pulmonary abnormalities: an ROC study of the effect of pixel size on observer performance

Forty conventional radiographs with examples of mild interstitial infiltrates and subtle pneumothoraces and 40 normal studies of the chest were selected and digitized, with pixel sizes of 1.0, 0.5, 0.2, and 0.1 mm. Observer performance tests were carried out using receiver operating characteristic analysis. Conventional radiographs and digitized images were compared. The results indicate that, in such cases, diagnostic accuracy increases significantly as the pixel size is reduced, at least to the 0.1-mm level. We conclude that, for digital systems using screen-film or similar image receptors, use of a pixel size substantially larger than 0.1 mm may result in some loss of diagnostic accuracy.     

Behaviour problems in adult women with Rett syndrome

Background Despite considerable interest in the genetic, physical and neurological aspects of Rett syndrome (RS), there have been few studies of associated behavioural and emotional features. Furthermore, few case studiesor surveys have included adult women with RS. The main aim of the present study was to compare behaviour problems in a sample of women with RS against data from normative samples. Methods The primary carers of 50 women with RS completed the community version of the Aberrant Behavior Checklist. Results Women with RS were rated as having lower levels of irritability, hyperactivity and inappropriate speech behaviours than normative samples of adults with intellectual disability. Conclusions A number of factors may affect the presentation of behaviour problems in women with RS (e.g. cognitive impairments or physical disabilities). Therefore, more research is needed in order to generate information about the behavioural phenotype of RS. The implications of the present data for future research are also discussed.