Botulinum toxin blocks mast cells and prevents rosacea like inflammation

Background

Rosacea is a chronic inflammatory skin condition whose etiology has been linked to mast cells and the antimicrobial peptide cathelicidin LL-37. Individuals with refractory disease have demonstrated clinical benefit with periodic injections of onabotulinum toxin, but the mechanism of action is unknown.

Family Caregivers' Subjective Caregiving Burden,Quality of Life,and Depressive Symptoms Are Associated With Terminally Ill Cancer Patients' Distinct Patterns of Conjoint Symptom Distress and Functional Impairment in Their Last Six Months of Life

Context

Family caregivers constitute a critical component of the end-of-life care system with considerable cost to themselves. However, the joint association of terminally ill cancer patients' symptom distress and functional impairment with caregivers' subjective caregiving burden, quality of life (QOL), and depressive symptoms remains unknown.

不同规格怀牛膝不同极性部位HPLC指纹图谱

目的研究并比较不同规格怀牛膝不同极性部位的HPLC指纹图谱,探索其内部质量差异,为该药材的规格标准完善及临床用药提供参考。方法将怀牛膝用体积分数75%乙醇水浴回流提取,得体积分数75%乙醇回流提取物,用40 mL水溶解后,依次用石油醚、三氯甲烷、乙酸乙酯、正丁醇进行萃取,得到各萃取相及萃取后的水相,浓缩至浸膏,采集各部位HPLC指纹图谱;运用相似度、综合聚类法进行数据分析,同时对其不同部位的指纹图谱进行比对分析。结果石油醚、氯仿部位均标定了11个共有峰,乙酸乙酯部位标定了10个共有峰,正丁醇部位标定了19个共有峰,水部位标定8个共有峰;氯仿部位指纹图谱相似度差异较大,其他部位指纹图谱相似度差异较小,均在0.9以上;石油醚部位指纹图谱差异主要体现在峰高,乙酸乙酯部位、氯仿部位、水部位的化学成分种类及峰高均存在差异;综合聚类分析能将不同规格怀牛膝区分开。结论不同规格怀牛膝内部质量存在差异;实验中所建立的HPLC指纹图谱可以全面反映不同规格怀牛膝的化学成分分布,为不同规格怀牛膝的整体质量评价提供参考。     

Efficacy and safety of herbal medicines for idiopathic Parkinson's disease: a systematic review.

The objective of this study is to assess the efficacy and safety of herbal medicines (HMs), as a monotherapy or adjunct therapy, compared to placebo or conventional approaches in the treatment of idiopathic Parkinson's disease (PD). We conducted a systematic review of randomized controlled trials from both conventional and alternative medicine sources. Outcome measures were overall improvement, quality of life, reduction of levodopa dose, and adverse events. Nine studies were included, each testing a different HM. Six of the trials had limited internal validity due to major flaws in design, including the lack of proper randomization; insufficient blinding; unclear inclusive criteria in terms of diagnostic criteria, baseline staging, and duration of disease; lack of proper sample size calculation; and insufficient data analysis. Imbalances in gender and ethnicity among the patients in the included trials were observed. No major adverse events emerged, and no specific pattern was detected from the trials describing such data. In addition to major methodological defects, heterogeneity in (1) HM tested, (2) control treatment, and (3) outcome measure hindered in-depth data analysis and synthesis. Current evidence is insufficient to evaluate the efficacy and safety of various HMs. Further studies with improved trial design and reporting, with assessment on cost-effectiveness, quality of life, and qualitative data are warranted.     

Comparison of the Emergency Severity Index (ESI) and the Taiwan Triage System in predicting resource utilization.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: The importance of accurate triage in Taiwan is becoming more apparent with the increasing number of emergency department (ED) patients, and resources for the National Health Insurance becoming constrained. This study compared the ability of the Taiwan triage system (TTS) and the standardized 5-level Emergency Severity Index (ESI) triage system to predict ED resource utilization. METHODS: Patients arriving at the ED were triaged by both TTS and by using a two-page checklist of ESI criteria during the 3-month study period. The ESI triage level was calculated independently to avoid bias. Disease category (trauma vs. nontrauma), length of stay (LOS) and hospitalization data were evaluated. RESULTS: A total of 3172 patients with both ESI and TWN evaluation were included. The distributions of ESI ratings within TTS level 1 were: ESI 1, 21.1%; ESI 2, 68.1%; ESI 3, 7.4%; ESI 4, 3.4%; ESI 5, 0%. For TTS level 3, they were: ESI 1, 0.1%; ESI 2, 26.2%; ESI 3, 39.5%; ESI 4, 27.5%; ESI 5, 6.8%. Hospitalization rates were 74.5%, 40.9% and 22.2% in TTS levels 1, 2 and 3, respectively; and were 96.2%, 47.0%, 30.9%, 6.7%and 6.6% in ESI levels 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, respectively. TTS triaged more trauma patients as life-threatening/emergent condition than nontrauma patients (68.8% vs. 48.4%, p < 0.001). Triage by ESI, however, showed no significant difference in the percentage of trauma and nontrauma patients with highly acute conditions (44.2% vs. 46.6%, p = 0.230). Patients with ESI level 4 or 5 have significantly shorter ED LOS than those with ESI level 3. CONCLUSION: ESI produces more accurate discriminating patient acuity, ED LOS and hospitalization rate than TTS. Adopting a standardized 5-level triage tool might improve resource utilization planning of ED practice.     

我国医院医学装备的建设和管理第十二讲医学装备管理的有关事项(第五部分)

医院设备的使用管理，是指设备从到货起，经过验收入库、出库发放．财产账目、技术档案、使用率调查等一系列程序，直至设备报废为止这一全过程的管理。购置设备物质运动的全过程中．使用所占的时间最长．所以使用管理是一重要的环节。这个环节的任务，可以概括为两个方面：一是保证设备的安全，包括数量上的准确性和质量上的完好性，以便完整地保持其使用价值；二是提高设备的使用率，充分发挥设备的医疗效果，追求更多的社会效益和经济效益。医院设备的使用管理，主要包括以下内容。     

腮腺舍格伦综合征与非霍奇金淋巴瘤相关性分析

目的:了解腮腺非霍奇金淋巴瘤与舍格伦综合征的临床及发病机制的相关性，正确诊断和治疗舍格伦综合征，尽早明确有无恶性变。方法：对142例口腔颌面部的非霍奇金淋巴瘤中21例发生在腮腺的非霍奇金淋巴瘤，及3例从合格伦综合征演变成淋巴瘤的病例进行分析。结果：21例腮腺区非霍奇金淋巴瘤的局部表现主要为肿块、反复肿胀，与类肿瘤型舍格伦综合征的一般特征和腮腺表现有相关性，其中3例腮腺淋巴瘤患者有明确的舍格伦综合征病史。结论：舍格伦综合征与腮腺非霍奇金淋巴瘤的发生发展，以及临床表现有相关性，部分类肿瘤型舍格伦综合征可演变为淋巴瘤，临床表现和免疫学改变可早期判断舍格伦综合征有无恶性变。     

1例系统性红斑狼疮患者视网膜中央动脉阻塞及脑出血的护理

对1例系统性红斑狼疮并发视网膜中央动脉阻塞及脑出血患者，给予糖皮质激素、免疫抑制剂、高压氧、改善微循环及对症支持治疗．同时予以密切观察病情、药物护理、高压氧治疗护理及健康教育等措施，结果患者恢复良好出院。提出该病虽然少见且后果严重，但及时采取综合性治疗护理措施，可以提高治疗效果。     

Intussusception in Taiwanese children: analysis of incidence, length of hospitalization and hospital costs in different age groups.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This study investigated the characteristics of intussusception in Taiwanese children of different age groups, including the incidence, length of hospitalization and hospital costs. METHODS: Children with a diagnosis of intussusception who were hospitalized from 1999 through 2001 were identified from a nationwide health insurance claims database. The incidence of intussusception was calculated by age, gender, and season. Length of hospitalization and hospital costs were also analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 6988 cases of intussusception were identified in Taiwan from 1999 to 2001. Among them, 4859 cases occurred in children below 15 years of age. The average incidence among children below age 15 years was 34.5 per 100,000, with a peak incidence of 118.8 per 100,000 observed among children younger than 24 months old. The highest incidence of intussusception in Taiwanese children occurred between 12 and 24 months of age. According to the data for patients below 15 years of age hospitalized for intussusception in year 2000, males were more likely to be affected than females (61.3% vs 38.7%). Intussusception-related hospitalizations were rare in infants in the first few months of life, increased in those 6 to 12 months old, and peaked among children 1 to 3 years old. Among the 952 patients with intussusception admitted to hospitals in 2000, 297 (31.2%) received surgery, incurring higher median medical costs (New Taiwan Dollars [NT dollars] 42,265 or US dollars 1234) and longer median hospital stay (6.2 days) than the 655 patients who did not require surgery (NT dollars 6290 or US dollars 185 for hospitalization of 2.4 days). CONCLUSIONS: The study found that the incidence of intussusception peaked in the second year of life in Taiwanese children. There was also a male predominance and lack of seasonal variation in incidence.