Cuboid nutcracker fracture in children: Management and results

Introduction

Compression fractures of the cuboid bone in children and adolescents are rare. Fracture morphology, associated lesions, treatment options and long-term outcomes of this very rare injury are published in a few case reports. This study with review of the literature aims to support the understanding of fracture pattern and optimize pathways of decision making.

Measuring hope amongst Tanzanian women who participate in microfinance: An evaluation of the Snyder hope scale

ABSTRACT

Measuring hope reliably and accurately remains an important research objective, not least in less prosperous settings where ‘holding on to hope’ may be critically important in the struggle against adverse life conditions. The State Hope Scale was designed for use in the US. Despite reported application in diverse cultures and using translations the scale has not been extensively validated outside US populations. This study contributes to a larger project exploring the measurement of hope and provides a critique of Snyder’s scale as used in a Tanzanian female population of 1021 urban microfinance participants. We evaluate the scale’s validity through assessment of the empirical distribution of scores, item response profiles, internal consistency and discriminatory ability. Participants mostly scored very high and many reached very near the maximum attainable score. Hardly any endorsed the negative half of the response scale. Several problems are discussed including poor discrimination and strong evidence of acquiescence response bias. We also found little association of the scale scores with hypothesised correlates of hope. Future improvements on the measurement of hope are recommended, especially in studies outside the narrow Western context in which the scale was devised.     

The effect of increasing the dietary fibre content of diets of patients with chronic renal failure treated by haemodialysis at home

The study described tested the hypothesis that increasing amounts of dietary fibre (DF) in the diet of patients on haemodialysis (HD) may achieve positive clinical benefit without adversely affecting serum potassium and plasma phosphate. The current diet of 20 home HD patients was supplemented with 15g unprocessed wheat bran incorporated into three 'bran muffins' eaten daily for a trial period of 28 days. During this period patients reported an improvement in bowel habit. Serum potassium decreased slightly but not significantly ( P =0.242) but there was a significant rise in plasma phosphate ( P =0.004). These findings suggest that when increasing DF in devising HD dietary regimes, plasma phosphate is possibly the more sensitive biochemical variable following introduction of wheat bran.     

颈动脉内膜切除术的恰当应用

在颈动脉内膜切除术(CEA)首创的头30年里,一直没有明确的标准来确定哪些颈内动脉疾病患者适合这一手术.最近,从7项临床随机试验中得出了哪些有症状与无症状患者适合行CEA的结论.对于颈内动脉狭窄70%以上的患者,卒中的危险性最大,手术的益处也最大.在这些研究中,CEA对以下患者最有益半球短暂性脑缺血发作、颅内外联合病灶和无侧支循环且除此之外身体状况良好的老年患者.下列患者虽然能从手术中获益,但围手术期卒中和死亡的危险性较高广泛白质疏松、对侧颈内动脉闭塞和腔内有血栓者.狭窄50%～69%的患者较少获益,包括女性和仅有一过性单眼盲在内的一些患者行CEA甚至可能有害.腔隙性卒中和一侧颈内动脉接近闭塞的患者有手术指征,但益处不大;狭窄＜50%的患者不能从手术中获益.在最大的一项无症状患者随机试验中,围手术期卒中和死亡的危险性非常小(1.5%),但要在2年内防止1例卒中发生需要相当多的病例(83例)接受CEA治疗.以后的文献报道围手术期危险性较高(2.8%～5.6%).近一半无症状患者的卒中是心源性栓塞和小血管疾病所致.这些局限性抵消了任何潜在的益处.其他试验正在进行,并可能确认哪些无症状患者亚组可从手术中获益.同时,大多数无症状患者内科治疗效果也较好.     

Evidence for frequent divergence impairment in French dyslexic children: deficit of convergence relaxation or of divergence per se?

Aim There is a controversy as to whether dyslexic children present visuo-motor disabilities such as vergence and accommodative problems assessed with orthoptic tests. The purpose of this study is to re-examine this issue in a large population of children. Methods Extensive orthoptic evaluation was made in 57 dyslexic and 46 non-dyslexic (“normal”) age-matched children. Convergence and divergence capacities were evaluated at two distances (30 cm and 400 cm). Results Binocular vision measured with stereo-acuity tests was normal in dyslexics. In contrast, the near point of convergence was significantly more remote in dyslexics; most importantly, divergence at both far and near distance was significantly more reduced in dyslexics (median value 4 pD and 10 pD, respectively, at far and near) than in “normals” (median value 6 pD and 12 pD, at far and near). Conclusion The existence of the divergence deficit at far distance indicates the presence of deficit of divergence per se, independently from convergence and accommodation relaxation. This result is novel and corroborated by physiological studies indicating distinct control of convergence and divergence, both at the cortical and subcortical premotor level. We conclude that vergence deficits are frequently present in dyslexics, and that dyslexics should be re-educated; training should address distinctively convergence and divergence subsystems.     

Drug-resistance in Streptococcus pneumoniae isolates among Spanish middle aged and older adults with community-acquired pneumonia

Background  

Pneumococcal diseases remain a major cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Updated data on drug-resistance from different populations may be important to recognize changes in disease patterns. This study assessed current levels of penicilin resistance among Streptococcus Pneumoniae causing pneumonia in Spanish middle age and older adults.     

Million Behavioral Health Inventory: its utility in predicting physical function in patients with low back pain

The present study evaluated the use of psychologic measures, in particular, the relatively new Million Behavioral Health Inventory (MBHI), in predicting change in physical function of chronic low back pain patients undergoing a functional restoration program. The first 134 consecutive patients completing this program were assessed. Results demonstrated that various clinical scales of the MBHI were predictive of improvement in physical function. In addition, various scales enabled discrimination between patients who completed the program and those who prematurely dropped out. Although this inventory shows promise in helping to predict response to treatment, no single psychologic test can reliably be used as the sole predictor in clinical cases.