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Current Urology Reports -     

Evaluation of four elastomeric interocclusal recording materials

Background: The fabrication of dental prosthesis requires the transfer of interocclusal records from patient's mouth to semiadjustable articulators using different kinds of recording media. Any inaccuracy in these interocclusal records leads to occlusal errors in the final prosthesis. This study was conducted to evaluate the dimensional changes occurring in the interocclusal recording material over a given period of time and the material's resistance to compression during the cast mounting on the articulator.     

Reliability of Bayesian probability analysis for predicting coronary artery disease in a veterans hospital

To assess the accuracy of Bayesian probability analysis for the prediction of coronary artery disease, post-test probabilities were generated by the application of three Bayesian algorithms to the clinical and noninvasive test results of 199 patients undergoing angiography in a veterans' hospital. All assumed conditional independence but each used different pre-test and conditional probabilities. Two statistical approaches were employed: (1) Sorting of patients in ascending deciles of probability and comparing expected and observed probabilities in each decile. (2) Calculation of normally distributed reliability statistics which do not depend on probability subsets and the comparison of resulting probability distributions using these statistics. Both statistical approaches revealed that the Bayesian algorithms overestimated disease probability when it was high and underestimated it when low. Though all three algorithms were frequently incorrect, they differed significantly in their accuracies, suggesting that errors in Bayesian analysis are caused by factors other than the assumption of independence. The errors may be due to differences in sensitivity and specificity of tests applied in different institutions.     

Hepatic falciform artery

The hepatic falciform artery is an occasional terminal branch of the left or middle hepatic artery, and may provide an uncommon but important collateral route when the principal visceral arteries are occluded.     

Pregnancy in sickle cell disease in Bahrain.

OBJECTIVE: To review the maternal and fetal complications in pregnant women with sickle cell disease and to compare their pregnancy outcome with those of controls. DESIGN: A case-control study. SETTING: Ministry of Health hospitals in Bahrain. SUBJECTS: 147 pregnancies in 140 women with sickle cell disease and 294 controls matched for age and parity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The characteristics of women who had crises, the frequency of the crises, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, infection, diabetes, perinatal mortality and the delivery statistics in the index and control women. RESULTS: Maternal mortality was 1.4% and perinatal mortality was 73.3/1000 total births in women with sickle cell disease, there were no maternal deaths and the perinatal mortality was 6.8/1000 births in the control group. Anaemia was treated by blood transfusion in 47% of women with sickle cell disease and, of these, 39% had a crisis that appeared to have been precipitated by the transfusion in the absence of any other predisposing factors. The presence of raised HbF did not decrease the number of crises but reduced their severity. CONCLUSION: Pregnancy in women with sickle cell disease should be monitored very closely as it constitutes a high risk to both the mother and the baby.