Although hepatitis E virus (HEV) is the primary cause of enterically transmitted acute hepatitis and jaundice in developing countries, locally acquired HEV infections are increasing in nonendemic countries. As such, HEV is emerging as an underdiagnosed cause of infection. This report describes three clinically variable cases of HEV infection with unusual clinical presentations. These cases highlight the fact that HEV should be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients with unexplained hepatitis (acute or chronic) with or without extrahepatic manifestations. HEV should also be considered in patients with persistently elevated liver enzymes who have not travelled to known HEV-endemic regions. Lack of knowledge among physicians and an absence of standardized diagnostic tests may result in increased morbidity and mortality from HEV infection. 相似文献
The aim of this study was to assess alcoholic inpatients' smoking and coffee intake variation following withdrawal. Only moderate smokers (less than 30 cigarettes/day) showed a significant increase of cigarette consumption after alcohol withdrawal. However, their urinary cotinine level did not vary, suggesting a behavioral, and not biological, compensation through smoking following alcohol withdrawal. Heavy smokers (30 cigarettes/day or more) showed no significant clinical or biological variation of smoking behavior. Coffee consumption increased after alcohol withdrawal in all patients, irrespective of smoking habits. 相似文献
Optimal treatment of Smith's fracture remains controversial. Conservative management of type III fractures is acceptable, but results are moderate for types I and II.
This study includes 53 patients operated on during the past 10 years; six of type I, 17 of type II and 30 of type III.
The functional end result was good in 32 cases (60.3 per cent) and excellent in nine cases (16.9 per cent).
Functional results of types I, II and III were comparable when the excellent and good groups were added together.
There was no correlation between anatomical result and functional outcome (κ = 0.07), although a good anatomical result usually accompanied a good to excellent functional end result. Operative treatment of Smith's fractures have good functional end results in our hands, regardless of the fracture type. 相似文献
BACKGROUND: A simple, rapid, inexpensive method for measuring the flow in a
patient's vascular access would permit routine monitoring during
haemodialysis, and hence provide information of access graft deterioration
sufficiently early to increase the success of minimally invasive remedial
procedures. This paper reports the validation of such a method in animals.
METHODS: A PTFE graft was implanted in sheep between the carotid artery and
the jugular vein. While the sheep was under general anaesthesia and on an
haemodialysis circuit, ultrasound velocity in its blood was perturbed by
the injection of a 5-10 ml bolus of isotonic NaCl. The pump tubing flow was
measured by a transit-time blood flow meter. This flow was combined with
the areas of perturbation generated by the injection before and after
mixing in the access flow to estimate graft flow. The calculated graft flow
was compared to flow measured directly by a transit-time probe on the same
carotid artery. RESULTS: Over a 10-fold range, 120-1260 ml/min, graft flow
measured by ultrasound velocity dilution agreed well with graft flow
measured directly with a scatter of 76 ml/min about the regression line.
CONCLUSION: Ultrasound velocity dilution provides a method for measuring
flow in the graft accurate enough for clinical evaluation of patients on
dialysis.
相似文献
The incidence (%) of hyperbilirubinemia (serum bilirubin ≥257 μmol/l) was similar in neonates with a combination of ABO incompatibility and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) deficiency (45%), with ABO incompatibility (54%) or G-6-PD deficiency (37%), alone (ns). Carboxyhemoglobin values, corrected for inspired CO, were similarly elevated in all three groups (0.87 ± 0.32%, 0.82 ± 0.29%, 0.76 ± 0.18%, respectively, ns), but correlated with bilirubin only in those with ABO incompatibility alone. ABO-incompatible/G-6-PD-deficient neonates, compared with those with either condition alone, are not at increased risk for hemolysis or hyperbilirubinemia. 相似文献
The fixation of segmental, distal third and comminuted femoral and tibial fractures by means of an interlocking nail is widely accepted now. A simple self-built target device allows easy placement of the distal transverse screws. 相似文献
In a human in-vitro fertilization (IVF) programme, the effect of co-
culture of embryos with human fibroblasts was evaluated with respect to
pregnancy rate and embryo development. Patients were included in the study
after giving informed written consent. The IVF treatments were randomly
assigned by stratification of both age (<36 versus > or =36 years)
and previous IVF attempts (yes versus no). After fertilization was
established, the zygotes were transferred to a 4-well dish with or without
fibroblasts and cultured for 2 days. On the third day after ovum pick-up
(OPU), cell number and quality [5 (good) to 1 (poor)] of the embryos were
scored and a maximum of three embryos was transferred. Supernumerary
embryos of good quality were cryopreserved. The design of this study was a
group sequential trial with the objective of detecting differences between
pregnancy rates following IVF with conventional incubation or incubation in
co-culture with fibroblasts. This design included one evaluation at
half-way data collection. In the study, 148 patients had an OPU, of whom 77
were allocated to the co-culture group. There was no statistically
significant difference in pregnancy rate, cell number and embryo quality
between the two groups. The ongoing pregnancy rate per embryo transfer was
27% in co-culture and 30% in the conventional culture group. The
implantation rates per transferred embryo were 17 and 18% respectively.
Using a multivariate logistic regression model for the probability of
ongoing pregnancies, the odds ratio of co-culture, adjusted for age and
previous IVF attempts, was not statistically significant. In conclusion,
co-culture with human fibroblasts does not contribute to an improvement of
embryo quality nor to a higher pregnancy rate after IVF in an unselected
group of patients.
相似文献
The endothelins are signalling peptides that act via two receptors, ET(A)
and ET(B). In the human endometrium, endothelin receptors have been
demonstrated in glands and stroma and have been shown to vary during the
course of the menstrual cycle. The present study was undertaken to
determine whether or not expression of endothelin receptors changes during
pregnancy or after administration of exogenous progestagens. The expression
of the receptors was correlated with the appearance of basement membrane
components during decidualization of the endometrial stroma. Decidual
specimens (n = 15) were obtained during the first trimester of pregnancy
and 10 at term. Sixteen pairs of endometrial biopsies were obtained from
women with menorrhagia before and after exposure to exogenous progestagens.
A total of 15 hysterectomy specimens were used as controls for the
expression of stromal basement membrane proteins in the absence of
decidualization. Autoradiography was carried out with selective ligands for
ET(A) ([125I]-PD 151242) and ET(B) ([125I]-BQ3020). The distribution of
ligand binding was then compared with the distribution of laminin alpha2
light chain and collagen IV. ET(A), ET(B), laminin alpha2 light chain, and
collagen IV were expressed in stromal decidual cells in the first trimester
of pregnancy. ET(B) was also found on endometrial glandular epithelium.
Quantitative macro-autoradiography and multiple regression analysis
demonstrated a highly significant positive correlation (P < 0.001)
between expression of ET(B) and laminin alpha2 light chain. In the third
trimester qualitative examination suggested a reduction of ET(A) in the
stroma. Progestagen-induced decidua exhibited a similar pattern to that
found in first trimester decidua. This study has demonstrated up-regulation
of ET(B) during the progesterone- dependent process of decidualization and
suggests a paracrine or autocrine role for endothelins in the decidua.
相似文献
Human Fallopian tubal epithelial cells in culture lose morphological
features associated with the epithelium in situ and the extent to which
they retain their in-vivo phenotype or function is unknown. In order to
address this question, immunocytochemical markers were identified which
distinguish secretory (HMFG2+, LhS28-) from ciliated (HMFG2-, LhS28+)
epithelial cells in tissue sections of Fallopian tube. These markers were
used to analyse the phenotype of tubal cells in vitro. Primary cultures of
human tubal epithelial cells were seeded onto glass and grown to confluence
before addition of oestradiol-17beta. In the absence of hormone, tubal
epithelial cells expressed cytokeratins and nuclear receptors for oestrogen
and progesterone and adopted a homogeneous (HMFG2+, LhS28-) secretory cell
phenotype. Following the addition of oestradiol-17beta, a proportion of
cells became positive for LhS28. The induction of a ciliated epithelial
cell phenotype was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy, where on
permeable collagen membranes, approximately one-third of tubal epithelial
cells became ciliated in the presence of oestradiol-17beta. We suggest that
in vitro, tubal epithelial cells adopt an immature secretory-like phenotype
and that oestrogen can induce differentiation to a ciliated epithelial cell
phenotype.
相似文献