Completeness and timeliness of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis,measles-mumps-rubella,and polio vaccines in young children with chronic health conditions: A systematic review

Objective

To systematically review literature on uptake and timeliness of diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis, measles-mumps-rubella, and/or polio-containing vaccines in infants who were born preterm, with a low birth weight, and/or with chronic health conditions that were diagnosed within the first 6?months of life.

Spleen sizing by ultrasound in polycythaemia and thrombocythaemia: comparison with SPECT

Detection of non-palpable early splenic enlargement may aid diagnosis of primary polycythaemia (PP) and primary thrombocythaemia (PT). In this study linear spleen sizing by ultrasound has been compared with spleen volume estimation by single photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT) in 26 patients. Spleen length by ultrasound correlated well with SPECT volume estimation.
Ultrasound spleen length was also measured in 60 normal control subjects where the upper limit of the 95% reference range was 11.6 cm. Changes in spleen length with both age and body weight were substantial and overshadowed the imperfect reproducibility of this method. Therefore, interpretation of an individual's measured spleen length should be in relation to that predicted for adults of the same age and weight, particularly at the extremes of the younger, heavier patients and also the older, lighter patients.
Ultrasound spleen lengths of different patient groups (21 PP, 26 PT, 17 idiopathic erythrocytosis, 12 secondary polycythaemia, nine apparent polycythaemia) were compared both using the measured overall reference range and the differences from the values predicted for their age and weight. The comparison showed that almost all patients with PP whose spleens were not palpable had spleen lengths greater than the upper limit for the normal control group, but separation from the other patient groups was incomplete.
Detection of non-palpable splenomegaly by ultrasound length should remain a 'minor' criterion amongst the 'proposed modified diagnostic criteria' of PP.     

A multi-perspective survey of mental health consumer needs

Conclusions There is extensive evidence that perspectives on mental health consumer needs vary widely between consumers and other stakeholders-administrators, practitioners, and family members. Traditional methods of determining mental health consumer needs, based on professional input only, have inhibited program development. While progress has been achieved when shared goals have been identified, it has also been inhibited by a lack of known areas of consensus between stakeholder groups.Surveys provide a cost-effective step toward documenting shared views from stakeholders who have the greatest stake in influencing the size and direction of the mental health service system. Identifying shared views is necessary to coordinate stakeholder efforts. The most encouraging result of the surveys is that there are many areas of consensus and thus the potential exists for the stakeholders to coordinate their efforts toward shared goals to better meet important consumer needs by prioritizing services, improving practitioner training, and coordinating advocacy.     

Serotonergic interhemispheric asymmetry: Neurochemical and pharmaco-EEG evidence

1. Postmortem neurochemical investigations revealed interhemispheric asymmetry in the mediofrontal region of human brain. Significantly higher right hemisphere serotonin metabolite (5HIAA) content as well as increased maximal imipramine binding (IB) were found in the right hemisphere than in the left side.

2. IB did not show a gender difference in the mediofrontal area. However, women had higher IB in the right orbital frontal cortex than did men.

3. In vivo pharmaco-EEG results tend to support the postmortem neurochemical data. Intravenous chlorimipramine resulted in an asymmetric topographic distribution of the P300 auditory evoked potential, peak amplitudes were shifted to the right hemisphere.