Differential Diagnosis of Acute Diarrhea

Acute diarrhea is a condition of increased water stool content, stool volume, and number of bowel movements that lasts less than 14 days. Mild diarrhea is usually self-limiting; however, undertreated moderate to severe diarrhea may cause severe dehydration and lead to hypovolemic shock. In order to prevent severe dehydration and treat patients appropriately, it is crucial for health care providers to determine the right diagnosis of patients with acute diarrhea. This article focuses on pathophysiology, general patient presentation, diagnostic tests and differential diagnosis lists of acute diarrhea to discuss which diagnosis should be made based on patient presentation and objective data.     

Biodegradable Polydioxanone Microspheres for Transcatheter Arterial Embolization: Proof of Principle

PurposeTo evaluate feasibility, embolization success, biodegradability, reperfusion, and biocompatibility of biodegradable microspheres (MS) made from polydioxanone (PDO) for transcatheter arterial embolization.Materials and MethodsUnilateral selective renal embolization of a segmental artery was performed in 16 New Zealand White rabbits with PDO-MS (100–150 μm and 90–315 μm). Animals were randomly assigned to different observation periods and underwent control digital subtraction angiography (DSA) and MR imaging immediately (n = 3), 1 week (n = 2), 4 weeks (n = 2), 8 weeks (n = 2), 12 weeks (n = 5), and 16 weeks (n = 2) after embolization. Kidneys were harvested for macroscopic and histologic analysis of embolization success, biodegradability, and biocompatibility.ResultsEmbolization was technically successful in 15 of 16 animals. One animal died of anesthesia-related circulatory failure. The 100–150 μm MS were injected easily through 3-F catheters; the 90–315 μm MS tended to clog with intermittent catheter obstruction. DSA and MR imaging showed successful target embolization in 13 of 15 animals. In 2 animals, the entire kidney was affected owing to catheter clogging, including a reflux of MS while flushing. Control DSA and MR imaging showed increasing vascular reperfusion with time. Macroscopic and histologic analysis revealed necrosis/infarction in areas in which embolization was achieved. MS were extensively degraded after 16 weeks, and overall inflammatory reaction was mild.ConclusionsBiodegradable PDO-MS induced effective embolization of target vessels while demonstrating good biocompatibility. MS increasingly dissolved at 16 weeks, partial reperfusion started at week 1, and complete reperfusion started at week 8, thus offering possible advantages as a temporary embolic agent.     

骨盆骨折大出血救治技术与流程

由于骨盆的特殊结构,其内侧的血管网损伤导致不可压迫性出血。即使创伤中心和救治体系的建设,以及损害控制技术等发展,病死率仍然高达30%~60%。损害控制性复苏、骨盆带、外固定支架、复苏性腹主动脉内球囊阻断(REBOA)、动脉栓塞和腹膜外填塞等技术不断发展,部分已经得到普及,但迄今仍没有公认的确定性止血流程。我国正在普遍建设创伤中心,亟待制订适合我国的骨盆骨折大出血患者的救治流程,以提高救治成功率。本文阐述控制骨盆骨折大出血的外科技术和流程进展供同道参考。     

南宁市江南区2019年登革热流行病学特征和疫情应急处置分析

目的 分析总结南宁市江南区2019年登革热流行病学特征和疫情应急处置的工作情况,为今后有效地防制登革热提供对策、参考和技术支持。方法 收集南宁市江南区2019年登革热疫情相关数据,评价本次应急处置的工作成效。结果 2019年南宁市江南区登革热疫情严峻,共报告登革热病例370例,其中输入病例4例,本地病例366例;感染人数以家务待业和离退休者居多;男女性别比为1∶1.12;发病年龄最小1岁,最大92岁;发病的空间分布呈现高度聚集,福建园街道占本城区本地病例的87.70%。早期伊蚊应急监测布雷图指数和账诱指数合格率偏低,分别为72.17%和62.61%。针对本次疫情特性,制定有针对性的防控策略,做好精准疫情应急处置,有效压低峰值,迅速控制了疫情的扩散和蔓延。结论 本次疫情是由输入性病例导致本地病例社区水平暴发,疫情呈现多点暴发及扩散蔓延态势。需做好疫情研判、预警预测,准确分析流行病学特征,尽早实施登革热应急处置,精准防控、孳生地处理、健康宣教和病例管理是应急处置的关键措施。     

支气管哮喘患儿中性粒细胞胞外诱捕网水平与患者免疫功能及临床预后的关系

目的探讨支气管哮喘患儿中性粒细胞胞外诱捕网水平与患者免疫功能及临床预后的关系。方法选取本院2017年9月-2018年9月支气管哮喘患者80例作为观察组,并以同期健康体检的30例儿童作为对照组,采用pico Green dsDNA荧光染色定量检测支气管哮喘患者NETs水平,采用T淋巴细胞亚群评价患者免疫功能,对比不同NETs水平患者免疫功能及临床特点,采用Logistic回归分析探讨小儿支气管哮喘急性发作的风险因素。结果观察组白细胞、中性粒细胞、单核细胞、Cf-DNA/NETs水平均高于对照组(P <0. 05),而淋巴细胞水平低于对照组,差异均有统计学意义(P <0. 05)。Logistic回归分析显示,哮喘家族史、呼吸道感染、Cf-DNA/NETs水平上升、有害气体接触、被动吸烟均是支气管哮喘急性发作的独立危险因素(P <0. 05)。结论中性粒细胞胞外诱捕网水平与支气管哮喘患者免疫功能及预后密切相关,值得临床重点关注。     

Multivariate modelling of responses to conditional items: New possibilities for latent class analysis

Questionnaire data may contain missing values because certain questions do not apply to all respondents. For instance, questions addressing particular attributes of a symptom, such as frequency, triggers or seasonality, are only applicable to those who have experienced the symptom, while for those who have not, responses to these items will be missing. This missing information does not fall into the category ‘missing by design’, rather the features of interest do not exist and cannot be measured regardless of survey design. Analysis of responses to such conditional items is therefore typically restricted to the subpopulation in which they apply. This article is concerned with joint multivariate modelling of responses to both unconditional and conditional items without restricting the analysis to this subpopulation. Such an approach is of interest when the distributions of both types of responses are thought to be determined by common parameters affecting the whole population. By integrating the conditional item structure into the model, inference can be based both on unconditional data from the entire population and on conditional data from subjects for whom they exist. This approach opens new possibilities for multivariate analysis of such data. We apply this approach to latent class modelling and provide an example using data on respiratory symptoms (wheeze and cough) in children. Conditional data structures such as that considered here are common in medical research settings and, although our focus is on latent class models, the approach can be applied to other multivariate models. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.