Case Report: Transient Stress Hyperglycemia in the Patient With ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Transient stress hyperglycemia in the setting of acute myocardial infarction is a frequent phenomenon. Its transient nature should not dissuade the clinician from management of elevated blood glucose in a patient after an ST-elevation myocardial infarction. This case presents an adult patient after an ST-elevation myocardial infarction with transient stress hyperglycemia and the evidence used to identify optimal pharmacologic management and secondary prevention.     

‘I believe high blood pressure can kill me:’ using the PEN-3 Cultural Model to understand patients’ perceptions of an intervention to control hypertension in Ghana

Objectives: Currently in Ghana, there is an on-going task-shifting strategy in which nurses are trained in hypertension management. While this study will provide useful information on the viability of this approach, it is not clear how patients in the intervention perceive hypertension, the task-shifting strategy, and its effects on blood pressure management. The objective of this paper is to examine patients’ perceptions of hypertension and hypertension management in the context of an on-going task-shifting intervention to manage blood pressure control in Ghana.

Design: Forty-two patients participating in the Task Shifting Strategy for Hypertension program (23 males, 19 females, and mean age 61. 7 years) completed in-depth, qualitative interviews. Interviews were transcribed, and key words and phrases were extracted and coded using the PEN-3 Cultural Model as a guide through open and axial coding techniques, thus allowing rich exploration of the data.

Results: Emergent themes included patients’ perceptions of hypertension, which encompassed misperceptions of hypertension and blood pressure control. Additional themes included enablers and barriers to hypertension management, and how the intervention nurtured lifestyle change associated with blood pressure control. Primary enabling factors included the supportive nature of TASSH nurses, while notable barriers were financial constraints and difficulty accessing medication. Nurturing factors included the motivational interviewing and patient counseling which instilled confidence in the patients that they could make lasting behavior changes.

Conclusions: This study offers a unique perspective of blood pressure control by examining how patients view an on-going task-shifting initiative for hypertension management. The results of this study shed light on factors that can help and hinder individuals in low-resource settings with long-term blood pressure management.     

儿童肥胖症的相关影响因素与控制对策分析及其对糖尿病发病情况的影响

目的 分析儿童肥胖症的相关影响因素与控制对策分析及其对糖尿病发病情况的影响,为制定针对儿童肥胖症的防控措施提供理论依据。方法 将2012年5月-2018年1月期间于沈阳市第五人民医院儿科进行体检的836名儿童作为研究对象,统计本组研究对象中肥胖症发生率,并调查所有研究对象性别、年龄、学校性质、生活习惯等因素与肥胖症发生率的相关性。将出现肥胖症的患儿作为观察组,将正常儿童作为对照组,对比两组对象空腹血糖、餐后2 h血糖(2 hPBG),空腹血糖受损(IFG)、葡萄糖耐量异常(IGT)以及糖尿病发生率的差异。结果 836名儿童中,89名存在肥胖症,231名儿童体重超重,516名儿童BMI正常,肥胖症发生率为10.65%;多因素Logistic回归分析结果显示,男性(OR＝6.415,95%CI:2.714~12.684,P=0.027)、年龄>10岁(OR＝9.328,95%CI:2.413~10.152,P=0.003)、居住地在城市(OR＝6.413,95%CI:2.748~8.503,P=0.015)、早餐地点在家里(OR＝6.349,95%CI:2.692~8.419,P=0.009)、周末活动时间<1 h(OR＝14.928,95%CI:4.210~15.384,P<0.001)均是儿童肥胖症的危险因素;观察组FPG及2 hPBG表达水平均显著高于对照组(P<0.05);观察组IFG、IGT及糖尿病发生率均显著高于对照组(P<0.05)。结论 儿童肥胖症的发生与外界及自身多项因素有密切联系,还可能诱发糖尿病等并发症,临床中应针对诱导儿童肥胖症产生的具体因素制定相应控制对策,改善肥胖患儿生活质量,使其健康成长。     

Human metabolism: pathways and clinical aspects

Metabolism describes the series of chemical reactions that are concerned with the provision of energy to biological systems. They may be divided into reactions involved in energy yield (catabolism: demand exceeds supply), and energy storage (anabolism: supply exceeds demand). Regulation of these pathways is critical for homeostasis, and derangements in metabolism are seen in a wide variety of pathological processes. Understanding metabolism is key to the treatment of many diseases, notably diabetes, as well as underpinning clinical nutritional support.