Shedding light on a potential hazard: Dental light-curing units

BackgroundDental light-curing units (LCUs) are powerful sources of blue light that can cause soft-tissue burns and ocular damage. Although most ophthalmic research on the hazards of blue light pertains to low levels from personal electronic devices, computer monitors, and light-emitting diode light sources, the amount of blue light emitted from dental LCUs is much greater and may pose a “blue light hazard.”MethodsThe authors explain the potential risks of using dental LCUs, identify the agencies that provide guidelines designed to protect all workers from excessive exposure to blue light, discuss the selection of appropriate eye protection, and provide clinical tips to ensure eye safety when using LCUs.ResultsWhile current literature and regulatory standards regarding the safety of blue light is primarily based on animal studies, sufficient evidence exists to suggest that appropriate precautions should be taken when using dental curing lights. The authors found it difficult to find on the U.S. Food and Drug Administration database which curing lights had been cleared for use in the United States or Europe and could find no database that listed which brands of eyewear designed to protect against the blue light has been cleared for use. The authors conclude that more research is needed on the cumulative exposure to blue light in humans. Manufacturers of curing lights, government and regulatory agencies, employers, and dental personnel should collaborate to determine ocular risks from blue light exist in the dental setting, and recommend appropriate eye protection. Guidance on selection and proper use of eye protection should be readily accessible.Conclusions and Practical ImplicationsThe Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Guidelines for Infection Control in the Dental Health-Care Setting–2003 and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Bloodborne Pathogen Standard do not include safety recommendations or regulations that are directly related to blue light exposure. However, there are additional Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations that require employers to protect their employees from potentially injurious light radiation. Unfortunately, it is not readily evident that these regulations apply to the excessive exposure to blue light. Consequently employers and dental personnel may be unaware that these Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations exist.     

药品黑框警示信息解读

简要介绍药品黑框警示信息的概念与发展,并通过对其内容要求、来源、依据及表现形式的解读,希望为国内医药学专业人员及广大患者在药品使用中正确认识药品黑框警示信息的意义和作用、规避用药风险提供一些参考。     

探析中药饮片说明书的编制

目的:为促进中药饮片现代化,提出编制中药饮片说明书的思路,填补目前中药饮片无说明书的空白。方法:通过对编制中药饮片说明书的目的、意义等方面进行分析,深入探讨中药饮片说明书编制的必要性和可行性。结果:提出了"基于中药炮制工艺与原理研究,规范生产、规范应用"的饮片说明书编写思路,并初步拟定了中药饮片说明书的各项条款。结论:可为中医临床用药提供依据,从而更好地保证医患双方安全有效地应用中药饮片。     

Immediate Effects of Repeated and Non-Repeated Instructions and Task Difficulty on Task, Cardiovascular, and Respiratory Performance

To assess the effects of instructions and task difficulty on task, cardiovascular, and respiratory behavior in a situation where the instructions were either given once or repeated on the second day, a 3 by 3 by 2 experimental design was employed. Three sets of instructions (POSITIVE, CONTROL, NEGATIVE) were compared factorially with three difficulty levels (EASY, MODERATE, HARD) of a slide identification task, and observations were carried out over 2 consecutive daily sessions in which the initial instructions were repeated for only half of the subjects on the second day. Thirty-six undergraduates served as subjects and simple reaction time, error rate, heart rate, respiration rate, respiration amplitude, skin temperature (hand and forehead), and diastolic blood pressure were recorded simultaneously. That task conditions were different from one another was confirmed by comparisons of reaction time and errors during the tasks, with the EASY groups exhibiting the best performance and the HARD groups showing the longest reaction times and the most errors. That the differential instructions influenced cardiovascular performance was evident when comparisons were made among finger pulse amplitude, diastolic blood pressure, and hand temperature. Reaction times and error rates were unaffected by the differential instructions. With the exception of diastolic blood pressure, comparisons between days 1 and 2 revealed that instructional differences which emerged on day 1 were either attenuated or eliminated by day 2. Comparisons between repeated and non-repeated instruction groups failed to yield any reliable differences.     

国内外非洛地平片药品说明书的对比分析

目的:为规范非洛地平药品说明书提供参考。方法:对目前我国市场上所使用的非洛地平药品说明书的内容与国家相关规定进行比较,同时与国外说明书的内容进行对比,分析目前我国非洛地平药品说明书中存在的问题并提出修改、完善的建议。结果与结论:目前我国市场上非洛地平药品说明书存在缺项、漏项及用药安全性提示不足的情况,建议相关部门和企业对非洛地平药品说明书进行修改、完善。     

关于《抗菌药物临床应用指导原则》中几个问题的商榷

目的：探讨《抗菌药物临床应用指导原则》中一些药物在治疗指征、适用人群和给药方案方面的合理性、安全性。方法：通过查阅2010年版《中国药典·临床用药须知》、药品说明书以及其他已公开发表的文献资料,与《抗菌药物临床应用指导原则》中注射用哌拉西林/他唑巴坦、β-内酰胺类/β-内酰胺酶抑制剂、头孢菌素类抗菌药物、氨基糖苷类药物和林可酰胺类药物等的相关规定的分歧进行分析,提出商榷。结果与结论：《抗菌药物临床应用指导原则》中注射用哌拉西林/他唑巴坦不推荐儿童患者应用、β-内酰胺类/β-内酰胺酶抑制剂不推荐用于新生儿和早产儿、头孢菌素类抗菌药物禁用于对任何一种头孢菌素类抗菌药有过敏史及有青霉素过敏性休克史的患者等警示规定,不够严谨,而且片面,与所查阅资料的相关论述或用药警示存在很大分歧和矛盾,造成临床用药准则混乱,实际操作无所适从,对于一些特殊人群甚至会出现无药可用的局面。庆大霉素和克林霉素联合用药方案更是存在严重用药不良反应隐患。建议有关部门组织相关机构与专家,以药品说明书、《中国药典·临床用药须知》为基本依据,兼顾其他文献资料,对《抗菌药物临床应用指导原则》进行修订。     

THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL SET AND AUTONOMIC PERCEPTION ON CARDIAC CONTROL

Fifty-four Ss were divided into three instructional groups. One group was instructed to increase their heart rate (HR) every time a signal was presented; a second group was told to decrease their HR; and a control group was not instructed to change their HR in any direction. Results indicate that Ss can increase or decrease their HR in the absence of externalized feedback. These HR changes do not appear to be mediated by respiration or skin resistance variations. In addition, Ss were divided into groups on the basis of their APQ scores. The group with middle APQ scores displayed more HR control in both directions than Ss with high or low APQ scores. The study was replicated with 42 Ss and results support the HR increase but not the HR decrease findings.     

Effects of Exteroceptive Feedback and Instructions on Control of Spontaneous Galvanic Skin Responses

To more fully explore the possibility of control of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in the human S, this study investigated the effects of instructions and exteroeeptive feedback on the control of spontaneous galvanic skin responsivity (GSR). Two sets of instructions (“Relax” and “Think”) were alternately presented to Ss under four types of meter feedback: accurate, positive, negative, and control. In addition to GSR activity, respiration and cardiac rate were recorded. The results indicated that Ss receiving accurate feedback were significantly better able to comply with the “Relax”-“Think” instructions; next most effective was positive feedback, while negative and control feedback were least effective. No within-subject relationships were found between control of spontaneous GSRs and respiration or cardiac activity. The results suggest that Ss are responsive to the consequences of their antonomic behavior in much the same manner as they are responsive to the consequences of other learned behaviors.     

中成药说明书内容分析与药学服务

目的根据中成药说明书内容思考用药安全性及药学服务的开展,促进中成药的合理使用。方法收集我院应用的具有国药准字Z的324份中成药说明书(包括16份注射剂),以国家法律法规为标准,逐一核对其中的项目是否完整,每一项下的内容是否具体。结果 324份说明书中,63份有不良反应内容(19.44%),118份有禁忌内容(36.42%),239份有注意事项内容(73.17%),3份有相互作用内容(0.93%),2份有临床试验(0.62%),45份有药理毒理(13.89%)。结论中成药说明书项目不够完整,内容不够规范。为提高临床用药安全性和药学服务,应加强管理力度,不断完善中成药说明书的内容。