Postgraduate Medical Journal articles from April 2001

Postgraduate Medical Journal archives from April 2001

Iodine deficiency as a cause of brain damage.
April 1, 2001... Abstract This editorial reviews the impact of iodine deficiency (1) on thyroid function in pregnant women and neonates and (2) on the neurointellectual development of infants and children. All degrees of iodine deficiency (mild: iodine...

Cholesterol gallstones: from epidemiology to prevention.
April 1, 2001... Gallstones are a major public health problem in all developed counties. Many epidemiological studies have been performed with the aim of establishing gallstone prevalence and incidence rates, and of defining risk factors, amenable to...

The immunocompromised patient and transfusion.
April 1, 2001... Immunocompromised patients are usually seriously ill and many such patients, especially those undergoing stem cell transplantation, have prolonged periods of pancytopenia and consequently, heavy transfusion requirements. [1] All transfusions...

Review of the current methods in the diagnosis and treatment of scaphoid fractures.
April 1, 2001... Abstract If neglected or misdiagnosed, non-union of a scaphoid fracture will almost inevitably progress to radiographic and symptomatic osteoarthritis of the wrist with subsequent morbidity and lifelong disability, especially in young...

Ethical, professional, and legal obligations in clinical practice: a series of discussion topics for postgraduate medical education.
April 1, 2001... Introduction and topic 1: informed consent Introduction Postgraduate education in ethical, professional, and legal obligations of clinical practice has been neglected with the result that the training of junior doctors in these matters...

Smoking and diabetes in Chinese men.
April 1, 2001... Abstract Smoking is a major cardiovascular risk factor and cause of death. Diabetes mellitus is also associated with an increased mortality and morbidity. Evidence concerning whether smoking increases the incidence of diabetes remains...

Is there a dissociative process in sleepwalking and night terrors?
April 1, 2001... Abstract The enduring and contentious hypothesis that sleepwalking and night terrors are symptomatic of a protective dissociative mechanism is examined. This is mobilised when intolerable impulses, feelings and memories escape, within...

Unexplained groin pain: safety and reliability of herniography for the diagnosis of occult hernias.
April 1, 2001... Abstract A retrospective study of our initial experience of herniography in a district general hospital is presented. A total of 43 herniograms were performed in 41 patients (median age 57, range 16-77, 27 males, 14 females) over a two...

Proctocolitis in breast fed infants: a contribution to differential diagnosis of haematochezia in early childhood.
April 1, 2001... Abstract Dietary protein induced proctocolitis in exclusively breast fed infants is rarely taken into consideration as a cause of rectal bleeding or blood streaked stool in the neonatal period and early infancy. Eleven babies are presented...

Adenocarcinoma of the gastro-oesophageal junction with a synchronous carcinoid of the duodenum.
April 1, 2001... Abstract Duodenal carcinoids are rare tumours. There is an increased incidence of primary carcinomas, especially in the gastrointestinal tract, which occur synchronously with gastrointestinal tract carcinoids. However, the synchronous...

Dysphagia and thoracoabdominal aneurysm.
April 1, 2001... Abstract Two elderly patients who presented with gradually progressive dysphagia are described. Investigations excluded an intraluminal obstruction and showed extrinsic compression of the oesophagus by an aneurysmal aorta. Surgery was not...

Staphylococcus lugdunensis endocarditis.
April 1, 2001... Abstract A case of Staphylococcus lugdunensis endocarditis is presented with low back pain suggesting a secondary bone focus of infection. An umbilical skin lesion may have been an additional embolic phenomenon. The case highlights the...

It could only happen to a doctor--Haemophilus aphrophilus septicaemia complicated by a prevertebral infection after dental work.
April 1, 2001... Abstract A 53 year old man presented with severe neck pain and a flu-like illness; he had recently returned from Sri Lanka and had had dental treatment six days before illness onset. Blood culture showed infection by Haemophilus...

Does history repeat itself in medicine?
April 1, 2001... "The longer you can look back, the further you can look forward" Winston Churchill (1944) The majority of major discoveries in medicine are unique. Two examples are: William Harvey's (1578-1657) description of the circulation of the...

Systemic sarcoidosis with spleen involvement.
April 1, 2001... A 43 year old woman had suffered from abdominal pain at the left upper quadrant for two months. She had no fever or weight loss. On physical examination the patient had tender splenomegaly. Haematological and biochemical data showed leukopenia...

Diagnostic issues in systemic lupus erythematosis.
April 1, 2001... A 24 year old woman was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosis (SLE) based on a few months' history of a photosensitive skin rash, predominantly on her face, arthralgia involving both hands and wrists, a positive antinuclear antibody (ANA)...

Optic disc oedema in first degree relatives with different macrovascular risk factors (type 1 diabetes and hypertension).
April 1, 2001... Case reports CASE 1 A 43 year old man with type 1 (insulin dependent) diabetes for 16 years presented to the ophthalmology clinic with sudden onset of painless loss of vision in the right eye. On examination, visual acuity in the...

An unusual palmoplantar pigmentation.
April 1, 2001... A 60 year old man had asymptomatic progressive pigmentation of the palms (fig 1), fingertips (fig 2), and soles for the last 20 years. Besides this, he had discoloration of his sclerae (fig 3). He was well but for low backache and joint pains...

An unusual cause of tremor in an elderly man.
April 1, 2001... A 70 year old man presented with a two day history of coarse tremors of the head and upper limbs. The tremor was evident at rest and it became more obvious on movement. There were no symptoms of hyperthyroidism or history of a similar problem...

A 35 year man with acromegaly and neck stiffness.
April 1, 2001... A 35 year old man was referred for acromegaly by primary physicians. He complained of mild diffuse headache and easy fatiguability. Clinically he had somatic features of acromegaly and his visual acuity was reduced (6/30: left eye, 6/36 right...

Joint pains, hoarseness, and deafness.
April 1, 2001... A 60 year old woman presented with a six week history of symmetrical joint pains affecting her large joints, associated with night sweats and weight loss. Recently she had noted hoarseness of her voice. She had no other relevant history apart...

Helicobacter heilmannii.
April 1, 2001... A 48 year old man was referred to the open access endoscopy service by his general practitioner. He gave a 12 month history of epigastric pain and nausea and was receiving Gaviscon. He was an ex-smoker admitting to minimal alcohol intake. ...

Chronic pulmonary suppuration.
April 1, 2001... A 25 year old male non-smoker presented to us with a history of cough with mucopurulent expectoration and dyspnoea on exertion since childhood. There were symptoms of frequent infective exacerbations requiring antibiotic treatment. Empirical...

A transient pleural effusion.
April 1, 2001... A 29 year old Tanzanian man, resident in Great Britain for five years, presented complaining of persistent cough. He had been an insulin dependent diabetic for two years and was well controlled. A chest radiograph showed a moderate left pleural...

A young woman with muscle weakness.
April 1, 2001... A 28 year old woman presented with complaints of severe myalgias, muscle cramps and fatigue, of two weeks' duration. There was a history of pain and difficulty in rising from a squatting position and climbing up stairs. These symptoms,...

Final FRCA: Multiple Choice Questions.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Final FRCA: Multiple Choice Questions. By M D Brunner, P N Robinson, H Williams. (Pp 302; [pound]16.99 paperback.) Butterworth Heinemann, 2000. ISBN 0-7506-4214-9. [****] The book title is self explanatory and is targeted at...

Normal and Pathological Development of the Human Brain and Spinal Cord.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Normal and Pathological Development of the Human Brain and Spinal Cord. By Maria Dambska and Krystyna E Wisniewski. (Pp 192; [pound]45 paperback.) John Libbey & Co Ltd, 1999. ISBN: 0-861-96-591-4. [**] The authors have both spent many years...

An Aid to Radiology for the MRCP.(Review)
April 1, 2001... An Aid to Radiology for the MRCP. By Kausik K Ray, Robert EJ Ryder, Richard M Wellings. (Pp 348; [pound] 22.50 paperback.) Blackwell Science, 2000. ISBN 0-623-0491 2-X. [***] The "Ryder aids" to the MRCP have become essential reading for...

Non-epileptic Seizures.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Non-epileptic Seizures. 2nd Ed. Edited by John R Gates and A James Rowan. John R Gates and A James Rowan. (Pp 323; [pound]70 hardback.) Butterworth Heinemann, 2000. ISBN 0-7506-7026-6. [***] The editors of this book were successful in...

MCQs on Surgical Diagnosis.(Review)
April 1, 2001... MCQs on Surgical Diagnosis. By R Visvanathan and J S P Lumley. (Pp 1 32; [pound]14.99 paperback.) Butterworth Heinemann, 2000. ISBN 0-7506-4730-2. [****] Visvanathan and Lumley's MCQs on Surgical Diagnosis provides a useful revision aid...

The Granulomatous Disorders.(Review)
April 1, 2001... The Granulomatous Disorders. Edited by G Geraint James and Alimuddin Zumla. (Pp 616:[pound]150.) Cambridge University Press, 1999. ISBN 0-521-592216. *** This is a review of the pathology of granulomas and granulomatous disease. The...

Statistical Analysis in Primary Care.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Statistical Analysis in Primary Care. Edited by Nigel Mathers, Martin Williams, and Beverley Hancock. (Pp 113; [pound]15.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press, 2000. ISBN 1-855775-387-9. *** Statisticians who talk in everyday language are...

Developing Research in Primary Care.(Review)
April 1, 2001... Developing Research in Primary Care. Edited by Mike Saks, Martin Williams, and Beverley Hancock. (Pp 154; [pound]15.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press, 2000. ISBN 1-85775-397-6.**** It is unsurprising that many excellent research concepts are...

National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke.(Review)
April 1, 2001... National Clinical Guidelines for Stroke. Intercollegiate Working Party for Stroke, Royal College of Physicians. (Pp 150; [pound]15.95.) Lavenham Press, 2000. ISBN 1-860l6-120-0.*** Stroke is a common problem, being the third cause of...