Postgraduate Medical Journal articles from February 2002

Postgraduate Medical Journal archives from February 2002

Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis. (Review).
February 1, 2002... Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a progressive neurological disorder of childhood and early adolescence. It is caused by persistent defective measles virus. Brain biopsies or postmortem histopathological examination show evidence...

Chronic subdural haematoma in the elderly. (Review).
February 1, 2002... Chronic subdural haematoma is predominantly a disease of the elderly. It usually follows a minor trauma. A history of direct trauma to the head is absent in up to half the cases. The common manifestations are altered mental state and focal...

Hyperemesis gravidarum: Current concepts and management. (Review).
February 1, 2002... Hyperemesis gravidarum is a common problem for an obstetrician. Though nausea and vomiting are quite common in pregnancy, hyperemesis is found in only 1-20 patients per 1000. In this practical review, a general outline of the syndrome, its...

Management of spontaneous pneumothorax: Are British Thoracic Society guidelines being followed? (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... In 1993, the British Thoracic Society (BTS) issued guidelines for the management of spontaneous pneumothorax. The aim of this study was to determine the level of adherence to and awareness of these guidelines at a London teaching hospital. A...

Sleep deprivation and junior doctors' performance and confidence. (Original Article).
February 1, 2002... Purpose of study: To determine whether sleep deprivation affects not only junior doctors' performance in answering medical questions but whether their ability to judge their own performance is also affected by lack of sleep. Methods: A...

Prevention of venous thromboembolism in Wales: Results of a survey among general surgeons. (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Objective: To examine the current attitudes towards the prevention of venous thromboembolism among a cohort of surgeons. Design: A postal survey, comprising a questionnaire covering various aspects of venous thromboembolism prophylaxis was...

Prognosis for fertility and ovarian function after treatment with radioiodine for thyroid cancer. (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... The aim of this study was to review the outcome of ablative radioiodine treatment on ovarian function in young women treated for differentiated thyroid carcinoma. Of 1398 patients with differentiated thyroid cancer, 496 were women under the age...

Plain abdominal radiographs in acute medical emergencies: An abused investigation? (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
February 1, 2002... Plain abdominal radiographs are commonly requested for acute medical emergencies on patients with non-specific abdominal symptoms and signs. In this study 131 plain abdominal radiographs performed on the day of admission were prospectively...

Adult Still's disease and respiratoy failure in a 74 year old woman. (Case Report).
February 1, 2002... A case of adult onset Still's disease in an elderly woman, that was associated with severe respiratory failure and multiorgan dysfunction, is reported. Histopathology was confirmed on open lung biopsy. Adult onset Still's disease is an...

Skeletal dysplasia with unusual visceral manifestations. (Skeletal Dysplasia).
February 1, 2002... A boy aged 4.5 years, born of a third degree consanguineous marriage, presented with short stature, a lump on the left side of the abdomen that had been seen since he was 7 months of age, and noisy breathing on and off for the past two years....

Complications associated with influenza infection. (Lungs Abscess).
February 1, 2002... An otherwise healthy non-smoking 59 year old welder gave a two week history of flu-like symptoms and a one week history of progressive shortness of breath, pleuritic chest pain, and cough productive of purulent sputum. On examination he...

An atypical case of periodic paralysis. (Paralysis).(Brief Article)
February 1, 2002... A 38 year old man presented with a history of episodic lower limb weakness lasting a few hours. The weakness was predominantly proximal and was preceded by cramps in the affected muscles. There were two such attacks separated by a one month...

Swollen and stiff shoulder. (Painful Shoulder).
February 1, 2002... A 50 year old women was admitted with complaints of swelling and stiffness of right shoulder for three months. There was no history of trauma, fever, or any local injections. She did not drink alcohol and there was no history of any steroid...

A woman with dysphagia and Raynaud's phenomenon. (Dysphagia).
February 1, 2002... A 69 year old woman with no relevant past medical history was admitted with dysphagia. She reported difficulty swallowing both sob ids and liquids and that it had been gradually worsening over a 10 year period. She denied pain on swallowing and...

An unusual case of chronic renal failure. (Chronic Renal Failure).
February 1, 2002... A previously healthy 47 year old driver presented with a six week history of headache, vomiting, tiredness, and unsteadiness of feet. Examination revealed marked pallor, the pulse was regular at 97 beats/mm, blood pressure was raised at 180/116...

A case of cough and dysphagia. (Cough and Dysphagia).
February 1, 2002... Answers on p 111. A 70 year old women was referred to the accident and emergency department by her general practitioner with a three month history weight loss of two stone (13 kg) and progressive dysphagia for solids. This had worsened to...

An elderly lady with collapse. (Collapse).(cranial nerve palsies)
February 1, 2002... A 78 year old women was admitted to hospital with collapse and sudden onset left sided hemiplegia and a right sided ptosis. On admission she was drowsy. She had a left hemiplegia and right ptosis. When the right upper eyelid was passively...

A developing visual field defect. (Visual Field Defect).
February 1, 2002... A 53 year old man complained of intermittent blurring of vision confined to the left eye over a period of 12 months. It did not stop him from reading or driving. There was no history of visual loss, eye pain, or double vision. He had recently...

Cutaneous leucocytoclastic vasculitis associated with omeprazole. (Adverse Drug Reaction).
February 1, 2002... Omeprazole is a potent proton pump inhibitor and usually is well tolerated. Adverse effects of this drug have been reported in up to 5% of patients, most of which are trivial and disappear rapidly on discontinuation of the drug. Skin adverse...

Delayed reactivation of haloperidol induced photosensitive dermatitis by methotrexate. (Adverse Drug Reaction).
February 1, 2002... A man whose psoriasis was well controlled on methotrexate treatment developed pellagra-like photosensitive dermatitis when he started taking haloperidol. Reactivation of his dermatitis was observed with methotrexate as a recall photosensitivity...

Reactions from the medical and nursing professions to Nightingale's "reform(s)" of nurse training in the late 19th century. (History of Medicine).
February 1, 2002... In 1860, the Nightingale School of Nursing opened at St Thomas's Hospital, London. Florence Nightingale's overriding raison d'etre in the setting up of this foundation was a replacement of the old fashioned nurse (caricatured by Mrs Gamp--an...

Letters.(use of tramadol as an opioid alternative)
February 1, 2002... The role of tricyclic antidepressants and tramadol in palliative care We read with interest the review article on alternative opioids to morphine in palliative care. (1) The author has mentioned in detail various factors--biomedical,...

A Practical Guide for Medical Teachers. (Book Reviews).
February 1, 2002... Edited by John A Dent and Ronald M Harden. (Pp 453; [pounds sterling]34.95.) Churchill Livingstone, 2001. ISBN 0-443-06273.0. (****) This book tells you all you wanted to know and a good deal more that you now need to know about the...

Making Sense of Statistics and Healthcare. (Book Reviews).
February 1, 2002... By Anna Hart. (Pp 162; [pounds sterling]19.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85775-472-7. (****) This book describes the essentials of statistics and data presentation. The first chapters deal with the different types of study...

Fast Facts--Sexually Transmitted Infections. (Book Reviews).
February 1, 2002... By Ann Edwards, Jackie Sherrard, and Jonathan Zenilman. (Pp 104; [pounds sterling]12.00.) Health Press, 2001. ISBN 1.899541-04-7. (****) In a month when all GPs in my area have been notified of an epidemic of syphilis in London, the...

400 MCQs in Paediatrics far MRCPCH Part I. (Book Reviews).
February 1, 2002... By Nagi G Barakat. (Pp 212; [pounds sterling]14.95.) Royal Society of Medicine Press, 2001. ISBN 1-85315-49l-1. (**) This paperback book in fact has 463 questions including a 60 question examination. The format is of MCQs as used in the...

Imaging Picture Tests for the MRCPCH. (Book Reviews).
February 1, 2002... By A P Winrow. (Pp 205; [pounds sterling]19.95.) Churchill Livingstone, 2000. ISBN 0-443-06445-8. (****) This is a useful paediatric teaching book for candidates studying for the MRCPCH final examination. It may also be useful for...

Diary.
February 1, 2002... Fellowship of Postgraduate Medicine & CHIME, Royal Free & University College Medical School Clinical Governance, Thursday, 21 February 2002 A one day conference for doctors wishing to become more involved in clinical governance at the...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
February 1, 2002... Hypokalaemia and hyperkalaemia An error occurred in the above paper, published in the December issue of the journal (2001;77:759-64). The name of the first author was spelt incorrectly; the correct spelling is A Rastegar.