Postgraduate Medical Journal articles from January 2001

Postgraduate Medical Journal archives from January 2001

Access to perinatal cardiology in the United Kingdom.
January 1, 2001... Social inequality augmented by decreased access to appropriate health care has been shown to influence both the predisposition to coronary artery disease and its outcome in the adult population. [1,2] Does the access of pregnant women to...

Viral myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy: mechanisms, manifestations, and management.
January 1, 2001... Abstract Viral infection of the heart is relatively common and usually of little consequence. It can, however, lead to substantial cardiac damage and severe acute heart failure. It can also evolve into the progressive syndrome of chronic...

Genetic testing for inherited breast and ovarian cancer syndromes: important concepts for the primary care physician.
January 1, 2001... Abstract The remarkable advances in the area of genetic testing are transforming the way clinical medicine is practised. In the case of the inherited breast-ovarian cancer syndrome the ability to engage in genetic testing of BRCA genes has...

The health professional's role in preventing nosocomial infections.
January 1, 2001... Abstract Despite their best intentions, health professionals sometimes act as vectors of disease, disseminating new infections among their unsuspecting clients. Attention to simple preventive strategies may significantly reduce disease...

Current investigations used to assess syncope.
January 1, 2001... Following a thorough history, physical examination, and electrocardiography, the cause of syncope remains undiagnosed in around 50% of patients. [1] Diagnostic investigations are performed to confirm a suspected diagnosis or to explore another...

Apoplexy in a recurrent pituitary adenoma.
January 1, 2001... A 75 year old woman, with a history of trans-sphenoidal hypophysectomy for a nonsecreting pituitary adenoma 15 years ago and currently on glucocorticoid and thyroid hormone replacement, was found unconscious on the floor. On arrival to the...

Posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome.
January 1, 2001... Abstract Posterior leukoencephalopathy syndrome is a newly recognised brain disorder that predominantly affects the cerebral white matter. Oedematous lesions particularly involve the posterior parietal and occipital lobes, and may spread...

Subclinical thyrotoxicosis.
January 1, 2001... Subclinical thyrotoxicosis may be defined as a low serum thyrotrophin (TSH) concentration in an asymptomatic patient with normal serum free thyroxine ([T.sub.4]) and triiodothyronine ([T.sub.3]) concentrations. The secretion of TSH may be...

The clinical impact of metabolic bone disease in coeliac disease.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Abstract Bone mineral density was measured by dual energy x ray absorptiometry (DEXA) at the lumbar spine and femoral neck in 15 adults who had metabolic bone disease in association with coeliac disease (mean age at diagnosis 53.5 years,...

The effect of reminder calls in reducing non-attendance rates at care of the elderly clinics.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Abstract Background--DNA ("did not attend") at outpatient clinics is an important problem costing the NHS an estimated [pound]266 million annually. The national DNA rate for 1996- 1997 for all clinics was 12%. The DNA rate at Hammersmith...

Acute hospital admissions from nursing homes: some may be avoidable.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Abstract A retrospective survey of acute hospital admissions from nursing homes over a year to a district hospital revealed high overall hospital admission rates and wide variations of admission rates from similar homes. Medical admissions...

Fat necrosis associated with the subcutaneous injection of enoxaparin.
January 1, 2001... The use of low molecular weight heparins in the prophylaxis of deep vein thrombosis is becoming well established. These agents may offer less risk of unwanted effects such as haemorrhage and heparin induced thrombocytopenia. One of the less...

Multiple coronary aneurysms in a patient with neurofibromatosis type 1: case report and intravascular ultrasound of aneurysm.
January 1, 2001... Abstract A 54 year old woman with neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF-1) was found to have multiple coronary aneurysms. Intraoperative intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) revealed severe coronary disease proximal to the aneurysm that had not been...

Gas gangrene after colonoscopy.
January 1, 2001... Abstract A case of spontaneous clostridial myonecrosis developing shortly after diagnostic colonoscopy is described. The prime underlying factor proved to be an unsuspected colonic cancer, developing in a patient with pre-existing...

Hyperkalaemic quadriparesis secondary to chronic diclofenac treatment.(Statistical Data Included)
January 1, 2001... Abstract A 76 year old woman presented with a quadriparesis associated with hyperkalaemia. She had a 10 month history of treatment with oral diclofenac sodium. On admission she had hyperkalaemic metabolic acidosis with a normal anion gap...

From confusion to coma: a catastrophic deterioration.
January 1, 2001... A previously well 45 year old woman presented to the local casualty department with a one day history of generalised headache, neck stiffness, and blurred vision. On examination she had a temperature of 38[degrees]C, a pulse of 80 beats/min,...

Cyanosis in late teens.
January 1, 2001... An 18 year old youth presented with a three year history of decreasing exercise tolerance and cyanosis. Physical examination revealed clubbing and cyanosis, with an estimated oxygen saturation of 76% (on air). There were no other abnormalities...

Recent onset of bleeding and gross coagulopathy.
January 1, 2001... A 58 year old unemployed man was admitted as an emergency with a two week history of gum bleeding and a one day history of gross haematuria. Other than osteoporosis and low back pain his past medical history was unremarkable. He had had...

A young man with seizures, abusive behaviour, and drowsiness.
January 1, 2001... A 20 year old man was brought to hospital with progressive drowsiness and vomiting for three days. Two weeks before admission his relatives noted that he was becoming agitated, violent, and abusive. He had previously fractured his left humerus...

A case of reversible amnesia.
January 1, 2001... A 43 year old, normally healthy woman was admitted to a general medical ward after collapsing at home. Over the preceding two weeks, her husband had noticed that she had seemed distracted, unusually depressed, and "not herself." He had found...

A metabolic complication of pregnancy.
January 1, 2001... A 32 year old pregnant woman (gravida 3, para 1) was referred to the antenatal booking clinic at 12 weeks. She had recently been found to be hypertensive by her general practitioner, and her blood pressure was 150/100 mm Hg. Treatment was...

Outbreak of trichinosis (trichiniasis)--contracted in London in 1879.
January 1, 2001... The Committee Minutes of the Seamen's Hospital Society (SHS) dated 10 October 1879 recorded [1]: "The Secretary having reported the admission [to the Dreadnought Hospital, Greenwich] of 10 boys from the Training Ship Cornwall Ordered! that a...

LETTER TO THE EDITOR.
January 1, 2001... Referral for autopsies EDITOR,--With reference to the paper by Khunti last July, [1] the aim should not be to increase the number of autopsies, but rather to increase their specificity as a research tool to be of benefit in three ways...