Postgraduate Medical Journal articles from July 2001

Postgraduate Medical Journal archives from July 2001

Medical education and practice in the information age.
July 1, 2001... An exponential increase in the volume of recorded knowledge and continuing rapid development of the technology available for accessing it have become part of our way of life. In the medical context Tony Blair stated in 1998 that "the challenge...

Phyllodes tumours.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Phyllodes tumours are rare fibroepithelial lesions that account for less than 1% of all breast neoplasms. With the non-operative management of fibroadenomas widely adopted, the importance of phyllodes tumours today lies in the...

Infliximab treatment for Crohn's disease.
July 1, 2001... Background Crohn's disease is a lifelong inflammatory disorder characterised by the presence of inflammatory ulcerative lesions in the gastrointestinal tract. [1] Lesions most commonly involve the large and small bowel, giving rise to...

Therapeutic value of octreotide for patients with severe dumping syndrome-a review of randomised controlled trials.
July 1, 2001... Approximately 10%--50% of patients develop some manifestations of the dumping syndrome after gastric surgery. Among them, 5%--10% have clinically significant symptoms, and 1%--2% are debilitated by them. [1] Early dumping, typically starting...

Ethical, professional, and legal obligations in clinical practice: a series of discussion topics for postgraduate medical education.(Brief Article)
July 1, 2001... Topic 4: confidentiality This is the fourth discussion topic in a series of five dealing with ethical, professional and legal obligations of clinical practice. Junior doctors tend to lack confidence in these subjects, and thus I organised...

Is transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation an effective analgesia during colonoscopy?(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To evaluate the efficacy of transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) as analgesia during colonoscopy. Design--In a randomised controlled trial, patients undergoing diagnostic colonoscopy were assigned to...

Quadruple therapy for symptomatic spontaneous duodenal ulcer disease.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Aim--To investigate Helicobacter pylori eradication in duodenal ulcer patients with a new regimen, lansoprazole 30 mg daily for one or four weeks plus twice daily tetracycline 500 mg, clarithromycin 250 mg, and metronidazole 400...

Electrophysiological course of uraemic neuropathy in haemodialysis patients.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract The objective of this study was to confirm electrophysiologically both the presence and course of uraemic neuropathy in haemodialysis patients. Nerve conduction studies of the lower extremities were done in 70 haemodialysis...

Do computer generated ECG reports improve interpretation by accident and emergency senior house officers?(electrocardiogram)(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To determine whether access to a computer generated electrocardiogram (EGG) report can reduce errors of interpretation by senior house officers (SHOs) in an accident and emergency department. Methods--Ten SHOs were...

Intraoperative glove perforation--single versus double gloving in protection against skin contamination.
July 1, 2001... Abstract Surgeons have the highest risk of contact with patients' blood and body fluids, and breaches in gloving material may expose operating room staff to risk of infections. This prospective randomised study was done to assess the...

Trends in the smoking habits of young adults with diabetes.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Objectives--To examine changes in the prevalence of smoking in young adult diabetic patients between 1990 and 1999. Setting--Walton Diabetes Centre, University Hospital Aintree, Liverpool, UK. Design--Direct questioning...

Lung carcinoid related Cushing's syndrome: report of three cases and review of the literature.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... Abstract Three patients with lung carcinoid related Cushing's syndrome (LCRCS) treated at Frenchay Hospital, Bristol between 1984 and 1994 are described. The first patient presented with hyperpigmentation 13 years after bilateral...

Parathyroid crisis in a 20 year old--an unusual cause of hypercalcaemic crisis.
July 1, 2001... Abstract Since the advent of automated serum analysis, patients with primary hyperparathyroidism (PHPT) are often asymptomatic at presentation or have mild symptoms attributable to the disease. Parathyroid crisis is a rare and potentially...

A complicated case of von Hippel-Lindau disease.
July 1, 2001... A 17 year old female shop assistant presented with a three week history of generalised headache, associated with nausea, vomiting, and vertigo. She had no past medical history, and was taking no regular medication. Her mother was currently...

An unusual cause of paraplegia.
July 1, 2001... A 56 year old machine operator presented with mild weakness and sensory disturbance in his lower limbs after he woke up from an arthroscopy operation. At the time he did not seek medical attention. His symptoms progressed over the next four...

Palpable breast mass in a lactating woman.
July 1, 2001... A 35 year old woman noted a painless lump in her right breast during self examination. She was three months postpartum and had been breast feeding her daughter since birth. Her past medical history included three previous uneventful...

A patient with severe hyperphosphataemia.(Statistical Data Included)
July 1, 2001... A 67 year old Chinese woman presented to her general practitioner with abdominal pain. She had an unremarkable history except for bronchiectasis diagnosed a decade before. Colonoscopy was arranged in view of positive faecal occult blood....

Abnormal behaviour in a man with massive, generalised, peripheral lymphadenopathy.
July 1, 2001... A 33 year old Indian man, a truck driver in Mumbai, who was seropositive for human HIV and not on anriretroviral therapy, presented with a one month history of intermittent fever with sweating, gradually progressive headache, vomiting, and...

Oligoarthritis in an elderly woman with diarrhoea and weight loss.
July 1, 2001... An 80 year old woman was referred in 1995 to the haematology outpatient department with a normocytic anaemia and weight loss. She was found to be deficient in iron, folic acid, and vitamin B12 and was started on replacement treatment. A barium...

A reversible cause of acute renal failure.
July 1, 2001... A 63 year old homeless man presented to the Bellevue Hospital Center in New York with a one month history of cough with expectoration, fever, and weight loss. One week before presentation, the patient had also developed haemoptysis. Chest...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.
July 1, 2001... Anticoagulation and atrial fibrillation EDITOR,--We would like to congratulate McNulty and colleagues on their excellent clinical audit of antithrombotic therapy in atrial fibrillation, [1] Their approach to the methods of audit has been...