Postgraduate Medical Journal articles from March 2001

Postgraduate Medical Journal archives from March 2001

Changing practice in health care.
March 1, 2001... The NHS Plan insists that the health service must change. It is "a 1940's system operating in a 21st century world". [1] But are the politicians pushing at an open door? Health care practitioners, after all, are adjusting to the National...

Medical Anniversary.(Obituary)
March 1, 2001... Robert Loeb, 14 March 1895 Robert Loeb (1895-1973) was born in Chicago, son of Nobel laureate biologist, Dr Jacques Loeb. He graduated from Harvard in 1919 and eventually became Samuel Bard Professor of Medicine at the College of...

Use of the diagnostic bacteriology laboratory: a practical review for the clinician.
March 1, 2001... Effective utilisation and understanding of the clinical bacteriology laboratory can greatly aid in the diagnosis of infectious diseases. Although described more than a century ago, the Gram stain remains the most frequently used rapid...

Pregnancy in systemic lupus erythematosus.(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... Abstract Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is an autoimmune disease that predominantly affects women of reproductive age. Pregnancy and its outcome is a major concern to most SLE patients. Queries regarding the risk of disease flares...

Thrombolysis in acute ischaemic stroke.(Statistical Data Included)
March 1, 2001... The primary deficit in acute ischaemic stoke is one of impaired blood flow. Part of the cerebral circulation is occluded either by in situ thrombosis, or embolism from the heart or a more proximal artery (for example, the ipsilateral internal...

Is wine good for your heart? A critical review.
March 1, 2001... Vita vinum est -- Wine is life Petronius, Satyricon History For millennia, physicians used wine for its medicinal qualities. [1 2] Receipts for wine based medicines dating back 4000 years have been discovered in Egypt and Sumeria....

Sarcoidosis 2001.(overview on the history of treatment for sarcoidosis)
March 1, 2001... Abstract In every decade, sarcoidosis makes a chameleon-like change so its profile needs to be updated. It was first recognised as a dermatological curiosity which evolved into a multisystem disorder with bone cysts, uveitis, and...

Evaluation of local invasion by oesophageal carcinoma--a prospective study of prone computed tomography scanning.
March 1, 2001... Abstract The aim of this study was to assess the value of prone computed tomography compared with the traditional supine position, in the assessment of invasion of adjacent mediastinal structures by oesophageal cancer. A prospective,...

Cervical tuberculous lymphadenopathy: changing clinical pattern and concepts in management.
March 1, 2001... Abstract Tuberculosis is one of the biggest health challenges the world is facing. In this study the clinical pattern of patients with cervical lymphadenitis, who presented to the ear, nose, and throat outpatient department of the...

Evolution of an inguinal hernia surgery practice.
March 1, 2001... Abstract Background--In guinal hernia surgery has undergone numerous advances in the last few years. This study analysed the changes in the practice of one surgeon in a district general hospital over a seven year interval. The effect of...

Colchicine induced rhabdomyolysis.
March 1, 2001... Abstract A case of colchicine induced rhabdomyolysis is reported. A 73 year old man with ischaemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, chronic congestive cardiac failure, and chronic gout presented with diffuse muscle pain. He had been...

Bilateral superselective arterial micro coil embolisation in delayed post-traumatic high flow priapism.(prolonged erectile dysfunction)
March 1, 2001... Abstract High flow arteriogenic priapism is uncommon and usually occurs after trauma to the genitoperineal area. The onset of prolonged erection can be delayed and is often relatively pain free. Arteriography in this case illustrated the...

Laparoscopic excision of splenic hydatid cyst.
March 1, 2001... Abstract Hydatid disease of the spleen is a rare condition. The standard treatment is open total or partial splenectomy. Recently hand assisted laparoscopic total splenectomy for splenic hydatid cyst has been reported. A case is described...

Neurovascular lessons from a pair of identical twins with cerebral aneurysms.
March 1, 2001... Abstract A pair of hypertensive identical twins are reported, one of whom was non-compliant with her antihypertension medication, and after a subarachnoid haemorrhage was found to have multiple cerebral aneurysms. The other asymptomatic...

Pericardial tamponade caused by Pasteurella multocida infection after a cat bite.
March 1, 2001... Abstract An unusual case of meningitis and pericardial tamponade caused by Pasteurella multocida after a cat bite is reported. The patient was successfully treated by antibiotics and pericardiocentesis and made an uneventful recovery from...

Balancing statistical and clinical significance in evaluating treatment effects.
March 1, 2001... To decide whether a new treatment should be used, statistical significance of its effectiveness over current treatment alone is insufficient. Measures of the size of the treatment effects (that is, clinical significance) are also necessary. [1]...

Selective angiographic catheterisation for jejunal angiodysplasia.
March 1, 2001... A 70 year old man was admitted to the high dependency unit after a large rectal bleed of fresh blood. Physical examination revealed a soft abdomen, fresh rectal blood, tachycardia, and hypotension. Haematological investigations disclosed a low...

A patient with atherosclerosis and livedo reticularis.(cholesterol emboli syndrome)(atheroembolism)
March 1, 2001... A 73 year old man was admitted with progressive dyspnoea. His past medical history included peripheral artery disease (intermittent claudication of lower extremities) and ischaemic heart disease (angina pectoris). Two months before renovascular...

Fever, rash, swollen joints, and sore throat in a young man.(adult onset Still's disease)(rheumatoid arthritis)
March 1, 2001... An 18 year old man developed a sore throat followed within two days by pain and swelling of both wrists, knees, and ankles, the metacarpophalangeal joints of both hands, and the metatarsophalangeal joints of both feet. This was associated with...

A rare cause of respiratory failure.
March 1, 2001... A 68 year old man with a 60 year pack history (20 cigarettes per day for 60 years) of smoking was admitted via casualty with acute confusion, lethargy, and dyspnoea over three days. He denied any cough or haemoptysis, but was unable to give a...

Refractory seizure with hypokalaemia.
March 1, 2001... A 67 year old woman was admitted to hospital because of intractable seizures. She was brought to our emergency department by her husband; he was frequently hospitalised in our institution. She had no previous history of epilepsy, alcoholism, or...

A complication after internal fixation of fracture.
March 1, 2001... A 66 year old man was referred to the vascular surgery department from the orthopaedic unit. The patient had developed an abnormal, bleeding swelling over the lateral aspect of the left leg. Twelve days earlier he had had an open reduction and...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.(Letter to the Editor)
March 1, 2001... Management of spontaneous pneumothorax EDITOR,--Yeoh and colleagues were surprised that 80% of doctors opted to insert a chest drain for the initial management of a patient with a large pneumothorax, [1] but the authors did not report which...

Correction.(to article " Thyrotoxicosis of a rare aetiology" in 2000;76:799 issue)(email address should be: ismohammed@hotmail.com)(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2001... An editorial error occurred in the article by Dr Ismail and Dr Bhat (Ismail M, Bhat RV. Thyrotoxicosis of a rare aetiology. Postgrad Med J 2000;76:799). The email address was incorrect; the correct address is ismohammed@hotmail.com

The Human Effect in Medicine.(Review)
March 1, 2001... The Human Effect in Medicine. By Michael Dixon and Kieran Sweeney. (Pp 157; [pound]17.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press, 2000. ISBN 1-85775-369-0. [****] The aim of this book is to emphasis the therapeutic effect of the doctor and the self...

21 Medical Mysteries.(discussion of various illnesses and their causes)(Review)
March 1, 2001... 21 Medical Mysteries. By J Dickinson. (Pp 253; [pound]15.95.) The Book Guild, 2000. ISBN 1-85776-4994. [****] Professor Dickinson has written an intriguing book. As a well known physician and clinical scientist he has witnessed at first...

A Guide To Laboratory Investigations, 3d ed.(Review)
March 1, 2001... A Guide To Laboratory Investigations. 3rd Edition. By Michael McGhee. (Pp 163; [pound]17.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press, 2000. ISBN 1-85775-357-7. [**] This book aims to be a reference for general practitioners, their practice nurses, and...

Caring for Muslim Patients.(Review)
March 1, 2001... Caring for Muslim Patients. Edited by Aziz Sheikh and Abdul Rashid Gatrad. (Pp 140; [pound]17.95.) Radcliffe Medical Press, 2000. ISBN 1-85775-372-0. [***] Caring for Muslim Patients is written by different authors and covers demographic...