Postgraduate Medical Journal articles from May 2002

Postgraduate Medical Journal archives from May 2002

Can we improve the outcome of colorectal cancer by early diagnosis? Screening, not early diagnosis, may be the best approach. (Editorial Colorectal Cancer).
May 1, 2002... Colorectal cancer is the second commonest cause of cancer in the UK with over 30 000 new cases each year. The overall five year survival rate of 40%, (1) together with well published regional variations in outcome, increased public awareness...

Non-infectious pulmonay complications after bone marrow transplantation. (Review).
May 1, 2002... Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) is a successful and recognised treatment option for patients with a number of haematological and non-haematological malignant and non-malignant conditions. Pulmonary complications both infectious and...

Medical anniversary: Edward Jenner (17 May 1749).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Edward Jenner (1749-1823) was born at Berkeley, Gloucestershire, to forebears who were minor gentry and clergymen. He became apprenticed to a doctor at Chipping Sodbury and then became John Hunter's surgical dresser at St George's Hospital...

Surveillance in Barrett's oesophagus: a personal view. (Review).
May 1, 2002... Barrett's oesophagus is defined as columnar-lined oesophagus of any length containing specialised intestinal metaplasia. Diagnosis depends on close corroboration between the endoscopist and histopathologist. It occurs in 10% of patients...

Comparative evaluation of the new Sheffield table and the modified joint British societies coronary risk prediction chart against a laboratory based risk score calculation. (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Background: Management of borderline hypertension and hypercholesteroloemia is based on an individual's coronary heart disease (CHD) risk rather than arbitrary values for blood pressure or serum cholesterol. Prediction of CHD risk involves...

Changes in the corrected QT interval and corrected QT dispersion during haemodialysis. (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... The link between increased QT dispersion and cardiac death in subjects with diabetes and arterial disease is well recognised. Corrected QT dispersion was studied in subjects with end stage renol failure on haemodialysis. Thirty one stable,...

Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) bite in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka: a prospective clinical study, 1996-98. (Original Article).(Statistical Data Included)
May 1, 2002... Common krait (Bungarus caeruleus) is the deadliest snake found commonly in the dry zone of Sri Lanka. In Anuradhapura, 210 farmers bitten by the common krait over a three year period were investigated prospectively from 1 January 1 996. The sex...

Closure of traumatic wounds without cleaning and suturing. (Original Article).
May 1, 2002... Background: In less than ideal situations wounds have to be closed without extensive cleaning using sterile adhesive strips (Steristrips). This prospective analyses the efficiency of this technique and compares it to the more conventional...

A three year prospective audit of 212 presentations to the emergency department after electrical injury with a management protocol. (Clinical Audit).
May 1, 2002... Significant numbers of presentations to the emergency deportment were found to relate to low voltage electrical injury, for which there was no widely accepted management protocol. It was decided to examine the outcome of patients after low...

Ulcerative colitis after statin treatment. (Adverse Drug Reaction).
May 1, 2002... Statin treatment is widely used in both primary and secondary prevention of diseases in which hyperlipidaemia is a major risk factor, for example, ischaemic heart disease. The development of ulcerative colitis as an adverse reaction to...

Systemic cholesterol crystal embolisation with pulmonary involvement: a fatal combination after coronary angiography. (Case Report).
May 1, 2002... Cholesterol crystal embolisation (CCE) is a rare but serious complication of invasive arterial procedures associated with a high mortality, and is a condition that medical staff undertaking invasive vascular procedures should be aware of. It is...

An unusual case of infective endocarditis. (Case Report).
May 1, 2002... A rare case of Corynebacterium striatum endocarditis on a bioprosthetic aortic valve replacement, treated medically, is reported. The presentation was subacute, and initially endocarditis screening was negative. Because of the failure of...

Will an orange a day keep the doctor away? (Case Report).
May 1, 2002... An 80 year old man, who relied on a home based meals-on-wheels service was admitted to hospital with nonspecific symptoms, but had clinical and biochemical evidence of scurvy. Subsequently, all new admissions (n=37) to the department over a...

Intramuscular lipomatosis of tongue. (Case Report).
May 1, 2002... A rare case of intramuscular lipomatosis of the tongue with intramuscular invasion in a 42 year old man is presented. The literature is reviewed and the clinical features, pathology, and treatment are discussed briefly. ********** The...

Progressive cardiomyopathy as manifestation of mitochondrial disease. (Case Report).
May 1, 2002... Cardiomyopathies are a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of cardiac diseases in which the myocardium is primarily involved. Mitochondrial DNA point mutations have been identified in a broad spectrum of mitochondrial disorders,...

A man with swollen calf and discoloration of the foot. (Self Assessment Questions).
May 1, 2002... A 48 year old man was admitted to the emergency department because of painful swelling of his right calf that had developed gradually during the previous week. He denied cough, dyspnoea, or chest pain. He had no history of a previous...

Young male with pancytopenia: an unusual cause. (Self Assessment Questions).
May 1, 2002... A 16 year boy, resident of Bihar, presented to the emergency department with a history of generalised weakness for one month, and bleeding from his gums for eight days. There was no history of prolonged fever, haematemesis, haematuria, or...

Recurrent painful locking of the elbow joint. (Self Assessment Questions).
May 1, 2002... A 45 year old, right handed bank clerk presented with pain and intermittent locking of the left elbow of 12 months' duration. Pain was intermittent and was activity related. The left elbow locked intermittently on movement, with self manoeuvres...

A verrucous lesion of the palm. (Self Assessment Questions).
May 1, 2002... A 45 year old man from South India had an asymptomatic verrucous plaque on the right palm with multiple haemorrhagic spots on the surface (fig 1) for the past three years. He also had a verrucous nodule on his left elbow. He gave a history of a...

An unusual case of clinicoradiological dissociation. (Self Assessment Questions).
May 1, 2002... A 28 year old truck driver was seen at this institute with an abnormal chest radiograph (fig 1). He complained of non-specific chest pain for the past three years, and denied any other respiratory symptom. He had no significant occupational...

Anaemia: an unusual cause. (Self Assessment Questions).(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... A previously fit 27 year old man presented to the gastroenterologists with a three month history of tiredness. There was no history of haematemesis, but he did complain of the passage of black stools on rare occasions. On examination...

Postgraduate training in family medicine in Albania. (Postgraduate Education).
May 1, 2002... In the Balkan context education in general practice varies greatly and it is in different stages of reorganisation and curriculum development. The postgraduate training in family medicine in Albania started in January 1997 with the goal of...

The start of life: a history of obstetrics. (History of Medicine).
May 1, 2002... Obstetric intervention originally consisted of extraction of the baby, usually by the breech, to save the mother's life in obstructed labour. Forceps, introduced in the 17th century, were later refined by men-midwives like William Smellie. In...

Letters.
May 1, 2002... Best evidence and the clinical decision making process The articles by Helfenstein (1) and Newcombe (2) highlight the difficulties faced by clinicians in making a treatment decision for their patient when confronted by contradictory...

A Disease Once Sacred.
May 1, 2002... By M J Eadie and P F Biadin. (Pp 248; [pounds sterling]24.) john Libbey, 2001. ISBN 0-86196-6074. Written by two Australian epileptologists this book follows the historical concepts of epilepsy, ranging from mythological early views of the...

Diary.(Brief Article)
May 1, 2002... Professional Updating in Epidemiology. Design of Vaccination Programmes: From Sero-Epidemiology to Cost-Effectiveness 8-12 July 2002, University of Warwick, Coventry, UK. The course intends to develop understanding of the epidemiological...