Postgraduate Medical Journal articles from September 2001

Postgraduate Medical Journal archives from September 2001

Tuskegee: could it happen again?(Tuskegee Syphilis Study and medical research ethics)
September 1, 2001... The Tuskegee Syphilis Study is often paired with the horrific Nazi experiments as the prime examples of what happens when powerless subjects, the state's coercive power, racism, and medical research are unmoored from ethical concerns. In the...

Getting our journals to developing countries.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... For some years now it has been the policy of the BMJ Publishing Group to give free subscriptions to its journals to applicants from countries in the developing world. However, in practice this has had its difficulties. Many developing countries...

Medical Anniversary.(Caesar Boeck, medical researcher on skin conditions)(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Caesar Boeck, 28 September 1845 Caesar Boeck (1845-1917) was born in Lier, Norway into an old Danish family. He graduated in 1871 from Christiana (Oslo) Medical School and did postgraduate dermatology with the ageing Hebra in Vienna. He...

Retinal astrocytic hamartoma.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... Routine ophthalmoscopic examination of an asymptomatic, otherwise healthy 63 year old woman revealed a one and a half optic disc diameter sized lesion in the peripheral retina of the right eye (fig 1). The lesion was a greyish white raised...

Calciphylaxis.
September 1, 2001... Abstract The phenomenon of calciphylaxis is rare, but potentially fatal. It has been recognised for a long time in patients with chronic renal failure with secondary hyperparathyroidism. Disturbed calcium and phosphate metabolism can...

Clinical implications of the specialised B cell response to polysaccharide encapsulated pathogens.
September 1, 2001... Polysaccharide encapsulated human pathogens include meningococci, pneumococci, and Haemophilus influenzae type b. These bacteria have caused substantial morbidity and mortality in humans since antiquity and are still the third leading cause of...

Hyperekplexia in neonates.
September 1, 2001... Abstract Hyperekplexia (startle disease) is a rare non-epileptic disorder characterised by an exaggerated persistent startle reaction to unexpected auditory, somatosensory and visual stimuli, generalised muscular rigidity, and nocturnal...

Prognostic value of stress echocardiography in women with high ([greater than or equal to]80%) probability of coronary artery disease.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Abstract Objective--To assess the prognostic significance of stress echocardiography in women with a high probability of coronary artery disease (CAD). Setting--Secondary and tertiary cardiology unit at a university teaching hospital....

Why do some people look older than they should?(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Abstract Background--As a component of studies on biological age, the age of subjects from their appearance (perceived age) was estimated. Objective--To determine the factors associated with looking older. Methods--Cross sectional...

Thiamine deficiency in patients with B-chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a pilot study.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Abstract Malignancy associated primary thiamine deficiency has been documented in several experimental tumours, sporadic clinical case reports, and in a number of patients with fast growing haematological malignancies. Thiamine status...

Specialist follow up of patients before end stage renal failure and its relationship to survival on dialysis.(Statistical Data Included)
September 1, 2001... Abstract The high mortality rate of patients with end stage renal failure (ESRF) treated by dialysis is determined principally by irreversible factors such as age and comorbidity. In this single centre retrospective study of all 1260 ESRF...

Primary neuroleptospirosis.
September 1, 2001... Abstract Leptospirosis is an important zoonosis of worldwide distribution. It is uncommon for leptospirosis to present as a primary neurological disease. In this study of patients who presented with an acute neurological disease, and who...

Changing thyroid status related to pregnancy.
September 1, 2001... Abstract A case of post-thyroidectomy hypothyroidism is reported. The patient became euthyroid in three consecutive pregnancies, reverting to hypothyroid within three months of delivery on each occasion. The alteration in thyroid status is...

"Do we murder Mary to save Jodie?" An ethical analysis of the separation of the Manchester conjoined twins.(England)
September 1, 2001... "Everyone has the right to life so why should we kill one of our daughters to enable the other to survive?" [*] That question by the parents of conjoined twins, Mary and Jodie, who were so fused that any attempt to separate them would...

A case of venous thrombosis.
September 1, 2001... An 81 year old man presented with an asymptomatic swelling of his left upper limb. The patient's past medical history included angina, hypertension, and a stroke (five years previously) which left him with mild dysphasia, but no other deficit....

An elderly woman with chronic knee pain and abnormal chest radiography.
September 1, 2001... An 83 year old Portuguese woman presented to the hospital with worsening chronic right knee pain, dull in nature, worse after a recent fall and with weight bearing. She had a history of hypothyroidism and chronic atrial fibrillation. Her...

Stridor, malaise, and visual loss in a woman from Sierra Leone.
September 1, 2001... A 20 year woman from Sierra Leone, presented with a three week history of pain and blurred vision in her left eye. She reported feeling unwell for one month with malaise, anorexia, weight loss, and night sweats. Her general practitioner had...

Abdominal pain in an intrauterine contraceptive device user.
September 1, 2001... A 41 year old shop assistant was admitted with a seven week history of colicky lower abdominal pain associated with alternating constipation and diarrhoea. In the preceding three weeks, she had experienced night sweats and had lost 5 kg in...

Abdominal pain after trauma in a young man.
September 1, 2001... A 27 year old man presented with vague abdominal pain two weeks after trauma to the abdomen by a cricket ball. The pain was felt in the right lower quadrant with an intermittent increase in severity. There were no systemic or other...

Transient ST segment changes mimicking early repolarisation phenomenon in a patient with angina at rest.
September 1, 2001... A 60 year old woman suffering from hypertension secondary to diabetic nephropathy was being followed up in a nephrology clinic. Her leg was amputated four years ago. At her fifth day of admission she had been seen by a cardiologist because of...

Two diagnoses from one electrocardiogram.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... A 76 year old women presented to casualty with a three hour history of central chest pain radiating to the back and left arm. She was dyspnoeic at rest and four doses of sublingual glycerine trinitrate (GTN) had provided only partial relief....

An unusual intra-abdominal tumour.(Brief Article)
September 1, 2001... A 72 year old men presented with a five week history of intermittent upper abdominal pain radiating to the flanks, lasting for several hours, aggravated by walking and movement and with one episode of vomiting. There were no other associated...

Practising Evidence-Based Primary Care.(Review)
September 1, 2001... Practising Evidence-Based Primary Care. By Tim Lancaster. (Pp 163; [pound]19.95.) BMJ Books, 1999. ISBN 1-85775-4050. [****] Evidence-based medicine is becoming an increasingly important topic for primary care physicians. This book is...

Critical Appraisal of Medical Literature.(Review)
September 1, 2001... Critical Appraisal of Medical Literature. By D Marchevsky. (Pp 288; [pound]55.25.) Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2000. ISBN 0-306-46474-8. [****] The aim of this book is to instruct the reader in the techniques of assessing medical...

Perioperative Medicine.(Review)
September 1, 2001... Perioperative Medicine. Edited by A Nicholls, I Wilson. (Pp 384; [pound]19.95.) Oxford University Press, 2000. ISBN 0-19-262975-1. [****] This 384 paged, pocket sized, multiauthor book from Exeter contains a huge amount of information,...

Clinical Effectiveness and Clinical Governance Made Easy.(Review)
September 1, 2001... Clinical Effectiveness and Clinical Governance Made Easy. By R Chambers, E Boath. (Pp 171; [pound]18.95.) Radcliffe Primary Care, 2001. ISBN 1-85775-443-3. [***] "Clinical governance" is in vogue at present. Most people have a vague sense...

Condoms.(Review)
September 1, 2001... Condoms. Edited by Adrian Mindel. (Pp 230; [pound]18.95.) BMJ Books, 2000. ISBN 0-7279-1267-4. [****] Who on earth would write a textbook on condoms? It is inevitable that such mistaken remarks are heard too frequently. The very opposite...

A History of Surgery.(Review)
September 1, 2001... A History of Surgery. Harold Ellis. (Pp 264; [pound]29.50.) Greenwich, 2001. ISBN 1-84110-023-4. **** Those who have enjoyed Professor Ellis' lectures on various aspects of surgical history will approach this book with high expectations,...

Analgesia, Anaesthesia and Pregnancy. A Practical Guide.(Review)
September 1, 2001... Analgesia, Anaesthesia and Pregnancy. A Practical Guide. S M Yentis, D Brighouse, A May, D Bogod, C Elton. (Pp 402; [pound]49.95.) Harcourt Publishers, 2001. ISBN 0-7020-2322-1.**** This is a comprehensive yet concise review of contemporary...