Thermography as a diagnostic aid in tennis elbow

Thermal screening was used in order to distinguish between Tennis Elbow and entrapment of posterior interosseous nerve. Both conditions have a very similar clinical picture but there should be an altogether different approach concerning treatment. The differential diagnosis is therefore of great importance and thermography of the elbow is a valuable aid in this distinction.     

HL-A as a diagnostic aid in incomplete rheumatic syndromes

Incomplete Reiter's syndrome (ICRS) and incomplete Beh?et's disease (ICBD) have many similar clinical features, making the diagnosis difficult. The association of RS and BD with different HL-A antigens is a help in differentiating between the two diseases. Eight patients with incomplete rheumatic syndrome are described. The results of HL-A typing suggest that five patients had incomplete RS and the other three incomplete BD. The value of tissue typing in the correct diagnosis of incomplete rheumatic syndrome is stressed.     

Absolute lymphocytopenia as a diagnostic aid in bronchogenic carcinoma

Total lymphocyte count and lymphocyte percentage were calculated in a group of 26 patients of Bronchogenic carcinoma and compared with the values in 22 cases of pulmonary tuberculosis. Patients of Bronchogenic carcinoma had a significant lymphocytopenia as compared to patients of tuberculosis. It is inferred that this peripheral lymphocytopenia can be used as a possible diagnostic pointer in patients of Bronchogenic carcinoma.     

Barium enema as a diagnostic aid in children with abdominal pain

Diagnostic barium enema is not a substitution for well executed physical examination, and its use should be reserved only for obscure situations. An abnormal roentgenogram provides valuable information, since the fear of missing acute appendicitis in these children is minimized. When normal, this diagnostic test may bring to early operation those with minimal symptoms or unusual presentations, thus avoiding the possibility of prolonged observation and perforation. In children with known associated severe medical maladies, diagnostic barium enema can serve to reaffirm the diagnosis prior to the hazardous operative intervention. It may also eliminate the need for operation in those conditions which mimic acute appendicitis. The use of diagnostic barium enema in the past three and a half years significantly improved our diagnostic capabilities in children with abdominal pain. There was a corresponding reduction in the number of normal appendixes removed. The efficancy and, above all, the safety of this procedure make it a valuable diagnostic aid in the care of children.     

Evaluation of fluoride uptake by enamel in children from fluoride dentifrices

Fluoride dentifrices are well accepted for their caries preventive effects. Although it is generally accepted that the presence of fluoride in the enamel protects teeth against carious attack, at the same time, there is some concern that ingestion of fluoride from toothpastes may substantially contribute to the total intake of this element. The present study was undertaken to clinically evaluate the fluoride uptake by human enamel after the use of lower concentrations of fluoride dentifrices and compare their potency to higher concentration in increasing the uptake of fluoride by enamel. Enamel biopsy was conducted on first permanent molars of 100 school children, aged 6-8 years before brushing and at intervals of one hour, 3 weeks, 6 weeks and 12 weeks following brushing with different concentrations of fluoride dentifrices. The fluoride content of the enamel biopsy samples were estimated using the Orion microprocessor ion analyser and by taking into consideration the enamel biopsy mass and depth of the etch. The results of the present study suggest that low fluoride concentration dentifrices provide similar fluoride uptake by enamel when compared with that of higher concentrations.     

Tuberculous peritonitis. Low ascitic fluid glucose concentration as a diagnostic aid

Five Vietnamese patients with tuberculous peritonitis are described. Fever, x-ray evidence of pulmonary tuberculosis, or positive PPD skin tests were absent in several patients. The diagnosis was considered only when routine paracentesis demonstrated ascitic fluids with increased protein concentrations and lymphocytic pleocytosis. Ascitic fluid glucose concentrations were less than 30 mg./100 cc. in three of five patients.     

Dynamic scintiscanning with technetium-99m as a diagnostic aid in oliguria after renal transplant

Scanning with technetium-99m was used as a diagnostic aid in renal transplant patients with post-transplant oliguria. It is a safe and dependable method of determining whether the renal vasculature is still intact and can often be used to differentiate acute tubular necrosis from acute rejection.     

The stethoscope as a diagnostic tool

It is not the purpose of this article to list the stethoscopic findings in various diseases, nor to discuss such conditions in detail, all of which may be found in any good text book of medicine. Rather, an attempt will be made to assess the significance of the stethoscope, with its limitations, in clinical diagnosis. Does it in fact now have a role of any importance, or is it merely carried as the doctor's traditional badge of office?     

Dental fluorosis: its use as a biomarker

Several epidemiological studies, beginning with those of Dean and co-workers in the 1940's, clearly demonstrate the relationship between dental fluorosis in humans and the level of fluoride in water supplies. These studies and others have shown that, in a population, there is a direct relationship among the degree of enamel fluorosis, plasma and bone fluoride levels, and the concentration of fluoride in drinking water. However, dental fluorosis is a reflection of fluoride exposure only during the time of enamel formation, somewhat limiting its use as a biomarker. In addition, the degree of fluorosis is dependent not only on the total fluoride dose, but also on the timing and duration of fluoride exposure. At the level of an individual response to fluoride exposure, factors such as body weight, activity level, nutritional factors, and the rate of skeletal growth and remodeling are also important. These variables, along with an individual variability in response to similar doses of fluoride, indicate that enamel fluorosis cannot be used as a biological marker of the level of fluoride exposure for an individual.     

An in vitro comparison of three fluoride regimens on enamel remineralization

PURPOSE: Chorioretinal toxoplasmosis can threaten visual function when located in the posterior pole. The aim of this study was to compare the advantages and disadvantage of combination of malocid-sulfadiazine and clindamycin subconjunctivally. METHODS: Two groups of patients affected by unilateral chorioretinal toxoplasmosis were studied. The diagnosis was performed in 77% of cases on acqueous humor analysis. The first group of twenty-six patients was treated with a combination of malocid-sulfadiazine while the second group (seventeen patients) was treated with clindamycin subconjunctivally. Local and general corticosteroids were associated in all cases. Mean follow-up was 19 months in the first group and 16.5 months in the second. RESULTS: Visual acuity was increased in 88.5% of cases in the first group and in 94% of cases in the second group. Cicatrization obtained in both groups was comparably delayed 1.68 months for the first and 1.26 months for the second. Recurrences were rarely observed in the two groups: respectively 8% and 6% of cases. No local and general complication was noted. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest the advantages of subconjunctival clindamycin treatment due to the absence of general hematological toxicity.     

In situ hybridization: a possible diagnostic aid in leptomeningeal metastasis

In this review we discuss the clinical features and pathophysiology of leptomeningeal metastasis (LM), and elaborate on diagnostic tools for the detection of this serious complication of cancer. Because of the low sensitivity of the cytologic examination, new diagnostic approaches have been developed. The in situ hybridization technique may prove to be a reliable and early test for the detection of LM.     

Caries and fluorosis prevalence in communities with different concentrations of fluoride in the water

The need to defluoridate and fluoridate the water supplies in areas with drinking water naturally containing above-optimal (>/=2.5 mg/l) and suboptimal (相似文献   

In situ remineralization of subsurface enamel lesion after the use of a fluoride chewing gum

The intracellular sodium of the perfused rat mandibular salivary gland was measured by double-quantum filtered 23Na-NMR spectroscopy at 2.34, 4.7 and 8.45 T. Biexponential relaxation of the intracellular 23Na signal was observed, and its intensity was increased by administration of acetylcholine with ouabain at 25 degrees C. The transverse and longitudinal relaxation rate constants were determined by the 'transverse experiment' (D-90 degrees-tau/2-180 degrees-tau/2-90 degrees-delta-90 degrees-acquire) and the 'longitudinal experiment' (D-180 degrees-tau-54.7 degrees-delta-90 degrees-acquire), respectively. From observed dependencies on B0 and temperature (5-37 degrees C), a possibility of exchange between two populations of intracellular Na+ was suggested. A small fraction of Na+ is in the slow-motion condition (with a quadrupole coupling constant of approx. 1.75 MHz and a correlation time of 6 x 10(-8) s). The major portion of intracellular Na+ is in the extreme narrowing condition with a transverse relaxation rate constant of approx. 100 s-1, which corresponds to a viscosity of approx. 5 cP.     

Light touch contact as a balance aid

Canes and crutches are commonly used mobility aids, and most studies of their use have focused on issues equating support with the resulting decrease in force required of the affected limb. Clinicians, however, often observe patients with poor balance control using light touch of surrounding objects and surfaces to stabilize themselves while standing and walking. A series of studies have shown that sensory input to the hand and arm through contact cues at the fingertip or through a cane can reduce postural sway in individuals who have no impairments and in patients without a functioning vestibular system, even when contact force levels are inadequate to provide physical support of the body. This article summarizes these results, which have implications for design considerations of rehabilitation aids. Mobility devices or rehabilitation aids that provide feedback about applied force or enhance existing resolution of applied force changes across the skin surface may lead to new rehabilitation techniques.