Suppurative corneal ulceration in Bangladesh

Suppurative keratitis is an important preventable cause of blindness, particularly in the developing world. This study analyses 142 cases of suppurative keratitis referred to Chittagong Eye Infirmary, Bangladesh. Some 53.5% of cases were bacterial and 35.9% were fungal. The five most common pathogens were: Pseudomonas sp. 24%, Streptococcus pneumoniae 17%, Aspergillus sp. 13%, Fusarium sp. 7% and Curvularia sp. 6%. Gram stain and culture results were consistent in 62.6% of cases. Previous antibiotic treatment was a significant factor for failure of culture isolation and less so for Gram stain failure. On Gram stain, 55.9% of pseudomonal cases were missed, but only 2% of fungal cases were missed. Over all, Gram stain had a sensitivity of 62% and positive predictive value of 84% for bacterial cases, and 98% and 94% for fungal cases, respectively. Fungal ulcers were typically filamentous, but an antecedent history of trauma was not common. The most frequent injury was due to rice grains, but the inoculum appeared to be introduced during eye washing with contaminated water. Pseudomonal ulcers occurred most frequently in the monsoon season, and Fusarium cases were seen only in the hot, dry season.     

Psychiatric mental health nursing: challenge and change

. We invited Dr Peplau to provide a personal reflection on the recent history of psychiatric nursing and her thoughts on immediate challenges facing the profession. The paper is an individual scholar's commentary on the way that psychiatry has waxed and waned over the years, in relation to nursing. This historical review discovers and reports a challenge to current practice. Dr Peplau describes a professional shift that is pulling nurses toward the subordinate role observed earlier this century. The paper draws attention to how contemporary practice can be positively influenced, e.g., by giving a structure to the allocation and conduct of nurse–patient time.     

Effect of the diabetogenic agent dithisone on zinc concentration in pancreatic islets of animals of different species

Research Institute of Pharmacology, Tomsk Scientific Center, Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR. Translated from Byulleten' Éksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 113, No. 1, pp. 53–55, January, 1992.     

Effect of platinum-containing cytostatics on rat progeny

Pathological changes in internal organs are seen in some offspring of intact females and males treated with platidiam 1 month before mating. One case of malformation was found in the progeny of cytostatic-treated females. High embryonal mortality is noted in animals treated with cytostatics 3 and 6 months before mating. Delayed ossification is observed in some animals of almost all experiments groups. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 124, No. 11, pp. 516–519, November, 1997     

Role of proliferation and differentiation of hemopoietic precursors in regeneration of hemopoiesis in cytostatic myelodepressions

Quantitative and qualitative composition of hemopoietic tissue and the intensity of proliferation and differentiation of committed hemopoietic precursors are studied in mice treated with adriamycin, cyclophosphane, or 5-fluorouracil. It is shown that intense maturation of colony-forming units results in rapid regeneration of hemopoiesis even under conditions of reduced proliferation of these cells, whereas inhibition of their differentiation suppresses restoration of bone marrow cellularity despite intense proliferation of hemopoietic precursors. Translated fromByulleten' Eksperimental'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 124, No. 12, pp. 616–620, December, 1997     

Rheologic predictors of the severity of the painful sickle cell crisis

Deformable sickle erythrocytes have been reported by Mohandas and Evans to be more adherent to vascular endothelium than rigid irreversibly sickled cells (ISC). To define the clinical implications of this finding we have determined genetic, hematological, clinical, and rheological characteristics of sickle erythrocytes obtained from 65 patients with sickle cell anemia and fetal hemoglobin (Hb F) levels less than 15%. The alpha-globin gene number had a significant effect on the hematological parameters, the percentage of dense cells, ISC number, and HB A2 levels. The presence or absence of alpha thalassemia, however, had no effect on the frequency and severity of the sickle cell painful crisis (r = 0.06, P greater than .05). RBC deformability, determined by an ektacytometer, showed great heterogeneity among patients with three or four alpha-globin genes. Linear regression analyses of the data showed significant positive correlation of the frequency and severity of the painful crisis with RBC deformability (r = 0.49, P less than .001), and negative correlations with the percentage of dense cells (r = -0.37, P = .002), and the percentage of ISC (r = -0.46, P less than .001). We propose that the more deformable the sickle RBC are, the greater their adherence to vascular endothelium, and the more they cause vaso-occlusive crises, RBC deformability and the percentage of dense cells (or ISC) seem to have a predictive value of the frequency and severity of painful crises in sickle cell anemia.