The behaviour of alcohol-dependent drinkers of spirits during level 4 COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland, New Zealand.

Introduction: Behaviour of alcohol drinkers during previous major public health or economic crises has varied, with reductions in use generally occurring during periods of reduced availability. This study aimed to discover the behaviour of a group of dependent drinkers of spirits during a 33-day period of complete closure of physical stores selling spirits during COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland, New Zealand, March 2020.

Methods: Electronic clinical records of drinkers waitlisted to complete an alcohol detox at the in-patient service were followed from day 1 of lockdown and outcomes at the end of the period analysed.

The effect of alcohol price on dependent drinkers' alcohol consumption.

Aims: To investigate the current purchasing behaviours of a group of dependent drinkers and their potential response to future increases in the price of alcohol.

Methods: 115 clients undergoing medical detoxification completed an anonymous survey about their daily alcohol consumption, its cost, their response to potential price increases and strategies previously used when unable to afford alcohol.

Results: Mean and median number of standard drinks consumed per day was 24, at a median cost of $25 NZD (95%CI $22, $30).

The end of submacular surgery for age-related macular degeneration? A meta-analysis.

Background: The aim of this meta-analysis was to summarize and to discuss the results of the four main submacular surgical procedures for age-related macular degeneration (AMD) as reported in the literature through 2004 and to compare them to the Submacular Surgery Trials (SST) data.

Methods: The existing data in the literature on submacular surgery for AMD from 1992 to 2004 were evaluated. The main outcomes were proportion of patients with two or more lines of improvement in visual acuity (VA) and proportion with two or more lines of deterioration in VA after surgery.

Preoperative predictors of positive margins after loop electrosurgical excisional procedure-Cone.

Objective: A LEEP-Cone may not be necessary for all patients with traditional cone indications. This study defines populations where a single pass technique with the LEEP is appropriate.

Methods: We retrospectively reviewed patients undergoing LEEP-Cone procedures performed at the University of Oklahoma Health Science Center from February of 1994 to July of 2002.

Gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy is an active combination in the treatment of platinum-resistant ovarian and peritoneal carcinoma.

The treatment of recurrent ovarian cancer with the combination of gemcitabine and cisplatin chemotherapy has recently been shown to be an active regimen. But the majority of positive responses have been observed in patients considered either platinum-sensitive or who have had extended platinum-free intervals. The purpose of our study was to review our experience with this regimen in women with platinum-resistant ovarian and peritoneal carcinoma with more recent exposure to platinum.

Management of atypical and low-grade cervical cytology.

The finding of atypical and low-grade cervical cytology on routine Papanicolaou test is considered problematic for gynecologists and pathologists. The interpretation and management of these cases can be difficult when Papanicolaou test results fall into the Bethesda 2001 categories of atypical squamous cells, atypical squamous cells--cannot rule out high-grade, atypical glandular cells, or low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesion. Although liquid-based Papanicolaou tests may have resulted in some improvement in detection, a large amount of variability in cytologic interpretations continues to exist.

Uterine papillary serous carcinoma: comparisons of outcomes in surgical Stage I patients with and without adjuvant therapy.

Objective: Our aim was to determine the outcomes of Stage I uterine papillary serous carcinoma (UPSC) patients with and without adjuvant therapy after comprehensive surgical staging.

Methods: Patients with FIGO Stage I UPSC diagnosed from 1987 to 2000 were identified from tumor registry databases at four institutions. A retrospective chart review identified 60 women who underwent comprehensive surgical staging, including a total hysterectomy, bilateral salpingo-oophorectomy, pelvic/para-aortic lymphadenectomy, and peritoneal cytology.

Tempol, an antioxidant, restores endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor-mediated vasodilation during hypertension.

Acetylcholine releases a non-prostanoid endothelium-derived hyperpolarizing factor (EDHF) and nitric oxide from physiological salt solution perfused rat mesenteric arteries. This study reports an impairment in EDHF-mediated vasodilation in deoxycorticosterone acetate (DOCA)-salt hypertensive versus control normotensive rats. Nitric oxide-mediated vasodilation to acetylcholine was not altered in the animals.

Outcome after silicone oil removal.

Background: Combined with vitreoretinal surgery, silicone oil injection has become a standard technique and improves the prognosis of complex retinal detachment. As silicone oil leads to long term complications, removal of silicone oil from the eye is recommended. To evaluate the outcome after silicone oil removal, retinal redetachment, visual acuity, and complications were analysed.

Optimizing frequency and number of controls for automatic multichannel analyzers.

Sampling strategy fundamentally influences the effectiveness of quality control with control charts. This study shows a simple approach for optimizing the control strategy for automatic multichannel analyzers that takes into account cost-efficiency considerations. Our main focus is on the frequency of controls necessary.

Zinc supplementation stimulates tetanus antibody formation and soluble interleukin-2 receptor levels in chronic hemodialysis patients.

Immunodepression in end-stage renal disease has been associated with zinc deficiency. In a controlled study serum zinc levels, serum concentrations of soluble interleukin-2 receptor (sIL-2R), and tetanus IgG antibody titers were measured in 65 hemodialysis patients before and after intravenous zinc supplementation for 2 months. The hemodialysis patients had significantly lower predialysis serum zinc concentrations compared to healthy controls (63 +/- 1.

Advantages of the new loop diuretic torasemide over furosemide in patients with cirrhosis and ascites. A randomized, double blind cross-over trial.

Torasemide is a new loop diuretic with a longer half-life and longer action than furosemide in healthy subjects. In order to evaluate the pharmacodynamic effects, single oral doses of furosemide (80 mg) and torasemide (20 mg), which were equipotent in healthy subjects, were given to 14 patients with cirrhosis and ascites. Before the study patients underwent an equilibration period of 4 days without diuretics.

[Effect of zinc substitution on lymphocyte subsets and cellular immune function in hemodialysis patients].

Infection is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing hemodialysis for end stage renal disease. Low plasma zinc levels have been associated with immunodepression in these patients. In a randomized, placebo controlled double-blind cross over study, plasma zinc levels, delayed hypersensivity to 7 Antigens (Merieux-Multitest), absolute lymphocyte counts, T- and B-lymphocytes, suppressor-T and helper T-cells and natural killer cells were studied in 25 hemodialysis patients before, during and after intravenous zinc supplementation for 8 weeks.

[Anti-ischemic action of the transdermally-applied beta-receptor blocker, mepindolol, in patients with stable angina pectoris. Comparison with transdermal nitrate].

A new transdermal beta-blocker containing system (Mepindolol BIO TSD) was compared in a placebo controlled cross over trial with a transdermal nitrate system in 14 patients suffering from coronary heart disease with stable angina pectoris. Under Mepindolol TSD both the incidence of angina pectoris attacks and the consumption of oral nitroglycerin dropped significantly. Under ergometry it resulted in an improvement in the maximum exercise tolerance and in a significant reduction in the ischemic ST-Segment deviation.

Increased in vitro platelet aggregation in hypertriglyceridemias.

Platelet aggregation induced by ADP and collagen was monitored in 25 patients with increased serum levels of triglycerides (7 HLPs type IIb, 14 type IV, 4 type V patients) and compared with a group of 10 normolipidaemic control persons. Platelet aggregation was studied simultaneously in platelet rich plasma (PRP) by both turbidometric and impedance technique and also in whole blood (WB) by the impedance method. Whereas platelet aggregation testing by turbidometry was limited by the optical density of the plasma samples in hypertriglyceridemia, the aggregation process could easily be registered in PRP and WB using the impedance method.