Comparison of rehabilitation practice on hospital wards for stroke patients.

Background And Purpose: The aim of the study was to observe patients on a stroke unit and to compare their activity with that of patients on conventional hospital wards to identify aspects of rehabilitation practice that might account for differences in outcome.

Methods: Stroke patients admitted to the hospital were observed on three 8-hour shifts over 3 consecutive days. An observer recorded, at 10-minute intervals, where patients were, what they were doing, and whether their positioning was as recommended by rehabilitation therapists.

Buprenorphine and hepatic pruritus.

Pruritus in cholestatic liver disease can be difficult to treat. It may be related to impaired excretion of large opioid peptides. Buprenorphine, a drug with partial opiate antagonist properties, was used in a double-blind trial of five patients with uncontrollable itching.

Effect of oral cyclosporin on renal function in Crohn's disease.

Twenty-one patients with Crohn's disease were followed prospectively for 24 weeks to examine the effect of a low-dose cyclosporin regime on renal function (initial dose 5 mg/kg reduced by 1 mg/kg every two months to a maintenance of 2 mg/kg). Glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) were measured by radioisotope clearance at 0, 6 and 24 weeks. GFR and ERPF fell significantly (mean GFR at baseline: 120.

Plasma viscosity in inflammatory bowel disease.

Aims: To assess the relation of plasma viscosity to disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

Methods: Crohn's disease (n = 60) and ulcerative colitis (n = 71) were diagnosed on the basis of typical histological or radiological features. Active Crohn's disease was defined as a Crohn's disease activity index of 150 or over.

Long-term treatment of Crohn's disease with cyclosporine: the effect of a very low dose on maintenance of remission.

Low-dose oral cyclosporine was used to maintain remission in patients with Crohn's disease. In seven patients, cyclosporine was used as a steroid-sparing agent; in 14 it was given for refractory active disease as an adjunct to conventional treatment, and then continued as maintenance treatment. Cyclosporine was given at an initial dose of 5 mg/kg reduced by 1 mg/kg at 2-month intervals until a maintenance dose of 2 mg/kg was reached.