Quality assessment of diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of infectious diseases in primary care: a systematic review of quality indicators.

Objective: To identify existing quality indicators (QIs) for diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of patients with infectious diseases in primary care.

Design: A systematic literature search was performed in PubMed and EMBASE. We included studies with a description of the development of QIs for diagnosis and antibiotic use in patients with infectious diseases in primary care.

Three cases of Capnocytophaga canimorsus meningitis seen at a regional hospital in one year.

Three cases of meningitis caused by the fastidious Gram-negative rod Capnocytophaga canimorsus have been observed at a regional hospital in 1 y. The difficulties connected with the correct diagnosis by classical culturing methods in contrast to molecular methods, as well as possible reasons for the accumulation of cases, are discussed.

[Toe tourniquet syndrome in three month-old infant].

Toe tourniquet syndrome is a rare condition in which a hair or thread becomes tightly wrapped around an appendage, which causes ischaemic strangulation. We present a three month-old infant with strangulation of one toe to direct attention to this condition. Prompt recognition and complete removal of all fibres is necessary in order to prevent complications.

Age-dependent nongenetic influences of birth weight and adult body fat on insulin sensitivity in twins.

Objective: We hypothesized a nongenetic influence of birth weight (BW) and twin and zygosity status on dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry determined adult total and regional body composition and a quantitative equal, although independent, importance of adult body composition and BW for insulin sensitivity.

Design And Methods: This was a clinical study of 110 young (aged 22-31 yr) and 86 elderly twins (aged 57-66 yr) and 32 age-matched controls with measures of BW, adult body composition, and insulin sensitivity.

Results: BW was nongenetically, positively associated with height, weight, and total and regional (trunk, arm, and leg) fat mass and percentages in the young twins.