[Dietary Factors Associated with Hyperuricemia and Glycolipid Metabolism Disorder in Middle-aged and Elderly People].

UNLABELLED: Health Supervision of Law Enforcement Detachment , Chengdu 610016 , China OBJECTIVE: To identify dietary factors associated with glycolipid metabolism disorder and hyperuricemia in middle-aged and elderly people. METHODS: 183 visitors to a community health service center for physical examinations and 241 respiratory patients admitted to a hospital ward were randomly selected. The prevalence of hyperuricemia and dyslipidemic diabetics in the two groups of participants was investigated. Dietary information was collected using a semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire. RESULTS (1) Male participants had a higher level of prevalence of hyperuricemia than female (P < 0.01). (2) Hypoglycemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia and excessive intake of meat, poultry, alcohol, energy and fat were risk factors of hyperuricemia (P < 0.05); whereas, moderate intake of vegetables and fruits were protective factors (P < 0.01). CONCLUSION: Hyperuricemia is associated with glycolipid metabolism disorder and dietary factors. Early monitoring of glucose and lipid metabolism and dietary interventions in high risk population may play an important role in the prevention of hyperuricemia.

[Clinical distribution and drug resistance of Staphylococcus aureus isolated from hospitalized children].

OBJECTIVE: To learn about the clinical distribution and drug resistance of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus) isolated from inpatients and provide evidence for clinically reasonable use of antibiotics. METHODS: Data including clinical features and drug sensitivity of S. aureus isolated from hospitalized patients in the last two years were analyzed. RESULTS: 248 S. aureus strains were isolated from inpatients of our hospital in the last 2 years. The most common disease caused by S. aureus was pneumonia with a total of 163 patients. The second was skin and soft tissue infection with 21 patients in total. Sepsis occurred in 11 patients. The most commonly used antibiotics included oxacillin, nafcillin, cefathiamidine and vancomycin. The average course of antibiotic was 12.48 days. Treatment course of pneumonia and sepsis was 13.71 and 15.11 respectively. 96.31% (235/244) of S. aureus were resistant to penicillin. Vancomycin-resistant S. aureus has not been isolated. CONCLUSION: S. aureus pneumonia is the leading cause of hospitalization of children with S. aureus infection. S. aureus is highly resistant to commonly used antibiotics and related infections need longer therapy. Clinicians should pay more attention to S. aureus infection.

An observational study of emergency department intern activities.

OBJECTIVES: To describe how intern time is spent, and the frequency of activities performed by interns during emergency department (ED) rotations. DESIGN AND SETTING: Prospective observational study of 42 ED interns from three Melbourne city teaching hospitals during 5 months in 2006. Direct observations were made by a single researcher for 390.8 hours, sampling all days of the week and all hours of the day. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Proportion of time spent on tasks and number of procedures performed or observed by interns. RESULTS: Direct patient-related tasks accounted for 86.6% of total intern time, including 43.9% spent on liaising and documentation, 17.5% obtaining patient histories, 9.3% on physical examinations, 5.6% on procedures, 4.8% ordering or interpreting investigations, 3.0% on handover and 4.9% on other clinical activities. Intern time spent on non-clinical activities included 4.2% on breaks, 3.7% on downtime, 1.7% on education, and 1.3% on teaching others. Adjusted for an 8-week term, the ED intern would take 253 patient histories, consult more senior ED staff on 683 occasions, perform 237 intravenous cannulations/phlebotomies, 39 arterial punctures, 12 wound repairs and apply 16 plasters. They would perform chest compressions under supervision on seven occasions, observe defibrillation twice and intubation once, but may not see a thoracostomy. CONCLUSIONS: The ED exposes interns to a broad range of activities. With the anticipated increase in intern numbers, dilution of the emergency medicine experience may occur, and requirements for supervision may increase. Substitution of ED rotations may deprive interns of a valuable learning experience.