Effect of calcium channel blocker nifedipine on anxiety and seizure manifestations of abstinence syndrome in rats after withdrawal of long-term diazepam administration]

PURPOSE: To test whether physician's diagnostic inferences can be improved by communicating information using natural frequencies instead of probabilities. Whereas probabilities and relative frequencies are normalized with respect to disease base rates, natural frequencies are not normalized. METHOD: The authors asked 48 physicians in Munich and Düsseldorf to determine the positive predictive values (PPVs) of four diagnostic tests. Information presented in the four problems appeared either as probabilities (the traditional way) or as natural frequencies. RESULTS: When the information was presented as probabilities, the physicians correctly estimated the PPVs in only 10% of cases. When the same information was presented as natural frequencies, that percentage increased to 46%. CONCLUSION: Representing information in natural frequencies is a fast and effective way of facilitating diagnosis insight, which in turn helps physicians to better communicate risks to patients, and patients to better understand these risks.     

Case of Goodpasture's syndrome

A case of Goodpasture's syndrome in a patient of 26 is described. The disease mainly involved the lungs and the kidneys. The development of the pneumo-renal syndrome in the patient was favoured by the occurrence of chronic focal diseases (rhinitis, otitis, sinusitis) which created opportunities for long-term microbial sensitization of the organs.     

Surgical treatment of solitary or common heart ventricle

On the basis of 24 cases reported in the literature and 2 personal observations of the authors the indications for surgical correction of a single ventricle of the heart are discussed. Two different surgical techniques are described: 1) haemodynamic correction of the defect comprising a closure of the venous atrioventricular valve, oversewing the proximal pulmonary artery, and anastomosing the right atrium and the distal pulmonary artery; 2) radical correction--creation of the ventricular septum. The variants of the disease permitting a radical correction are indicated, the results of surgery, the causes of complications and mortality are discussed.     

Role of functional overloading of the maxillo-dental system in the development of radiation osteomyelitis

The authors present a work intended to assess the effects of lumbar sympathectomy using radioactive microspheres. These contain 99mTe and are injected into the femoral artery. The distribution of radioactivity is then measured at the lower limb with a gamma camera linked to a computer. Seventeen patients were tested before and after lumbar sympathectomy. It appears from this short series that lumbar sympathectomy causes a redistribution of the radioactive material directed towards the extremities, mainly the feet.