Carbohydrate antigens as potential biomarkers for the malignancy in patients with idiopathic deep venous thrombosis: A retrospective cohort study / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

A variety of biomarkers have been identified in recent prospective and retrospective reports as being potentially predictive of venous thromboembolis (VTE), particularly idiopathic deep venous thrombosis (IDVT). This study identified a serum tumor biomarker for early screening of IDVT. A total of 128 IDVT patients (54 females and 74 males; average age: 50.9±17.4 years) were included. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), ferritin, β2-microglobulin, cancer antigen (CA) 125, CA 15-3, CA 19-9, squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), prostate specific antigen (PSA), free PSA (f-PSA), and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) in patients with IDVT were detected. Malignancies were histo- or cytopathologically confirmed. Of the 128 IDVT patients, 16 (12.5%) were found to have malignancies. Serum CEA, CA 125, CA 15-3, and CA 19-9 were found to be helpful for detecting malignancies in IDVT patients. Our study revealed a positive association between these markers and tumors in IDVT patients. On the other hand, SCC and AFP were not sensitive enough to be markers for detecting tumors in patients with IDVT. No significant differences were found in positive rates of ferritin and β2-microglobulin between tumor and non-tumor groups, and no significant difference exists in serum levels of ferritin and β2-microglobulin between the two groups. Carbohydrate antigens, CA 15-3 in particular, may be useful for differential diagnosis and prediction of malignancies in patients with IDVT.

Carbohydrate antigens as potential biomarkers for the malignancy in patients with idiopathic deep venous thrombosis: a retrospective cohort study / 华中科技大学学报（医学）（英德文版）

A variety of biomarkers have been identified in recent prospective and retrospective reports as being potentially predictive of venous thromboembolis (VTE), particularly idiopathic deep venous thrombosis (IDVT). This study identified a serum tumor biomarker for early screening of IDVT. A total of 128 IDVT patients (54 females and 74 males; average age: 50.9±17.4 years) were included. Carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA), ferritin, β2-microglobulin, cancer antigen (CA) 125, CA 15-3, CA 19-9, squamous cell carcinoma antigen (SCC), alpha-fetoprotein (AFP), prostate specific antigen (PSA), free PSA (f-PSA), and beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (β-HCG) in patients with IDVT were detected. Malignancies were histo- or cytopathologically confirmed. Of the 128 IDVT patients, 16 (12.5%) were found to have malignancies. Serum CEA, CA 125, CA 15-3, and CA 19-9 were found to be helpful for detecting malignancies in IDVT patients. Our study revealed a positive association between these markers and tumors in IDVT patients. On the other hand, SCC and AFP were not sensitive enough to be markers for detecting tumors in patients with IDVT. No significant differences were found in positive rates of ferritin and β2-microglobulin between tumor and non-tumor groups, and no significant difference exists in serum levels of ferritin and β2-microglobulin between the two groups. Carbohydrate antigens, CA 15-3 in particular, may be useful for differential diagnosis and prediction of malignancies in patients with IDVT.

Overview of medical schools in the Eastern Mediterranean Region of the World Health Organization

The 22 countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Region [EMR] exhibit considerable diversity, both culturally and economically. This paper collated published data on the status of medical schools in the Region to provide information to assist in future planning. Information about medical schools was obtained from the International Medical Education Directory, the Avicenna Directory, the WHO/EMR Health Professions Education Directory and the Institute for International Medical Education's Database of Medical Schools. The registered number of medical schools in the Region varied according to the different directories. There were variations in the language used for instruction [some used more than one language] and the density of medical schools per million population. The density and number of medical schools in the country were not related to the number of working physicians which ranged from 2.1 per 10 000 population in Afghanistan to 28.3 in Egypt. An updated directory of medical schools in the Region is much needed

Attitude of community and village leaders towards the community -based programme in the faculty of medicine - University of Gezira, Sudan

The objective is to describe the attitude of the community and village leaders towards the community based programme implemented in the Faculty of Medicine - University of Gezira [FMUG]. The curriculum is unique, with 30% of it is community-Based. So the attitude of the community is highly considered in the evaluation of the programme. Twenty-four community leaders from the 48 members of the State Assembly were interviewed. Forty-eight of the village leaders from nine villages in El managil area where the three phases of the Interdisciplinary Field Training, Research and Rural Development Programme IFTRRDP have been completed recently were also interviewed through a pre structured interview by independent, trained personnel and their responses were collected and analyzed. All the community and village leaders knew most of the objectives of the school. The expectations of the community from the school are the health education and treatment of patient. Community benefits from the presence of the students were rated as good and excellent by 58% of the community leaders and 87.8% of the village leaders. More visits for strengthening the relation between the school and the community was suggested by 72.9% [n = 35]. 18.8% [n = 9] of the village leaders participated in the evaluation of students. Objectives of the community based programme at FMUG are very well known and accepted by the community. This support the FMUG community partnership and services beside training students. The expectations of the community are fitting fully with the objectives of the school. The attitude of the community towards the community based programmes in FMUG is positive, this can be sustained by ensuring more involvement of them in all steps of the programme. More studies to describe and measure the attitudes of the community in other CBE medical schools is recommended for comparison

Use of the Internet by Sudanese doctors and medical students

Patterns of use of the Internet were investigated by a questionnaire survey of 102 hospital doctors and 123 medical students in Khartoum, Sudan, in January 2005. More doctors [84.3%] had used the Internet than had students [78.9%]. Half of consultants [55.0%] used the Internet daily, compared with only 18.2% of junior doctors. Many consultants and junior doctors rated their abilities as poor [60.0% and 53.1%]. One-third of students [33.3%] used the Internet only for personal and not for academic purposes. Barriers to greater use of the Internet by doctors included: time constraints [80.2%], poor skills [54.6%], no access to full texts of journal articles [53.4%], difficulty in verifying the quality of information [47.6%] and high costs [41.8%]. Students faced similar barriers but also listed poor knowledge of the English language

Deficiencies in medical prescriptions in a Sudanese hospital

We determined the quality of medical prescription in Ribat University Hospital, Khartoum through detecting errors in doctors' prescriptions. We randomly selected 1000 medical prescriptions and checked them for completeness and legibility. The total number of doctors responsible for writing the prescriptions was 46. The patient's full name was written on only 18.8% of prescriptions and that of the doctor on only 6.7%. In only 19.5% of prescriptions were drugs prescribed by their generic names, 59.7% lacked the quantity of the drug, 25.7% lacked the duration of treatment and 15.8% were difficult to read. The quality of drug prescriptions written by our hospital doctors is seriously deficient

Attitudes towards euthanasia and assisted suicide among Sudanese doctors

An anonymous questionnaire was used to survey the attitudes of 382 doctors towards euthanasia and assisted suicide at Khartoum's two main hospitals. Of the 382, 248 responded [65% response rate]. The mean age was 38 +/- 13.5 years; male:female ratio was 130:118; 66% were house staff, 34% specialists; 92% Muslim, 8% Christian. The vast majority [85%] strongly opposed the practices, while 15% thought they should be performed only in certain situations, subject to strict safeguards. Reasons given for opposition included religious beliefs, inconsistency with the doctor's role, presence of subtle pressures on patients, and potential for misuse among the physically and intellectually handicapped