Providing better care for patients with complex needs in acute medicine.

Patients with complex needs are commonly admitted on the acute medical take and comprise a significant proportion of the workload for an acute physician. An innovative multi-professional approach to the assessment of this group of patients has been developed in Edinburgh; this paper summarises the results of a 4 week review of data collected on patients assessed by the multiprofessional team on the Medical Assessment Unit at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary.

Opportunistic group G streptococcus infection of both prosthetic knee joints.

A case of polyarticular sepsis from group G streptococcus is described in a patient with rheumatoid disease and decubitus ulcers. This is a rare condition which is often associated with a mosaic of predisposing factors and requires prompt and aggressive antimicrobial therapy.

A comparative review of the adverse effects of calcium antagonists.

A large number of drugs within the 3 currently classes of calcium antagonists are in common medical use for the treatment of hypertension and ischaemic heart disease. The reported adverse effect profile for each of these drugs varies, but tends to hold true to drug class and are typified by the adverse reactions reported for nifedipine and amlodipine (dihydropyridines), diltiazem (benzothiazepines) and verapamil (phenylalkylamines). Minor adverse effects such as flushing, headache, ankle oedema, palpitations and constipation are not uncommon and frequently require the cessation of treatment. Of greater concern affecting the wide and common first-line use of calcium antagonists is the as-yet unresolved issue of a reportedly greater risk of myocardial infarction and death following the use of short-acting nifedipine in patients with a history of hypertension, myocardial infarction or angina. Until this issue is fully resolved, it would seem prudent to limit the use of this agent in 'at-risk' patients and to await the results of further prospective studies before a final conclusion can be made.

Chemical generation of nitric oxide in the mouth from the enterosalivary circulation of dietary nitrate.

High concentrations of nitrite present in saliva (derived from dietary nitrate) may, upon acidification, generate nitrogen oxides in the stomach in sufficient amounts to provide protection from swallowed pathogens. We now show that, in the rat, reduction of nitrate to nitrite is confined to a specialized area on the posterior surface of the tongue, which is heavily colonized by bacteria, and that nitrate reduction is absent in germ-free rats. We also show that in humans increased salivary nitrite production resulting from nitrate intake enhances oral nitric oxide production. We propose that the salivary generation of nitrite is accomplished by a symbiotic relationship involving nitrate-reducing bacteria on the tongue surface, which is designed to provide host defence against microbial pathogens in the mouth and lower gut. These results provide further evidence for beneficial effects of dietary nitrate.

The effect of amoxycillin on salivary nitrite concentrations: an important mechanism of adverse reactions?

Broad spectrum antibiotics are known to predispose towards oral candidiasis and gastroenteritis. Oral nitrite synthesis by commensal bacteria may be important in protecting the mouth and lower intestine from pathogenic organisms, including Candida albicans. The effect of 2 days administration of the broad spectrum antibiotic amoxycillin on salivary nitrite concentration, following a 200 mg potassium nitrate oral load, was studied in 10 healthy volunteers. The Cmax fell by 40% and the AUC was reduced by 1227 microM h (43%, 95% CI 273, 2181, P < 0.006) in the antibiotic treated group when compared with control. These findings suggest that destruction of nitrate reductase containing bacteria in the mouth by antibiotics may explain an increased incidence of infection with Candida and other pathogens.

The effects of initial end contact on medial collateral ligament healing: a morphological and biomechanical study in a rabbit model.

In this investigation, the effect of initial end contact on medial collateral ligament (MCL) healing was studied in the rabbit model. Sixty-eight 1-year-old New Zealand white rabbits were separated into two groups. In one group, a 4 mm saggital Z-plasty was performed in the right MCL midsubstance (contact group), and in the other group, an analogous 4 mm midsubstance segment was removed (gap group). Left knees were unoperated to serve as internal contralateral MCL controls. Animals had unrestricted cage activity until sacrifice in groups of eight at 3, 6, 14, and 40 weeks postoperatively. Early results demonstrated that contact and gap injuries healed with what appeared to be scar tissue both morphologically and biomechanically. In both groups, laxities recovered to their contralateral values within 6 weeks and biomechanical viscoelastic behaviors recovered to 68-92% of contralaterals by 14-40 weeks. Despite these similarities, contacts showed morphological and biomechanical evidence of improved healing over gaps. Contact scars remodeled more quickly, recovered laxity more quickly, and were generally closer to contralaterals than gaps in terms of their structural strength, stiffness, and material behaviors, after 40 weeks of healing. With the exception of appearances and failure stress, all measured properties of contact healing MCLs were statistically indistinguishable from contralateral MCLs at 40 weeks of healing. These advantages of contact healing in this model support speculations that there are differences in the early rate and possibly in the later quality of ligament healing when cut rabbit MCL ends are in proximity. Longer-term studies to define end points and mechanisms of healing are required.

Poisoning treatment centre admissions following acute incidents involving pesticides.

1. Adult hospital admissions following acute exposures to pesticides are very uncommon and are more often due to parasuicide than to accidents. 2. Most accidental pesticide incidents are work-related. 3. Males are more likely to be involved than females (2.9:1). 4. Life-threatening and fatal consequences developed in 24% of 54 incidents. 5. Of the 10 fatalities, eight were caused by paraquat, eight were due to parasuicide and two to non-work related accidents.