An implementation of the trigram phrase matching method for text similarity problems.

The representation of texts by term vectors with element values calculated by a TFIDF method yields to significant results in text similarity problems, such as finding related documents in bibliographic or full-text databases and identifying MeSH concepts from medical texts by lexical approach and also harmonizing journal citation in ISI/SciELO references and normalizing author's affiliation in MEDLINE. Our work considered "trigrams" as the terms (elements) of a term vector representing a text, according to the Trigram Phrase Matching published by the NLM's Indexing Initiative and its logarithmic Term Frequency-Inverse Document Frequency method for term weighting. Trigrams are overlapping 3-char strings from a text, extracted by a couple of rules, and a trigram matching method may improve the probability of identifying synonym phrases or similar texts. The matching process was implemented as a simple algorithm, and requires a certain amount of computer resources. An efficiency-focused C-programming was adopted. In addition, some heuristic rules improved the efficiency of the method and made it feasible a regular "find your scientific production in SciELO collection" information service. We describe an implementation of the Trigram Matching method, the software tool we developed and a set of experimental parameters for the above results.

[Computing in medical practice]. / A informática no consultório médico.

OBJECTIVES: Currently, information technology is part of several aspects of our daily life. The objective of this paper is to analyze and discuss the use of information technology in both medical education and/or medical practice. SOURCES: Information was gathered through non-systematic bibliographic review, including articles, official regulations, book chapters and annals. Direct search and search of electronic databanks in Medline and Lilacs databases were also performed. SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS: This paper was structured in topics. First, there is a discussion on the electronic medical record. The following aspects are presented: history, functions, costs, benefits, ethical and legal issues, and positive and negative characteristics. Medical decision-support systems are also evaluated in view of the huge amount of information produced every year regarding healthcare. The impact of the Internet on the production and diffusion of knowledge is also analyzed. Telemedicine is assessed, since it presents new challenges to medical practice, and raises important ethical issues such as "virtual medical consultation." Finally, a practical experience of modernization of a pediatric outpatient center by the introduction of computers and telecommunication tools is described. CONCLUSIONS: Medical computing offers tools and instruments that support the administrative organization of medical visits, gather, store and process patient's data, generate diagnoses, provide therapeutical advice and access to information in order to improve medical knowledge and to make it available whenever and wherever adequate decision-making is required.

Contribuiçäo da nefropatia diabética para a insuficiência renal crônica na Grande Säo Paulo / Contribuition of diabetic nephropathies to chronic kidney failure in Säo Paulo

A nefropatia diabética (ND) constitui a principal causa de insuficiência renal crônica (IRC) em pacientes que ingressam em diálise em países desenvolvidos, contribuindo o diabetes insulino-dependente (DMID)e o näo dependente de insulina (DMNDI) em proporçöes semelhantes. Avaliamos a importância da ND como causa de IRC, pela análise dos pacientes que ingressaram em programas de diálise em 1991 na Grande Säo Paulo, usando como fonte o banco de dados da Secretaria da Saúde do Estado. Dentre 5.140 pacientes em diálise em dezembro/91, o DM contribuiu para 9 por cento (n=479) das causas, estando atrás da causa indeterminada (36 por cento), da glomerulonefrite (26 por cento) e hipertensäo (17 por cento). A faixa etária onde situava-se o pico de casos de ND foi de 60-69 anos, enquanto que para as demais causas foi entre 40-49 anos. Houve predomínio de homens renais crônicos (57 vs 43 por cento de mulheres), comportamento esse que tendeu a se acentuar na presença de DM (61 vs 39 por cento). Dos 1.687 que iniciaram diálise, 183 (11 por cento) eram diabéticos. As incidências anuais de IRC por DM, glomerulonefrite e hipertensäo foram de 10, 20 e 15 pacientes/milhäo. Embora para os indivíduos diabéticos a hemodiálise tenha sido o principal tipo de tratamento, a DPAC e peritoneal aparecem em proporçöes maiores do que em näo-diabéticos. A sobrevida atuarial dos pacientes diabéticos no período foi de 67 por cento, enquanto que para os demais renais crônicos foi de 82 por cento. De 246 transplantes, 16 foram feitos em diabéticos. Concluímos que, apesar de significativa, a ND é a causa mais freqüente de IRC no nosso meio, com base nos dados de 1991. Em contraste com países desenvolvidos, a contribuiçäo relativa do DMNDI pode ser maior do que a do DMID entre nós. Sugere-se que homens possam ter risco mais elevado de desenvolver IRC por ND. A presença de DM piora a sobrevida de pacientes em diálise.