Microecological treatment of hyperuricemia using Lactobacillus from pickles.

BACKGROUND: Hyperuricemia is one of the important risk factors for gout, arteriosclerosis, cardiovascular and cerebrovascular disease. Lactobacillus has attracted much attention due to its role in the regulation of intestinal function and tumor resistance, but its ability to reduce uric acid is unclear. Pickles are a traditional fermented food rich in lactic acid bacteria (LAB). RESULTS: LAB strains were isolated from 18 pickles and their tolerance to acid bile salts, trypsin, pepsin were evaluated after screening by nucleoside degradation. 16S rDNA sequence analysis was used to identify LAB strains. Furthermore, we established rat model of hyperuricemia and demonstrated that Lactobacillus could alleviate hyperuricemia and reduce kidney injury. CONCLUSION: This study suggests that microecological treatment with Lactobacillus represents a feasible option for patients with chronic hyperuricemia.

Questionnaire survey about use of an online appointment booking system in one large tertiary public hospital outpatient service center in China.

BACKGROUND: As a part of nationwide healthcare reforms, the Chinese government launched web-based appointment systems (WAS) to provide a solution to problems around outpatient appointments and services. These have been in place in all Chinese public tertiary hospitals since 2009. METHODS: Questionnaires were collected from both patients and doctors in one large tertiary public hospital in Shanghai, China.Data were analyzed to measure their satisfaction and views about the WAS. RESULTS: The 1000 outpatients randomly selected for the survey were least satisfied about the waiting time to see a doctor. Even though the WAS provided a much more convenient booking method, only 17% of patients used it. Of the 197 doctors surveyed, over 90% thought it was necessary to provide alternative forms of appointment booking systems for outpatients. However, about 80% of those doctors who were not associated professors would like to provide an 'on-the-spot' appointment option, which would lead to longer waits for patients. CONCLUSIONS: Patients were least satisfied about the waiting times. To effectively reduce appointment-waiting times is therefore an urgent issue. Despite the benefits of using the WAS, most patients still registered via the usual method of queuing, suggesting that hospitals and health service providers should promote and encourage the use of the WAS. Furthermore, Chinese health providers need to help doctors to take others' opinions or feedback into consideration when treating patients to minimize the gap between patients' and doctors' opinions. These findings may provide useful information for both practitioners and regulators, and improve recognition of this efficient and useful booking system, which may have far-reaching and positive implications for China's ongoing reforms.