Journal of the Chinese Medical Association : JCMA
-
Measurement of the levels of the derivatives of reactive oxygen metabolites (d-ROMs) and of the biological antioxidant potential (BAP) enables simultaneous assessment of oxidation degree and antioxidant capacity, using the same sample and testing equipment. At present, reference values of healthy adults are clarified, but the reference value of healthy children is unknown. This study was undertaken to clarify the age-related changes and the reference values of d-ROMs and BAP in healthy children. ⋯ This study was carried out for the first time in healthy children in oxidative stress assessment using d-ROMs and BAP. In the infancy 2-6 years, the d-ROMs value was significantly higher and the BAP/d-ROMs ratio was significantly lower. From this, it was suggested that age should be considered when performing oxidative stress assessment using d-ROMs and BAP in children.
-
Catheter ablation provides a therapeutic option for decreasing episodes of ventricular tachycardia in patients with coronary artery disease. Clinical studies show improvement with catheter ablation in reducing arrhythmia recurrence and therapy from implantable defibrillators, but not in decreasing mortality. ⋯ Overall, complication rates of catheter ablation are acceptable, but recurrence rates are still significant. Advances in mapping and ablation technologies could be expected to improve the success rates and reduce the mortality.
-
Neuropathic pain (NeP) is often under-recognized, resulting in poor pain management. Therefore, a Taiwan version of the 10-item Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4-T) questionnaire was developed to identify patients with NeP from a mixed population of patients with pain. ⋯ The DN4-T questionnaire has been reliably translated into Mandarin Chinese and can be used as a diagnostic tool for NeP in conjunction with clinical evaluation.