Przegla̧d lekarski
-
The bronchial obturation reversibility test is the corner stone in asthma diagnosis. Patients with signs and symptoms suggestive of asthma but normal spirometry need additional tests like non-specific bronchoprovocations. Exercise-induced bronchi spasm is a feature of asthma and is the basis for exercise-test bronchi provocation in asthma diagnosis. The aim of this study was the comparison of clinical utility of obturation reversibility test and exercise provocation test in asthma diagnosis in patients with normal spirometry values. ⋯ 1. Exercise test is a valuable diagnostic tool in patients with history suggestive of asthma and normal spirometry results and negative obturation reversibility test. 2. The parameter for the exercise test that best separate asthma and control group was FEV1.
-
Historical Article
[Achievements of the Cracow School of Forensic Medicine--on the 200 the anniversary of the Chair of Forensic Medicine--Part I].
The Chair of Forensic Medicine was established at the Jagiellonian University in 1804. Initially, the Cracow academic institution developed along the similar lines as other Chairs of those times. Considerable progress was made thanks to Professor W. ⋯ Their important achievements include the test for COHb determination in blood of victims of carbon monoxide poisoning (the Wachholz-Sieradzki test), the explanation of death mechanisms involved in violent death by drawning, the development of protocols for opinionating and event reconstruction in cases of violent death by poisoning and mechanical injuries, and the widely accepted theory and medicolegal assessment of medical errors. Other outstanding achievements focused on investigations of biological trace evidence, serohematology in determinations of fatherhood, and--what may be the most important--identification of responsibilities and role of an expert in legal proceedings, and many others. The work of several generations of Cracow forensic medicine specialist has culminated in training a cadre of specialists who became heads of the majority of Chairs of Forensic Medicine in Poland, writing numerous textbooks for students, monographs, hundreds of research papers and an enormous number of medico-legal opinions, the participation in almost all major court proceedings held in Poland, as well as active membership in national and international scientific societies.
-
Cognitive psychology is an interdisciplinary field whose main aim is to study the thinking mechanisms of humans leading to cognizance. Therefore the concept of human cognitive processes envelopes the knowledge related to the mechanisms which determine the way humans acquire information from the environment and utilize their knowledge and experience. There are three basic processes which need to be distinguished when discussing human perception development: acquiring sensations, perceptiveness and attention. ⋯ CPT is a diagnostic tool used to assess the attention selective function, attention continuity of attention, attention interference resistance as well as attention alertness. The Free Recall test is used in the memory processes diagnostics to assess patients' operational memory as well as the information organization degree in operational memory. The above mentioned neuropsychological tests are tools used in clinical assessment of cognitive function disorders.
-
It was estimated that current cigarette smoking will cause about 450 million deaths worldwide in the next fifty years. Reducing current smoking by 50% would avoid 20 to 30 million premature deaths in the first quarter of the century and about 150 million in the second. ⋯ There is evidence that some form of treatment aids an increasing number of successful quit attempts. European experiences concerning schedules of the fight against the tobacco addiction with the use of the treatment aids were described in the paper.
-
The new method of treatment of addiction to nicotine "Reduce to Stop" constitutes new possibilities of using the Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT). This type of therapy consisting in a significant restriction of the number of cigarettes smoked per day with a simultaneous taking of nicotine preparations constitutes a chance of giving up a habit for smokers who want to quit smoking, but cannot do it or are not ready for it. The clinical research confirmed the effectiveness of this method not only in restricting smoking, but also in increasing the motivation to stop smoking or even total giving up of the habit.