Epidemiological Features of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome in Beijing Urban and Suburb Areas in 2003

To describe the epidemiologic features of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） in urban and suburb areas in Beijing and to explore their differences between these two areas. Methods Data of SARS cases were collected from daily notification of China Ministry of Health and a database of infectious diseases was established by the Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Prevention and Control （BCDC）. All the data were put into dataset files by Microsoft Exeel-2000 and analyzed with SPSS version 10.0 software. Results The respective urban incidence and mortality rate were 29.06 and 2.21 per 100 000, while the case fatality rate was 7.62%. In contrast, the respective suburb incidence and mortality rate were 10.61 and 0.78 per 100 000, and the case fatality rate was 7.32%. No significant differences were found in demographic characteristics between the urban and suburb areas. Conclusion Beijing urban area suffered a more serious SARS epidemic than the suburb area in 2003.

Risk Factors for SARS-Related Deaths in 2003, Beijing

Objective To study the potential risk factors for severe acute respiratory syndromes （SARS）-related deaths in Beijing. Methods Epidemiological data were collected among the confirmed SARS patients officially reported by Beijing Centers for Disease Control and Prevention （BCDC）, and information was also supplemented by a follow-up case survey, Chi-square test and multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis were performed. Results Old age （over 60 years） was found to be significantly associated with SARS-related deaths in the univariate analysis. Also, history of contacting SARS patients within 2 weeks prior to the onset of illness, health occupation, and inferior hospital ranking as well as longer interval of clinic consulting （longer than 1 day） were the risk factors for SARS-related deaths. Multivariate stepwise logistic regression analysis found four risk factors for SARS-related deaths. Conclusion Old age （over 60 years） is the major risk factor for SARS-related deaths. Moreover, hospital health workers, the designated hospitals for SARS clinical services and the interval of consulting doctors （less than 1 day） are protective factors for surviving from SARS.

Case Fatality Rate of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndromes in Beijing

To describe the case fatality rate of SARS in Beijing. Methods Data of SARS cases notified from Beijing Center for Disease Control and Prevention （BCDC） and supplemented by other channels were collected. The data were analyzed by rate calculation. Results The case fatality rate of SARS in Beijing was 7.66%, and had an ascending trend while the age of cases was getting older, and a descending trend while the epidemic developmem. The case fatality rate in Beijing was lower than that in other main epidemic countries or regions. Conclusions The risk of death increases with the increment of age of SARS patients. Beijing is successful in controlling and treating SARS.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Retrospect and Lessons of 2004 Outbreak in China

Objective To summarize lessons learned from an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome （SARS） in China during the spring of 2004. Methods Data of SARS cases were officially reported by Beijing Municipal Center for Disease Control and Prevention （BCDC） and Anhui Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention （APCDC） and results of epidemiological investigations were collected and analyzed. Results Three generations of 11 cases of SARS were identified during the outbreak, Initial two cases were most likely to be infected in Diarrhea Virus Laboratory of National Institute of Virology, China Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and main mode of transmission was direct contact with SARS patients, Delay in detecting initial case resulted in spread of the illness at hospitals and communities with two generations of secondary cases, Conclusions SARS outbreak in 2004 has yielded following lessons for public health globally. （1） Lab bio-safety programs should be made and should be strictly abided by, Studies in highly pathogenic viruses such as SARS coronavirus should be utmost cautious, （2） Management systems of occupational exposure to virus and disease surveillance need to be strengthened to take all risk factors into account so as to detect potential patients with infectious disease as early as possible.

Evaluation of serum specific IgE for the diagnosis of allergic rhinitis with multi-allergens

Background Objective evaluation of allergic rhinitis （AR） requires in vivo and in vitro tests. In vitro tests are important to assist or ensure the main allergens in multi-allergen-sensitive patients. The aim of this study was to evaluate the utility of serum specific IgE （slgE） in the diagnosis of AR patients with multi-allergens in the Chinese population.Methods Combining a positive skin prick test （SPT） and clinical history as the diagnostic reference criteria of AR, we estimated concentrations of slgE produced in response to the 7 most frequent allergens among 85 AR patients, using the UniCAP assay system.Results Among 85 individuals with positive SPT results and allergen-specific nasal symptoms, slgE concentration correlated well with SPT classes among all the tested allergens. Based on a clinical diagnosis and SPT results using a positive cut-off value of a class 1 score, the CAP test performed well and the sensitivity for different allergens ranged from 0.5 （giant ragweed） to 0.91 （Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus （Der p） and Dermatophagoides farinae （Der f）, while specificity ranged from 0.93 （Der f） to 1.0 （animal hair, Derp and mugwort）. When the cut-off score was adjusted to class 2, the sensitivity showed an increase overall while the remaining assessed items, including specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and efficiency, showed an unacceptable decline.Conclusions Well-established serum slgE tests correlated well with SPTs. Setting a class 1 cut-off for positivity of SPT results was better than a class 2 setting for assessing the AR diagnostic value.

Fibrovascular polyp of the hypopharynx and esophagus

Fibrovascular polyp of the hypopharynx and esophagus, a rare, benign, intraluminal and submucosal tumor, is most commonly originated from the proximal esophagus. We discussed four cases with regurgitation, respiratory symptom or the feeling of a mass in the throat. All the patients were examined with laryngoscope under general anesthesia. A transverse cervical incision was performed in one patient and the polyps were excised under laryngoscope with CO2 laser in the other three patients. All the lesions were removed successfully. Diagnostic and therapeutic principles involved in these cases are presented and discussed. The recognition of fibrovascular polyp of the hypopharynx and esophagus as a potential cause of regurgitation is paramount. Surgical excision is recommended because of the satisfactory outcome.