Medical research in China: seven samples from this week's journals

China's medical education system is broken
Chinese medical education is not fit for purpose, a review by Dr  Wu Lijuan of the School of Public Health, Capital Medical University, Beijing, finds. Too many students have to get a an additional Masters or even a Doctorate in academic medicine to get a position at a hospital, and miss out on valuable clinical training. At the same time the clinical component of many degrees is not recognised by some institutions and has to be repeated.
Medical Education Online.

Chinese ethnicity protects against pre-eclampsia
A study of of 67 746 pregnant Chinese women found that 1.92% nulliparous women developed pre-eclampsia. The prevalence of mild and severe pre-eclampsia was 1.42% and 0.49%, respectively. The study authors said the prevalence of pre-eclampsia in China was low compared with Causcasians, perhaps due to differences in BMI or lifestyle.
Journal of Human Hypertension.

Allergic triggers in Guangzhou
The main allergic triggers among allergic people in Guangzhou are cow's milk, eggs in younger children and then the house dust mite allergens Der pteronyssinus and Der farinae in later years, a four year observational study has found.
Multidisciplinary Respiratory Medicine.

New cause of hand foot and mouth disease in Guangdong
An unusual enterovirus type, CVA6, has been identified as a new and major serotype associated with an hand foot and mouth disease epidemic in Guangdong.
Essential Microbiology.

Annual health checks urged for rural residents
About two out of three elderly have physical examinations by a healthcare professional at least annually, a survey of more than 1100 people from four provinces has found.However, rural residents suh as farmers were only half as likely to have a regular check up, prompting the study authors to suggest that  government and public health institutions should assist farmers to acquire the habit of having annual physical examinations. "Village doctors should be supported in delivering health information to the elderly in rural areas," they said.
BMC Healthcare Research.

Rats the source of hemorrhagic fever in China
There are about 1.4 million cases of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome every year in China and rats seem to be the main reservoir for infection, a study shows.Trends in cases were associated with the local rodent reservoir, climatic factors and socioeconomic conditions suggesting that it may be possible to develop an "early warning system" for the control and prevention of hemorrhagic fever, researchers said.
PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases.

What are the most cost effective treatments for myocardial infarction in China?

A study from Beijing Anzhen Hospital and Capital University has found the most cost effective treatment for myocardial infarction in China would be optimum use of the four drugs aspirin, β-blockers, statins, and ACE inhibitors in all eligible patients, or unfractionated heparin in non–STEMI myocardial infarction. Other treatments such as reperfusion therapies in eligible patients with STEMI myocardial infarction and clopidogrel would be less cost effective, the study found. Use of all hospital-based AMI treatment strategies together would be cost-effective and reduce the total CHD mortality rate in China by about 10%. 

Circulation.

Beijing wants medical services in nursing homes

Beijing is seeking to set up medical institutions in nursing homes to improve medical services for seniors.
In addition, the city's more than 9,000 hospitals and community-based health service centers will also provide services to the graying society, according to the Beijing Civil Affairs Bureau.
Of the more than 400 nursing homes for the elderly, more than 30 provide medical services covered by national health insurance.
Statistics show that of the 9,800 medical institutes in the city, 1,897 are community-based health service centers, and these are more equipped and have more space and beds.
"We want to use the vacant beds and spare staff of the medical institutes," said Du Peng, a professor at Renmin University of China.
Under current policy, hospitals are not qualified to provide seniors with beds and a pension service, which has impeded the medical institutes from fully making use of its resources.
Source: City of Beijing

Medical care for rural elderly hampered by 'unfilial' shame and urban migration

Zhu Chengyu strolls around her countryside courtyard as a form of exercise. Old age and illness blight her daily life.
The 78-year-old woman, who lives in Zhuhe village of Dong'e County in eastern China's Shandong Province, has been admitted to hospital five times this year for asthma and heart disease.
Medical expenses costing thousands of yuan was partly covered by basic medical insurance. The remainder, around 2,000 yuan, was a large sum for Zhu.
She has no other source of earnings apart from a monthly pension of 65 yuan (10.5 US dollars) and an annual payment of 800 yuan, which she gets from renting her 2.5 mu (0.17 hectares) of crop land.
What worries Zhu most is when she becomes ill. Nobody is around to take her to hospital.
"My only son and his wife work as migrants in cities and seldom come back home," Zhu said. "I am left alone."