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The usefulness of the community pharmacy blood pressure (CPBP) method in the diagnosis or treatment of hypertension has not been adequately addressed in controlled studies. The authors' aim was to assess the agreement between awake ambulatory blood pressure (ABP), home blood pressure (HBP), and CPBP in treated hypertensive patients. This was a cross-sectional study carried out in 169 patients in which blood pressure (BP) was measured at the pharmacy (4 visits), at home (4days), and by 24-hour ABP monitoring. Lin correlation-concordance coefficient (CCC) and Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate quantitative agreement. The qualitative agreement to establish the degree of BP control was evaluated using κ coefficient. The agreement was acceptable between HBP and CPBP (CCC=0.80 for systolic BP [SBP] and 0.80 for diastolic BP [DBP]; κ=0.62) and moderate between awake ABP and CPBP (CCC=0.74/0.67, respectively; κ=0.56). The Bland-Altman plots also showed lowest mean differences (0.5/0.3 for SBP and DBP, respectively) for the comparison between CPBP and HBP. The CPBP has a better agreement with HBP than with awake ABP. Thus, the CPBP measurement method could be a good alternative to HBP monitoring, whereas it cannot be used as a screening test to assess the degree of BP control by awake ABP. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

The reconstruction of extensive defects of the trachea ist best accomplished by the use of the patient's own tissue. Unfortunately, this is not always feasible and several prosthetic devices for replacement of the trachea have been described. In an experimental study staged tracheal replacements were performed in five dogs using a ringed polyethylene terephthalate (PET) tubular prosthesis previously cultured in the major omentum of the subjects. A set of stainless-steel arches embodied in silicone compound was designed to prevent collapse of the prosthesis. One of the subjects died on the 10th post-operative day of an unidentified cause and the remaining four eventually developed signs of respiratory distress. The cause of the respiratory insufficiency was anastomotic stenosis in every case. Infection, erosion, collapse or displacement were not observed. The rings designed to avoid collapse of the prosthesis represent a suitable alternative for use as external reinforcement in the tracheal situation. The PET grafts implanted as tracheal prosthesis according to the guidelines of this protocol consistently developed anastomotic stenosis and failed to support a functional respiratory epithelium. A further conclusion is that the use of absorbable sutures encourages anastomotic dehiscence and thus must be avoided.