Military medicine
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Comparative Study
Acute pain management services: a comparison between Air Force and U.S. hospitals.
The purpose of this descriptive study was to assess the prevalence of acute pain management services (APMS) in Air Force medical facilities. There are no published reports on the current status of Air Force pain programs. This study used a telephone survey to all facilities worldwide that house an anesthesia department. ⋯ S. hospitals (42%). Formal pain programs are becoming more prevalent in Air Force hospitals. These findings suggest an increased awareness of the need for pain management and future establishment of pain programs.
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A total of 865 members of the U. S. military underwent repair of Achilles tendon ruptures at U. S. military hospitals during calendar years 1994, 1995, and 1996. ⋯ Participation in the game of basketball accounted for 64.9% of all injuries in black patients and 34.0% of all injuries in nonblack patients. Among those injured, blacks had a significantly increased risk for injury related to playing basketball than nonblacks (relative risk = 1.82, CI = 1.58, 2.10). This finding suggests that there may be other predisposing factor(s) that result in a higher risk of Achilles tendon ruptures in black individuals.
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Acute appendicitis is the most common nonobstetrical surgical condition of the abdomen complicating pregnancy. Appendectomy reportedly is performed during pregnancy once for every 1,500 deliveries. Although the incidence of appendicitis occurring in pregnant women is considered to be the same as in nonpregnant women, the signs and symptoms, and the laboratory findings usually associated with appendicitis in the nonpregnant condition, are frequently unreliable during pregnancy. ⋯ The only consistent finding in all pregnant patients who underwent appendectomy was right lower quadrant abdominal pain. Presenting signs and symptoms, clinical evaluations, laboratory findings, and surgical management is discussed. No morbidity or mortality occurred during this study.
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Comparative Study
Comparison of discharge diagnoses and inpatient procedures between military and civilian health care systems.
Our goal was to compare the demographics and discharge diagnoses between civilian and military health care systems. ⋯ The practice content of military and civilian inpatients appear to be more similar than different.