Military medicine
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The incidence and etiology of travelers' diarrhea was studied in a crew of 1,914 sailors and marines aboard a U. S. Navy ship during a western Pacific deployment. ⋯ Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli was the most commonly identified pathogen (23%), followed by Giardia lamblia (6%), Salmonella (3%), rotavirus (2%), and Shigella, Campylobacter jejuni, and Entamoeba histolytica (1% each). In 66% of the episodes no etiologic agent was found. None of the risk factors thought to be associated with travelers' diarrhea could be statistically associated with the diarrhea group in comparison to questionnaire respondents who denied having had the illness.
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Review Case Reports Comparative Study
Sickle cell trait and rhabdomyolysis: case report and review of the literature.
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A retrospective audit of 17,028 emergency charts at USAF Medical Center, Scott was performed over two time periods to compare patient waiting times and selected quality assurance parameters with two methods of physician staffing. Phase 1 consisted of 4 months when the Emergency Department (ED) was manned with five physicians assigned only to that department. Non-departmental physicians supplemented the full-time staff. ⋯ The time required to be seen by a physician decreased from an average of 25.6 minutes per patient in phase 1 to 13.7 minutes per patient in phase 2. Time to disposition also decreased from 71.9 minutes per patient in phase 1 to 59.5 minutes per patient in phase 2. In the second phase the number of "positive" x-ray findings increased, while the number of incomplete charts and patients who left without being seen by a physician diminished.
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During a "crossing the line ceremony" conducted aboard ship while returning from an extended deployment, 40 active duty sailors inadvertently received eye injuries from a chemical agent. The agent was suspected to be Magic Shave, a chemical depilatory powder containing calcium hydroxide as the active ingredient. Therefore, the resulting corneal burns were alkali in nature. ⋯ All patients were treated with irrigation of the affected eyes and most required patching for at least several days. No permanent eye disabilities resulted. The emergency treatment of chemical eye injuries is reviewed.