JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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In the United States, infant mortality risks among Hispanics have not been previously evaluated at the national level. We used the 1983 and 1984 national Linked Birth and Infant Death data sets to compare infant mortality risks among single-delivery infants of Hispanic descent with those among single-delivery infants of non-Hispanic whites (the reference group). ⋯ The postneonatal mortality risk (28 to 364 days) was highest among continental Puerto Ricans (RR = 1.2) and lowest among Cuban-Americans (RR = 0.6). Our study underscores the heterogeneity of the Hispanic population in the United States and suggests that interventions to prevent infant mortality be tailored to ethnic-specific risk factors and outcomes.
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We audited 540 patients undergoing elective first-time coronary artery bypass grafts at 18 institutions. The purposes of the study were to describe the variability in transfusions among institutions and to determine factors that may account for variability. Mean homologous red blood cell use per patient was 2.9(+/- 0.1) U (institutional range, 0.4 to 6.3 U). ⋯ Variation in patients receiving plasma and platelet transfusions among institutions was determined in part by prophylactic transfusions. We conclude that blood component usage for coronary artery bypass grafts differs widely among institutions. The variability in use of these components is accounted for in part by unnecessary transfusions in otherwise routine, uncomplicated coronary artery bypass graft procedures.