Revue des maladies respiratoires
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Radon is a natural radioactive gas, with worldwide distribution, deriving from uranium decay products, which can be inhaled, weather in mining condition (extraction and management of uranium ores) or in domestic condition (in some high risk homes or geographic areas). The main epidemiologic studies on uranium mining workers have all confirmed an excess in relative risk of primary lung cancer. Epidemiologic studies on indoor exposure suggest a role of radon in the genesis of a certain number of primary lung cancer, although these results remain controversial and need to be confirmed. An overview of the main actual problems related to this bronchial carcinogen is presented in this paper.
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We have studied the survival of 49 patients suffering from neuromuscular disease, who were hospitalised in the Respiratory Intensive Care Unit between 1981 and 1990 (29 males and 20 females with a mean age of 49.3 +/- 17 years with a range of 15 to 79). The neuromuscular diseases consisted of 8 with multiple sclerosis, 9 with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, 8 with Steinert's disease, 11 myopathies, and 10 suffering from miscellaneous neurological diseases. Initially 27 of the 49 patients had been intubated and ventilated. ⋯ The other factors which influence survival are age (p < 0.01), the presence of false route (p < 0.01), and the reason for hospitalisation (acute as opposed to chronic progressive deterioration, p < 0.05). In a multivariate analysis the most significant factors associated with the diagnosis were age, the reason for hospitalisation, and the existence of false routes. The initial treatment (intubation) and the prescription of long-term ventilation did not bring with it any significant further information as to prognosis, compared to the model which included these four factors.