European journal of epidemiology
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Prevention of nosocomial infection in a pediatric intensive care unit (PICU) through the use of selective digestive decontamination.
To assess the effectiveness of selective digestive decontamination (SDD) on the control of nosocomial infection (NI) in critically ill pediatric patients. ⋯ SDD was effective in controlling respiratory and urinary tract infections in children admitted to the PICU, but it did not reduce the incidence of other types of nosocomial infection.
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The objective of this study was to identify the major causes of accident mortality and morbidity among children (0-14 years) in Al-Ain, United Arab Emirates (UAE). A retrospective descriptive study was set in the Al-Ain Hospital and Preventive Medicine Department, Ministry of Health, Al-Ain. Subjects were all patients aged 0-14 years who were seen at Al-Ain Hospital for injury during the 12-month period January to December 1995, and all recorded deaths aged 0-14 years in Preventive Medicine Department from 1980 to 1995. ⋯ More boys than girls presented with injury and the majority were nationals. Road traffic accidents mainly occurred in children over 10 years.
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Comparative Study
Secular trends in the osteoporotic fractures of the distal humerus in elderly women.
Osteoporosis, with its sequelae of fracture, is a major, continuously increasing threat to the health of the elderly, and therefore reliable epidemiological information is needed for assessment of the fracture development in the future and for effective fracture prevention. However, very little population-based information is available concerning the nationwide numbers, incidences and especially secular trends of osteoporotic fractures other than those occurring at the hip. We determined the current trends in the number and incidence of osteoporotic fractures of the distal humerus in Finnish women in 1970-1995 by collecting from the National Hospital Discharge Register all female patients aged 60 years or more who were admitted to our hospitals in 1970-1972, 1974-1975, 1978-1980, 1983-1985 and 1988-1995 for primary treatment of first osteoporotic fracture of the distal humerus. ⋯ The age-adjusted incidence of osteoporotic fractures of the distal humerus also increased, from 12/100,000 women in 1970 to 28/100,000 women in 1995. If this trend continues, the number of these fractures in Finnish women will be almost three-fold in the year 2030 compared with that in 1995. We conclude that the number of osteoporotic fractures of the distal humerus in elderly Finnish women is increasing more rapidly than can be accounted for by the demographic changes alone and therefore effective preventive measures are imperative to keep this problem in control.
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In order to analyze risk factors for dysmenorrhoea, we conducted a case-control study. Cases were 106 women (median age 27 years) with moderate or severe dysmenorrhoea lasting 12 months or more. Controls were 145 women (median age 26 years) without dysmenorrhoea, admitted for routine gynecological examination at the outpatient gynecological services of the same clinic where cases had been identified. ⋯ The results of this study suggest that the risk of dysmenorrhoea is higher in women with irregular, long and heavy menstrual flows. No association emerged between reproductive history and dysmenorrhoea. Likewise, no clear relationship emerged between intake of several dietary factors and risk dysmenorrhoea.
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In a prospective study of 560 children treated for burns as in-patients over a period of four-and-a-half years in specialized hospitals responsible for the majority of burn cases in Kuwait, 388 patients (69%) had sustained scalds. The mean age of these 388 children, between 0 to 12 years, was 3.02 +/- 2.08, and male to female ratio 1.5 to 1. They were categorized into three age groups, first, up to 1 year comprised 17.5% cases, who were solely dependent on parents or childminder; second 2 to 5 years of age, who were inquisitive, independent, pre-school children, and constituted the majority of cases (73%), and third 6 to 12 years who were 9.5% school children. ⋯ Three patients (0.8%) with 3rd degree burns were treated with primary excision and grafting, and 137 (35.3%) needed secondary skin grafting for residual burn wounds. Four patients (1%) died, one due to burn shock, two due to septicemia and one due to multiorgan failure. There is need for general awareness through public education, which may lead to the prevention of significant number of such accidents.