BMJ : British medical journal
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Biography Historical Article
Paget's disease in a painting by Quinten Metsys (Massys)
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To see whether the use of oral contraceptives influences mortality. ⋯ These findings contain no significant evidence of any overall effect of oral contraceptive use on mortality. None the less, only small numbers of deaths occurred during the study period and a significant adverse (or beneficial) overall effect might emerge in the future. Interestingly, the mortality from circulatory disease associated with oral contraceptive use was substantially less than that found in the Royal College of General Practitioners study.
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To determine the attitudes of patients discharged from hospital and their general practitioners to a new information card giving details about admission, diagnosis, and treatment and to assess the completeness of the information on the card. ⋯ Giving an information card to all patients at discharge was feasible and favoured by most patients and their general practitioners. Having made minor changes in design, we think that we have produced an information card that is a convenient size and will improve communication between patients, their general practitioners, and hospital doctors. We now issue this card routinely to all patients discharged from our ward and hope that it might be widely adopted.
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To assess the relation between body mass index and mortality in middle aged British men. ⋯ This study provides strong evidence of the impact of cigarette smoking on body weight and mortality and strongly suggests that the benefits of giving up smoking are far greater than the problems associated with the increase in weight that may occur.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Oxytocin infusion during second stage of labour in primiparous women using epidural analgesia: a randomised double blind placebo controlled trial.
To determine whether the high rate of forceps delivery associated with the use of epidural analgesia could be reduced through giving an intravenous infusion of oxytocin during the second stage of labour. ⋯ The use of an oxytocin infusion may reduce the high rate of operative delivery associated with epidural analgesia provided that the fetal occiput is in an anterior position at the onset of the second stage of labour but within the dose range studied does not seem to correct malposition of the fetal occiput.