BMJ : British medical journal
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To determine the methods of removing ear wax used by local general practitioners and the incidence of associated complications. ⋯ About 44,000 ears are syringed each year in the area and complications requiring specialist referral are estimated to occur in 1/1000 ears syringed. The incidence of complications could be reduced by a greater awareness of the potential hazards, increased instruction of personnel, and more careful selection of patients.
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To assess the potential for increasing the yield of donors by comparing the current pattern of brain death and organ donation in a neurosurgical unit with that reported in 1981 and with a recent national audit. ⋯ More organs may be lost owing to transplant team logistics than by failure to seek consent from relatives of brain dead patients. The estimated size of the pool of potential donors depends on what types of patients might be considered. Ensuring that all who die while being ventilated are tested for brain death and considering the potential for donation before withdrawing ventilation could yield more donors. Ventilating more patients who are hopelessly brain damaged to secure more donors raises ethical and economic issues.
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To examine the long term survival of critically ill patients admitted to an intensive therapy unit and to ascertain the effects of age, severity of illness, and diagnostic category at admission on survival. ⋯ Long term survival of patients treated in an intensive therapy unit is related to severity of illness and to age. The outcome from critical illness in the elderly population is poor.