The Medical journal of Australia
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A case of a patient with Crohn's disease who was treated with azathioprine, and developed intestinal Hodgkin's disease as a complication is described.
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Fourteen patients with ileal dysfunction due to resection or bypass were encountered over an 18-month period. Symptoms had been present for a mean period of 1.8 years. Diarrhoea was a universal symptom, and varied from mild to incapacitating. ⋯ Treatment with cholestyramine and/or long-chain fat restriction effectively reduced diarrhoea in every case, and this was supplemented by replacement of specific deficiencies. There was little added benefit from non-specific antidiarrhoeal agents. It was found that the major symptoms of ileal dysfunction are readily treated, but that attention should also be given to a number of nutritional deficiencies.
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Six cases of lawnmower injury are reported. The management of these injuries is discussed. The incidence of morbidity and mortality are emphasized in an appeal for education in the safe handling of these common domestic appliances.
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Seventy-eight very low birthweight (VLBW) infants (whose birthweights were 1500 g or less) were admitted to the Neonatal Special Care Unit in 1977. Seventy-two of them required treatment in the intensive care area; these represented 40% of admissions to that area of the Unit. The mortality rate was 20% for infants weighing 1001 g to 1500 g, and 52% for those weighing 501 g to 1000 g. ⋯ The duration of stay in the neonatal intensive care area, and the total length of hospital stay of the 49 VLBW survivors were shorter in the group with higher two-minute and five-minute Apgar scores. Long-term morbidity cannot yet be ascertained. It is likely that prevention, or prompt detection, and appropriate management of perinatal asphyxia would produce a further decline in mortality as well as morbidity for VLBW infants.