The Medical journal of Australia
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Two fatal cases of thermal injury are described, one of which was the result of heat stroke and the other was the result of the uncommon condition, neuroleptic malignant syndrome. The clinical profiles, management and post-mortem findings of these two separate conditions are compared to highlight their important differences.
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Comparative Study
Seroconversion after administration of measles vaccine to central Australian Aboriginal children at nine months of age.
A simple procedure for examining the seroconversion rates to measles vaccines in outlying communities is described; this involves the storage and transportation of dried-blood samples on filter paper, which is followed by the detection of measles-specific antibodies by means of a commercially-available immunofluorescence assay. Among 82 susceptible central Australian Aboriginal infants who were vaccinated at nine months of age, 76 (93% [95% confidence limits, 84.9%-96.6%]) children demonstrated seroconversion as a result of the vaccine, which is a figure that is similar to those that have been reported from some developing countries. The implications for a measles-vaccination policy are discussed.
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Sexual, reproductive and contraceptive risk factors were investigated in a matched community-based case-control study of carcinoma-in-situ of the uterine cervix in Sydney. The risk was related strongly to the number of sexual partners: women who had had seven or more sexual partners in a lifetime had a six-fold increased risk compared with those with one or no partner. Early age at first sexual intercourse was also a risk factor, but this effect was reduced substantially after adjustment for the number of partners, with only a two-fold excess risk persisting for those with first intercourse before the age of 16 years as compared with those whose first sexual intercourse was at the age of 25 years or later. ⋯ The risk increased with the number of induced abortions that had been undergone (relative risk, 2.2 for two or more abortions), but this effect was not statistically significant. A protective effect was found for women who had had a tubal ligation, for those who practised the rhythm method of birth control, and for women who breastfed. It is possible that these reduced risks may relate to unmeasured variables of life-style.