Isr Med Assoc J
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The 5 year survival rate in patients with advanced epithelial ovarian cancer is 25-40% and treatment is mainly palliative once the disease recurs. ⋯ A 1 year extension of treatment with a single-agent carboplatin, administered to women with advanced EOC who had achieved complete recovery on platinum-based chemotherapy as their first-line therapy, has an acceptable toxicity. The disease-free survival and overall survival values noted in this study are encouraging and warrant further investigation.
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In Japan, helicopters have rarely been used for emergency medical services. The use of helicopters not only ensures rapid evacuation but may also serve to provide emergency management to patients with life-threatening injuries in the prehospital setting. ⋯ A doctor-helicopter system was shown to improve probability of survival for life-threatening trauma in the Japanese emergency medical system.
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Analysis of the trends in psychiatric admissions and discharges is necessary to correctly plan and distribute resources, especially given the current international climate of "deinstitutionalization." Israel, too, is implementing "reform" in the national psychiatric system - to transfer psychiatric treatment from a hospital to a community setting. ⋯ Various factors may account for these developments. Protracted hospitalizations may be reduced through changes in various aspects of treatment planning and psychiatric care continuum. The decrease in number of admissions, length of stay and number of chronically admitted patients remains in line with international practices. Particular attention needs to be devoted to planning and funding so that availability of community services matches reduction in psychiatric hospitalization.