South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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Comparative Study
Anthropometric profile of the coloured population of the Cape Peninsula.
Study of a sample of 976 randomly selected coloured persons 15-64 years of age living in the Cape Peninsula included measurement of height, weight and mid-arm circumference and calculation of the body mass index (BMI). The mean height of the men was 167.6 cm and that of the women 156 cm. Mean weight, BMI and mid-arm circumference for men were 65.9 kg, 23.4 and 27.5 cm respectively and those for women 65.8 kg, 27.1 and 28.9 cm respectively. ⋯ The coloureds of the Cape Peninsula were found to be a population with shorter stature than South African white and American populations. Some young participants of both sexes and some older men were underweight, while among older women there was a high prevalence of overweight and obesity. The findings may suggest previous undernutrition in both sexes, with a marked tendency to current overnutrition in adult females.
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Nitrates and nitrites are widely used in the food and chemical industry. Poisoning with these agents may be potentially life-threatening as a result of the production of methaemoglobin. ⋯ One patient died but the other 9 recovered rapidly. The low mortality rate was attributed to prompt diagnosis and institution of appropriate therapy with methylene blue and ascorbic acid.
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Successful management of a cardiac arrest demands immediate and appropriate action. Numerous different techniques for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) have been described, resulting in confusion among health care providers with respect to the use of different methods under different circumstances. ⋯ The Heart Foundation of Southern Africa, in recognising this need, organised this country's first National Basic CPR Symposium, followed by a National Workshop where official representatives of major CPR-promoting organisations critically analysed and reviewed contentious issues in basic CPR with a view to providing national guidelines. It was unanimously agreed that the recommendations of the National Workshop, as reported here, would stand as the consensus of opinion of the 33 major CPR-promoting organisations in this country.