South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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Paraffin pneumonia is a common form of poisoning, but pneumatoceles are an uncommon complication. This is a report of 6 patients who developed pneumatoceles after the ingestion of paraffin. ⋯ The pneumatoceles were discovered at the earliest on day 6 and, although extensive and in 2 cases bilateral, caused no clinical impairment of respiratory function. The pneumatoceles appear to resolve spontaneously but this may take more than 200 days.
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A 2-day study to assess the safety and efficacy of a combination analgesic, Stopayne (Rio Ethicals), was conducted in 23 postoperative plastic surgery patients with pain of moderate to severe intensity. Statistically significant pain relief was attained, with 2 (9%) patients reporting complete relief 1 hour after taking the tablets and 19 (82%) reporting satisfactory relief (P less than 0.01). ⋯ The average time taken for analgesia to occur was 37.7 min and it lasted an average of 3.8 h. On being woken by pain 18 (78%) patients reported that they were able to sleep again after taking the study drug; 19 patients reported that the tablets helped them to fall asleep.
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Previous erratic use of intermittent intramuscular and intravenous morphine or pethidine for postoperative analgesia prompted a prospective trial of continuous intravenous morphine delivered by an infusion pump. The rate was adjusted to keep the patient free of pain--as assessed by observation in the infant and enquiry in the older child. ⋯ The results of a cohort of 20 patients (aged 3 months-12 years) are presented. Thanks to positive parental and nursing staff support, and absence of complications, administration of postoperative analgesia with continuous intravenous morphine infusion is now standard practice in this unit.
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Two unusual cases of congenital scoliosis with distematomyelia, without median septa and with single dural sacs, are described. Both cases were neurologically intact without any stigmata of diastematomyelia in the lower extremities. Computed tomographic myelography added valuable information to the radiological anatomy.
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The finding of a polymorphic DNA marker for Huntington's disease offers the potential for preclinical and prenatal screening for this condition. However, before implementation of a programme of this nature in South Africa, certain technical, medical psychosocial and ethical considerations require careful appraisal. The current situation with regard to the importance and implications of this new technology to affected kindreds is reviewed and discussed.