Israel journal of medical sciences
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Review
Occupational and environmental exposures and nonspecific lung disease--a review of selected studies.
Selected studies show that nonspecific lung diseases are a major occupational and environmental health hazard. Exposure to mineral dusts (such as cement and brown coal) and organic dusts (cotton, hemp and flour) as well as manganese and gaseous irritants causes significant upper respiratory tract injury. ⋯ Interpretation of the results is difficult due to uncontrolled confounding. Measures for preventing lung impairments include exposure reduction and preemployment examination of workers.
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Comparative Study
Evaluation of clinic blood pressure measurements: assessment by daytime ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.
The clinical value of a set of three clinical blood pressure measurements as a predictor of daytime ambulatory hypertension was assessed by performing a set of clinical blood pressure measurements in 171 borderline hypertensives, and calculating their diagnostic accuracy, sensitivity, specificity and predictive value compared to the daytime average of ambulatory blood pressure monitoring. Diagnostic accuracy was 0.63, sensitivity was 81% and specificity was 47%. ⋯ A single set of clinic blood pressure measurements is quite sensitive for diagnosing daytime hypertension, although its accuracy, specificity and predictive value are low. The subpopulation incorrectly labelled as normotensive may have a different prognosis and merits further prospective study.
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Comparative Study
The epidemiology of injuries sustained by Israeli troops during the unrest in the territories administered by Israel, 1987-89.
Information on 1,267 Israeli soldiers injured in the administered territories (West Bank and Gaza) between December 1987 and November 1989 as a result of the Palestinian unrest was retrieved by us. The cases were divided according to cause, body location and severity of the injury. ⋯ Although the majority of injuries were light (92.3%), there was a 1.1% fatality rate. Enforcement of orders requiring troops to use protective gear that is issued to them would reduce the number and severity of the injuries.
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Case Reports
Fatal methemoglobinemia caused by inadvertent contamination of a laxative solution with sodium nitrite.
We describe two cases of fatal methemoglobinemia resulting from ingestion of laxative solution inadvertently contaminated with sodium nitrite. Postmortem toxicological examination revealed methemoglobin levels in excess of 75% in both patients--a level that is uniformly fatal. ⋯ The pathophysiology of methemoglobinemia and a review of other reported cases of toxic methemoglobinemia are presented. Marked cyanosis in the face of intact cardiorespiratory function should alert the physician to the possibility of toxic methemoglobinemia.
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Various radiological techniques are used for the evaluation of nasopharyngeal lesions--conventional lateral and base projections, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and angiography. Owing to its multiplanar imaging capability, MRI is the optimal modality for investigation of the anatomy and demonstration of the pathology. Gadolinium-DTPA enhancement helps to delineate the lesions and their extension, especially into the intracranial cavity; however, since fat and bone marrow enhance prominently, MR fat suppression technique should be utilized in certain cases. A detailed description is given of the clinical and radiological (CT, MRI) features of the different benign (adenoid tissue hypertrophy, Thornwaldt cyst, juvenile angiofibroma) and malignant diseases, 80% of which are squamous cell carcinomas.