Swiss medical weekly
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Puncture of the radial or cubital artery with a thin needle of 0.4--0.5 mm diameter connected to a glass capillary is a simple and non-invasive technique for obtaining samples for arterial blood gas analysis. Compared with the conventional sampling techniques using glass syringes and needles of larger calibers, the results, especially with regard to paO2 values, show very close agreement over a wide range from hypoxic to hyperoxic conditions (correlation coefficient r2 = 0.99) if the microsamples are analysed within 10 minutes. Delayed analysis after 30 minutes, however, shows marked underestimation of hyperoxic paO2 (greater than 150 mm Hg) with the microtechnique, whereas paO2 values below 100 mm Hg are still comparable to the macrosamples. The method described provides an accurate arterial blood gas analysis without discomfort or harmful side effects, especially in patients under treatment with anticoagulants.
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Swiss medical weekly · Jan 1981
[Cardiovascular risk factors in headquarters staff of the World Health Organization].
Analysis of 2333 medical files of the World Health Organization's headquarters staff in Geneva gives insight into the epidemiology of cardiovascular risk factors in nationals originating from 67 different countries but living in the same environment. The study confirms well established facts such as the prevalence of hypertension (HT) with respect to sex, age, and period of observation, its consequences and interrelation with high cholesterol levels, diabetes, and obesity. The importance of a medical service with emphasis on prevention is stressed. ⋯ There is a concentric decrease according to nationality: 29 to 25% for the other countries of Central, Western, and Southern Europe, 23 to 18% for the USSR, Arab countries and North America, 9 to 6% for South East and Eastern Asia and African countries south of the Sahara (p less than 0.05 between the extremes). India and Australia do not fit the pattern of concentric decrease, since a high percentage of men in those countries have HT. As the number of files available was insufficient to carry out the same analysis for women or to determine other factors of cardiovascular risk, the study will be extended to cover the staff of other International Organizations in Geneva.