Internal medicine journal
-
Internal medicine journal · May 2001
Scleroderma in South Australia: epidemiological observations of possible pathogenic significance.
Scleroderma is an autoimmune disorder of unknown cause. Previous epidemiological studies have suggested some regional clustering and associations with occupations involving exposure to silica dusts and hydrocarbons. ⋯ No strong genetic or environmental influences were found to account for the relatively common occurrence of scleroderma in SA. The age at onset versus age-specific incidence curve suggests that scleroderma can be considered as a stochastic illness involving a number of random events occurring in a predisposed population. These random events may involve mutations of pivotal somatic genes.
-
Internal medicine journal · May 2001
Adverse drug events as a cause of hospital admission in the elderly.
Previous studies of adverse drug events (ADE) as a cause of hospital admission in the elderly have often been limited in their ability to assess fully the impact and potential for prevention because they either did not include all categories of ADE and/or did not assess severity and preventability. ⋯ Adverse drug events are a common preventable cause of unplanned medical admissions in the elderly. Non-compliance and omission of indicated treatment are causes of ADE-related admissions that are both preventable and frequently associated with severe ADE.
-
Internal medicine journal · Mar 2001
Prospective study of 424 cases of Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia: determination of factors affecting incidence and mortality.
Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (SAB) is a common complication of S. aureus infection and is associated with a high mortality. ⋯ Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is more likely to occur in certain ethnic groups, while mortality is associated with other identifiable risk factors and continues to be high. Intravenous catheters remain the most common and most preventable cause of SAB.
-
Internal medicine journal · Jan 2001
Comparative StudyQuadriceps muscle wasting persists 5 months after total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis of the hip: a pilot study.
To determine whether additional muscle fibre wasting of the ipsilateral vastus lateralis muscle occurs in the early postoperative period after total hip arthroplasty for osteoarthritis of the hip and whether there is an improvement in preoperative measures of quadriceps muscle thickness, strength, pain and function over a 5-month postoperative period. ⋯ There is significant ipsilateral quadriceps atrophy and weakness with 2A and 2B fibre atrophy preoperatively in patients with osteoarthritis of the hip with exacerbation and further atrophy of all three fibre types 5 days postoperatively. Postoperative follow up showed that the reduction in ipsilateral quadriceps muscle thickness persisted at 5 months despite physical rehabilitation. Patients did note significant improvement in pain postoperatively and improvement on functional assessment with the TUG test. Other therapeutic strategies may have to be developed to reverse disuse muscle atrophy.