Articles: mortality.
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Three hundred and seven (307) deaths were recorded out of 3,155 admissions into the Emergency Paediatric Unit of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital Zaria between January 1st and December 31st 1986, giving a percentage mortality of 9.9 percent. 67 percent of the patients who died were aged between one month and twenty four months, and the overall male: female ratio of deaths was 1:1.04. Measles with complications was the commonest cause of death (24.1 percent) closely followed by protein energy malnutrition (23 percent) and respiratory tract infection (18 percent). Over half of the patients (57.6 percent) died less than 24 hours after admission. As most deaths resulted from preventable conditions, the implications of this finding, and suggestions on how to improve the situation are discussed.
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We examined the relation between the serum total cholesterol level and the risk of death from stroke during six years of follow-up in 350,977 men, 35 to 57 years of age, who had no history of heart attack and were not currently being treated for diabetes mellitus. The diagnosis of stroke and the type of stroke were obtained from death certificates. ⋯ The inverse association of the serum cholesterol level with the risk of death from intracranial hemorrhage was confined to men with diastolic blood pressure greater than or equal to 90 mm Hg, in whom death from intracranial hemorrhage is relatively common. We conclude that there is an inverse relation between the serum cholesterol level and the risk of death from hemorrhagic stroke in middle-aged American men, but that its public health impact is overwhelmed by the positive association of higher serum cholesterol levels with death from nonhemorrhagic stroke and total cardiovascular disease (ICD-9 categories 390 through 459).
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Prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) suppositories have been shown to be active contractile agents and are effective in uterine evacuation for mid-trimester abortion or fetal demise. In this study, 85 patients were treated with vaginal PGE2 suppositories. When laminaria were used in patients with closed cervices, and compared to those who had minimal cervical dilatation, there was no difference in the time from induction to expulsion. ⋯ In this study, 81% of the abortions were complete, and in one-third of the remaining patients dilatation and curettage was performed just after delivery of the fetus. The incidence of minor side-effects ranged from 12 to 21%, and there were no major complications. It is concluded that the use of vaginal prostaglandin E2 suppositories for induction of mid-trimester abortion or fetal demise in the third trimester is safe and effective.