OBJECTIVES: To characterize the types of occupational exposures and injuries reported by emergency medical service (EMS) workers. METHODS: A blinded review of accidents/exposures among EMS workers employed by a Baltimore County fire department was conducted. Medical records for 1992 were reviewed. RESULTS: Two hundred and twenty-six reports were filed by EMS workers (n = 197) employed by a large, urban fire department in 1992. The most commonly reported injuries were sprains (23%), strains (20%), and exposure to blood and body fluids (15%). The body site most commonly injured was the back (20%) followed by the respiratory system (10%). Most incidents were treated at the employee health clinic, and 13% of the incidents resulted in a hospital visit. Fifteen percent of the injuries resulted in more than seven lost work days. Most incidents were caused by stretcher mishaps, especially during transport of heavy patients. Walkway impediments (e.g., icy steps, wet leaves, broken and uneven pathways) also played an important role in creating slipping and tripping hazards. CONCLUSION: These results suggest a variety of prevention strategies aimed at reducing accidents and exposures among EMS workers.

Absenteeism↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Issues in pediatric research: safeguarding the children.

PURPOSE: To address the ethical question: "How can one safeguard children who participate in research?" PATIENT POPULATION: Infants through adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Federal guidelines that delineate when research is allowable with children may not be enough to ensure children's safety from harm. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Risk evaluation conducted by those who understand child development because such understanding allows one to better anticipate children's potential exposure to harm. Safeguarding children requires a conscientious effort to envision children's understanding of events, their potential reactions, and the possible immediate and long-term consequences. This understanding provides the foundation for implementing sound research procedures to safeguard the children.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Service-based survey of dystonia in munich.

We performed a service-based epidemiological study of dystonia in Munich, Germany. Due to favourable referral and treatment patterns in the Munich area, we could provide confident data from dystonia patients seeking botulinum toxin treatment. A total of 230 patients were ascertained, of whom 188 had primary dystonia. Point prevalence ratios were estimated to be 10.1 (95% confidence interval 8.4-11.9) per 100,000 for focal and 0.3 (0.0-0.6) for generalised primary dystonia. The most common focal primary dystonias were cervical dystonia with 5.4 (4.2-6.7) and essential blepharospasm with 3.1 (2.1-4.1) per 100,000 followed by laryngeal dystonia (spasmodic dysphonia) with 1.0 (0.4-1.5) per 100,000.

Age of Onset↗

PubMedDate not supplied

A longitudinal study of maternal depression and preschool children's mental health.

The purpose of this longitudinal study was to examine the relationship between maternal depression and preschool children's mental health in a community sample. Cohort 1 (n = 97) consisted of mothers and children followed from 2 to 3 years of age. Cohort 2 (n = 97) consisted of mothers and children followed from 3 to 4 years of age. Mothers completed a self-report measure of depression twice during 1 year. The children's day care providers/nursery school teachers completed two instruments measuring the children's social competence and behavior problems at the end of the year. Maternal depression was significantly related to lower social competence and more behavior problems in the children. Although there were no significant mean differences in children's mental health scores by gender, boys of more depressed mothers were more likely to have poorer social competence and more behavior problems than girls. Item analyses suggest that the boys' behaviors may be particularly aversive for depressed mothers, increasing the likelihood that these mothers will respond to and reinforce their sons' difficult behaviors.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Magnetically elicited blink reflex: an alternative to conventional electrical stimulation.

Magnetically and electrically elicited blink reflexes were studied in 11 normal subjects and in 5 patients with partial peripheral facial nerve palsy. Both methods were able to elicit a reproducible blink reflex. In both groups the latencies of the magnetically elicited reflexes were equal to those that followed electrical stimulation. The magnetic stimulation technique offered 2 advantages over the electrical stimulation: (1) it was less painful and therefore better tolerated and (2) the coil position in the middle of the forehead was sufficient to elicit a bilateral blink reflex because the windings of the stimulation coil excited both supraorbital nerves simultaneously. This bilateral response enables one to reduce the number of stimuli and can be used in the examination of patients that have peripheral facial nerve palsies without the concomitant impairment of the reflex pathway in the brainstem. The magnetic technique can also elicit a blink reflex at stimulation points distant from the supraorbital notch. This finding offers an alternative explanation of the late responses of facial muscles following transcranial magnetic stimulation of the motor cortex.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

What does the NCATS (Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale) measure?

The purpose of this study was to examine what aspects of the mother-child relationship are measured by the Nursing Child Assessment Teaching Scale (NCATS). A racially heterogeneous sample of 128 mothers completed questionnaires measuring maternal depression, parenting self-efficacy, knowledge of developmental and parenting principles, and perceived difficult toddler temperament. Mothers and children were also videotaped during home visits while completing two teaching tasks that were later scored using NCATS. NCATS Parent subscale scores were significantly related to maternal knowledge and education but unrelated to depression and self-efficacy. Child subscale scores were unrelated to all of the study variables, including perceived difficult temperament. Significant differences were noted among African-American, Hispanic, and white mothers. The findings suggest that the NCATS taps cognitive factors more reliably than affective factors underlying the mother-child relationship and the cognitive factors may be culturally biased.

Adult↗