OBJECTIVE: To determine the rate of serum ethanol clearance in 39 children and adolescents who presented intoxicated to one ED. METHODS: All pediatric patients presenting to a university hospital ED, for whom serial ethanol levels had been determined between January 1989 and May 1993, were evaluated. Age, gender, presenting complaint, initial serum glucose concentration, timed serum ethanol concentrations, and rate of serum clearance were determined retrospectively for all the patients. RESULTS: 39 pediatric patients had had serial serum ethanol concentrations determined. The patients ranged in age from 6 weeks to 17 years (mean 14.6 years). Initial serum ethanol levels ranged from 13.7 to 84.2 mmol/L (63-388 mg/dL) and the mean serum ethanol clearance rate was 4.0 mmol/L/hr (18.6 mg/dL/hr), consistent with clearance rates previously reported for adults. CONCLUSION: These data suggest that the rate of serum ethanol clearance in children and adolescents presenting to the ED approaches that previously reported for adults. Clinical diminution of intoxication should not be more rapid for children and adolescents than it is for adults.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Modafinil: a gift to portmanteau.

This article reviews the use of modafinil in palliative care, and its use in promoting vigilance and wakefulness. Modafinil's therapeutic and chemical class, mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, indications, dosage, side effects, and drug interactions are also discussed. Modafinil seems to fit the requirements of portmanteau, using one drug to treat multiple symptoms.

Benzhydryl Compounds↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Beclomethasone dipropionate in chronic asthma.

Explore the source record for details and available documents.

Asthma↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Facet tropism: comparison of plain film and computed tomography examinations.

This study compares the findings of plain film X-ray and computed CT examination in the diagnosis of facet orientation and the presence of tropism. Twenty consecutive patients having lumbar disc disease with sciatica were studied utilizing plain X-ray as well as CT scanning. A chiropractic radiologist read the films to determine if facet facings were sagittally, semi-sagittally or coronally oriented on both CT and plain X-ray study. CT was accepted as the most accurate method to determine the true facet orientation, and plain X-ray interpretation of facet orientation was compared to the CT reading. There was a statistically significant relationship in diagnosing tropism between plain film X-ray and CT readings, with a predictive accuracy that ranged from 58-84% across the three segmental levels. However, the exact concordance of plain film X-ray and CT readings for right and left facet facings was very low. This raises the question of how the profession defines diagnostic accuracy.

Back Pain↗