The benefit and implications of blood pressure (BP) measurement in dental patients are a standard curricular component of most physical evaluation courses in dental schools. However, previous research has indicated that preventive procedures such as oral cancer examinations frequently are not completed or documented. A survey of practicing dentists was conducted in a Midwest metropolitan area to determine the frequency of BP measurement and conditions under which this vital sign is likely to be measured. Two hundred four responses were obtained from a telephone survey which included questions characterizing BP measurement on the basis of patient age and medical diagnosis. The results of the survey indicated that 57.4% of respondents do not check the BP of new patients over the age of 65, while 74% do not check the BP of new patients under 30 years of age. Fourteen percent admitted never measuring BP. The results varied by graduation years and by dentist's completion of AEGD or GPR programs. The results suggest great variation in the recording of BP and the criteria which are applied to those decisions. Further study should investigate factors contributing to low compliance with screening procedures such as the clinical measurement of BP and other health-promotion measures.

Adult↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Age-related increase in sexual behaviours and decrease in regular condom use among adolescents in Australia.

The prevalence of sexual behaviours was estimated from a survey of 3854 Australian secondary school students. Self-reported prevalence of intercourse increased from 9.9% (age 13 years or less) to 23.9% (age 15) and 51.2% at age 17 and over. Among 932 sexually experienced youth in the final 3 years of secondary school, 26% of males and 18% of females reported having 3 or more partners in the previous year; 89.4% had used a condom at least once, with males (71.8%) reporting more last occasion condom use than females (53.4%). 'Last occasion' and 'usual', but not lifetime, condom use was significantly lower among older respondents. Although nearly 90% of females in each of 3 age groups reported lifetime condom use, just 27.6% of female students aged 17 or more reported that condoms were always used during intercourse. The decline with age, noted in research with adults and older adolescents, may begin in the middle teens.

Adolescent↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Combined cryosurgery and scleral buckling in acute proliferative retrolental fibroplasia.

The paper demonstrates that limited cryosurgery combined with scleral buckling in premature infants with acute proliferative retrolental fibroplasia in a procedure which can be extremely successful in the treatment of this devastating disease. Timing for surgical intervention is critical. The indications for the surgical intervention are stated. The continuous monitoring of those infants with retrolental fibroplasia is critical to the success of the operative procedure. Since critical timing for success is involved, a new schedule for ophthalmic examination of the premature infant is proposed. This new schedule differs significantly from that proposed by the American Academy of Pediatrics in 1971. At that time, there was no successful treatment for retrolental fibroplasia. In contrast, we submit that limited cryosurgery combined with scleral buckling is an efficacious form of therapy for this disease.

Child↗