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Infant and child mortality in rural Egypt.

This research examines determinants of infant and child mortality in rural Egypt, primarily the effects of household economic status and the availability of health services. Certain features of the health service environment affect survival in the neonatal period. In early childhood, survival chances improve markedly as income increases and if the household depends almost exclusively on employment income. In infancy and in early childhood, mortality is strongly associated with region of residence and maternal demographic characteristics, and is weakly associated with parental schooling.

Child, Preschool

Deaths in infancy and early childhood in a well-vaccinated, rural, West African population.

A survey of deaths in children under the age of 7 years was made over a 1-year period in a rural area of The Gambia with few facilities for curative medicine but with a good record of infant immunizations. One hundred and eighty-four deaths were investigated. Only 12% of deaths occurred in a hospital or health centre but an attempt was made to establish a cause of death by interviewing the family of each dead child and by examining any health records that were available. The infant mortality rate was 142 per 1000 live births and the child mortality rate (death in children aged 1-4 years) 43 per 1000 per year. Acute respiratory infections, malaria and chronic diarrhoea with marasmus were the most frequent causes of death after the 1st month of life. Few children died of diseases that could have been prevented by routine immunizations. An effective immunization programme has probably had some effect on deaths in infancy and early childhood but it will be necessary to find ways of preventing deaths from malaria, acute respiratory infections and chronic diarrhoea/marasmus at the primary health care level if infant and childhood mortality are to be reduced further in rural areas of The Gambia.

Age Factors

Oral rehydration salts and diarrhoeal diseases: effects of changing inpatient management in Tonga.

Methods of inpatient management of children with diarrhoeal diseases (DD) in 1978 and in 1980 were compared to assess the use of oral rehydration salts (ORS) and a national antidiarrhoeal programme (NAP). Inpatient notes of 369 children admitted with DD were reviewed. The management of DD differed significantly but the clinical outcome was similar, with the exception of the case-fatality rate. All deaths occurred within the first 24 h of admission, indicating that this difference was attributable to improved management of DD in the community rather than changes in the inpatient treatment regime.

Child

Sociocultural factors in depression in Asian Indian women.

Depression is a pervasive illness with a wide distribution and is reported to be statistically more prevalent among women. The present study was undertaken to seek an understanding of depression in a sample of Asian Indian women. The research questions were (a) What sociocultural factors do adult depressed Indian women report as influences in the depression, and (b) how do these reported factors influence their treatment-seeking behavior? The setting was Madurai, India. The purposive, convenience sample comprised 30 Tamil-speaking married or widowed Hindu women ranging in age from 26 to 65 who had been diagnosed with depression. Tape-recorded interviews were conducted. Content analysis was completed on the data. Results indicate that cultural dictation of female role and lack of continued financial and emotional support, predominantly from spouses and other family members, were influential factors in depression. These along with religion and philosophy often influenced the decision to seek health care.

Adult

Enhancing the usability of safety software for microcomputers.

With the proliferation of microcomputers, increasing effort is being made to write programs dealing with occupational safety and health. So as to assure the widespread use of this material, it is important that it be prepared in a manner easy to use. Ignoring this consideration may cause the potential users to be repelled by it from the start, or that its use will be difficult and error-prone. This article dwells on some of the points that need to be borne in mind when writing such software to make it easy and pleasant to use. Additionally, a project, carried out by the author, is described, which makes use of a free-form program access approach, as opposed to a purely menu-driven one. Two potential extensions of this approach are then described.

Computers

Didanosine.

OBJECTIVE: To review the chemistry, intracellular metabolism, pharmacokinetics, and clinical experience with didanosine (2',3'-dideoxyinosine [ddI]). DATA SOURCES: English-language articles and conference proceedings (indexing terms were didanosine, 2',3'-dideoxyinosine, and ddI). STUDY SELECTION: Available Phase I studies and abstracts determined to have clinical significance were included. DATA EXTRACTION: Clinical experience with ddI is limited to uncontrolled Phase I studies and a large "expanded-access" program. The primary outcome parameters used to evaluate ddI were the HIV surrogate markers: CD4+ lymphocytes and p24 antigen. Thus, the clinical data reviewed here must be evaluated critically and be considered preliminary until the results of studies comparing ddI with zidovudine (ZDV) and combination studies are available. DATA SYNTHESIS: Didanosine has been approved for the treatment of HIV infection in patients who are unable to tolerate ZDV because of adverse effects (e.g., anemia and neutropenia) or who experience clinical or immunologic deterioration while receiving ZDV. Compared with ZDV, ddI has a long intracellular half-life and negligible bone-marrow toxicity. It also has in vitro activity against ZDV-resistant strains of HIV. Phase I studies indicate that ddI has a beneficial effect on the CD4+ cell counts and HIV p24 antigen concentrations. As a result of the acid-labile nature of ddI, oral formulations are buffered or must be mixed with antacid to neutralize gastric pH. Bioavailability then averages 20-40 percent, depending on the dose and formulation given. The plasma half-life, total body clearance, and volume of distribution of ddI are one to two hours, 0.7-1 L/kg/h, and 0.8-1 L/kg, respectively. Painful peripheral neuropathy and pancreatitis (dose-limiting toxicities of ddI) occurred in 34 and 9 percent of patients in Phase I studies, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Didanosine has demonstrated preliminary efficacy in the treatment of late-stage HIV infection; however, its effect on patient survival, its efficacy relative to ZDV, and its utility in combination with other agents are still under evaluation.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

A computer-controlled ventilator weaning system.

Weaning of patients from mechanical ventilation is a time-consuming, labor-intensive process. Because most weaning decisions are based on objective data, we tested a computer-directed weaning system on postoperative patients. We developed an automatic, computer-controlled ventilator weaning system which interfaces a laptop computer to a ventilator and a pulse oximeter. The laptop computer program accesses patient data through the ventilator and pulse oximeter to make weaning decisions. The computer directly controls the ventilator through an interface developed for this system. We tested the system in nine postoperative patients who met the following criteria: negative inspiratory force less than or equal to -20 cm H2O, vital capacity greater than 10 ml/kg, inspired oxygen concentration less than or equal to 40 percent, and satisfactory arterial blood gas parameters (pH between 7.32 and 7.48, PCO2 between 32 and 48, and oxygen saturation greater than or equal to 90 percent). The computer decreased the SIMV rate by 2 breaths/min every 5 min until a rate of 2 breaths/min was reached, then decreased pressure support by 4 cm H2O every 5 min as long as the patient met the following criteria: respiratory rate between 8 and 25 breaths/min, minute ventilation between 6 and 14 L, and pulse oximeter oxygen saturation greater than or equal to 90 percent. If unsatisfactory weaning criteria were noted, the system automatically returned the patient to the previous weaning level. We successfully weaned nine patients using the system. Additional studies are underway to determine if this system can be used in medical patients. We believe this computer-controlled ventilator weaning system can be used successfully in patients requiring mechanical ventilation and may decrease the time and cost associated with the care of these patients.

Adult

Efficacy and Safety of Durvalumab plus Tremelimumab for Unresectable Hepatocellular Carcinoma: A Real-World Multicenter Observational Study.

Introduction: Durvalumab plus tremelimumab (Durva/Treme) improved survival in the HIMALAYA trial for unresectable hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), but real-world evidence remains limited. This study aimed to evaluate clinical outcomes of Durva/Treme in routine practice. Methods: This retrospective multicenter study included patients with unresectable or advanced HCC who received Durva/Treme through the Expanded Access Program in Thailand between August 2023 and November 2025. Treatment outcomes and adverse events (AEs) were analyzed and descriptively compared with the HIMALAYA trial. Results: Fifty patients were included; median age was 62 years and 80% were male. Etiologies included hepatitis B (44%), hepatitis C (30%), and nonviral liver disease (26%). Most patients had Child-Pugh A (92%), while 24% had macrovascular invasion, including five with Vp4 portal vein involvement. The objective response rate (ORR) and disease control rate (DCR) were 12% and 60%, respectively. Among 43 patients meeting HIMALAYA eligibility criteria, ORR and DCR were 12% and 56%, respectively. With a median follow-up of 28.9 months, median progression-free survival (mPFS) and overall survival (mOS) were 4.6 and 10.5 months in the overall cohort, and 6.9 and 14.0 months in the HIMALAYA-eligible subgroup. Any-grade AEs occurred in 76% of patients, with grade ≥ 3 AEs in 24%. Hepatitis was the most common toxicity (48% overall; 14% grade ≥ 3). Conclusions: Durva/Treme demonstrated clinically meaningful activity with manageable toxicity in unresectable HCC. Outcomes among HIMALAYA-eligible patients were broadly consistent with the pivotal trial, supporting the feasibility of this regimen in routine clinical practice.

Aged

Is there a greater incidence of abdominal pregnancy in developing countries? Report of four cases.

Early ectopic pregnancies often are unrecognized in rural areas of Papua New Guinea. Some of these untreated tubal pregnancies abort into the peritoneal cavity and continue as advanced abdominal pregnancies. Of 72 ectopic pregnancies that were treated surgically over a 67-month period, four fetuses were found to be implanted in the abdomen. Two of these pregnancies proceeded to term and viable normal infants were delivered. One in 18 ectopic pregnancies were of advanced gestation in the abdomen. This incidence is higher than has been reported previously and is related to the poor utilization of medical care by pregnant women in rural areas of Papua New Guinea.

Adult

[Guidelines for electronic-data-processing-controlled serial diagnosis of donor blood samples].

UNLABELLED: Increasing performance figures and the necessity to save expenses oblige transfusion services to automatize their donors' laboratory examination. Sufficient hard- and software for sample distribution and processing is now available. Following aspects should be regarded when switching to automatic serial screening: SAFETY: The identity of blood-donor, donation and laboratory result will be achieved by machine readable labeling and on-line communication between working-stations and central administration. Flexibility: Easy automatic selective laboratory screening will be possible using special barcodes including sample identification and working orders. A modular hardware concept with easily accessible programming control allows it to implement new devices or methods. Ergonomy: Automatic sample processing including selective screening and simultaneous operating robotic sample processors increase working quality, sample output and time benefits. Economy: Improved working conditions will result in saving reagents and compensating staff limitations.

Blood Banks