Incidence of asthma and net change in symptoms in relation to changes in obesity.

The incidence of asthma has been reported to be associated with obesity. An alternative analysis, of net change in prevalence, does not require exclusion of those with asthma at baseline. Follow-up data were obtained from 9,552 participants in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey and the Swiss cohort Study on Air Pollution and Lung Disease in Adults. Incidence of asthma was analysed by proportional hazards regression, and net changes in symptoms and asthma status by generalised estimating equations, by obesity group. Incidence and net change in ever having had asthma were greater in females than in males, and in participants who remained obese compared with those who were never obese (hazard ratio 2.00, 95% confidence interval 1.25-3.20; excess net change 2.8%, 0.4-5.3% per 10 yrs). The effect of being obese on net change in diagnosed asthma was greater in females than in males, but for net change in wheeze without a cold it was greater in males. The present results are consistent with asthma being more frequently diagnosed in females, especially obese females. These findings may help to explain the reports of a stronger association between asthma and obesity in females than in males.     

Infectious diseases physicians' preferences for continuing medical education on antimicrobial resistance and other general topics.

A 19-item survey instrument was designed and mailed by the Infectious Diseases Society of America to its membership to determine the media preferred by infectious diseases physicians for continuing medical education on general topics and on antimicrobial resistance. The objective of the survey was to offer the developers of educational programs knowledge on which to base more-effective ways to deliver educational materials to physicians in this specialty.     

AVIATION NURSING IN THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN KIMBERLEY

ABSTRACT: This article provides a brief overview of the Western Australian (WA) Kimberley Royal Flying Doctor Service and the role of the flight nurse who accompanies patients requiring aerial medical evacuation from rural and remote WA. Two short case histories of head injured patients evacuated from the Kimberley region will be outlined and some of the potential concerns associated with transferring patients at altitude in a confined and altered working environment will be discussed.     

Ultrasound-determined fetal subcutaneous tissue thickness for a birthweight prediction model

AIM: The aim of this study was to explore a birthweight prediction model using ultrasound determined tissue thickness (SCTT) parameters. METHODS: We measured routine ultrasonographic biometric parameters and in addition, fetal SCTT in 201 healthy singleton pregnancies. Mid-arm fat and lean mass, mid-thigh fat and lean mass, subscapular fat mass and abdominal fat mass (AFM) were measured in order to calculate a birthweight prediction model. Ultrasound measurements were analyzed using an 'anovarepeated measures model'. The growth rate (beta-slope) of the selected parameters was computed and the correlation coefficient with the birthweight and the Kendall rank correlation tau, were calculated. RESULTS: From the ultrasound determined SCTT parameters, only abdominal circumference (AC), AFM, and MTLM showed a statistically significant trend. The beta-slope of mid-thigh lean mass was excluded since it exhibited significant correlation with the beta-slope of AFM. The final regression model could be calculated as: birthweight (gr.) = intercept +alpha(1)(AFM beta-slope) + alpha(2)(AC beta-slope), where alpha(1), alpha(2) represent regression coefficients. CONCLUSIONS: We provide a graphical birthweight prediction model for clinical practice using conventional and specific ultrasound measurements of fetal subcutaneous tissue thickness. This model is based upon an overall analysis of the ultrasound estimated body components.