The accompanying male parent in the intensive care unit

A study is made in the Intensive Care Unit of "José L. Miranda" Provincial Pediatric Teaching Hospital in Santa Clara in order to know the sequence with which the father occupies the place of the mother in the care of hospitalized children. With this objective, 54 male companions are surveyed in the first trimester of 1987. The prevailing occupational profile was that of worker. A higher number of the respondents were between 17 and 25 years of age. The school level of secondary school prevailed among patient companions. Most of them reported no economic inconveniences during the child's disease. The desire to remain at the bedside and the inability of the mother to do so were the major reasons for their stay. The advantages recognized by the nursing personnel in male companions are made known.     

Pacific Americans and the National Health Care Act: Where we fit

PURPOSE OF THE PAPER. The purposes of this report were to identify Pacific American health care priorities, recommend how these needs can be addressed in national health care reform legislation, and inform national leaders of the cultural and social context withing which these needs must be met. SUMMARY OF METHODS UTILIZED. In concert with a team of researchers, the authors compiled and analyzed extant literature on the health care of Pacific Americans; discussions were held with health care professionals, state and territorial health care leaders, and agencies and organizations with substantial experience and expertise in health care promotion and development; a two-day health symposium was conducted by Pacific American health care community leaders to review the initial findings, conclusions, and recommendations of the draft report; and follow up meetings were heald with actual communitiy health care providers to validate the data and recommendations of the report. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS. Pacific Americans have collective historical and political relationship not only with the federal government and the continental United States, but also to each other's island state or territory. Thus, common needs and unique interrelationships serve to highlight the importance of the differences between western-oriented and Pacific American health care providers. There is a profound lack of health resources in many Pacific American communities, and even when health resources are potentially available, poor access to health care compounds the need. Pacific Americans are a mobile people with large numbers residing in California, Oregon, Washington, Nevada, Texas, Utah, and the New York-Virginia corridor. Their health needs continue even when they do not reside in their home bases. CONCLUSIONS. Pacific Americans know best how to bridge the cultural gap that continues to exist between them and western-oriented health care providers; improvements in their health care is best accomplished by Pacific Americans themselves. Pacific American health care did not start from an "Even playing field"; hence, the mismatch in resources and needs is so pronounced that it argues not only for continued but also greatly expanded federal support for enabling services, research development, and professional education and development. The federal government must collect and develop better demographic and health access information specifically and separately for Pacific Americans. Baseline data for Pacific American populations, regardless of their residence, must be available and analyzable in terms of community and/or geographic areas. Only then can effective programs be established, managed, evaluated, and improved. KEY WORDS. American Samoans; Chamorrors; Hawaiians; Pacific Americans; Pacific Islanders&semi.     

Stress, attachment and skin diseases: a case-control study

Objectives In this case-control study we tested the hypothesis of an association between some psychosomatic skin diseases, attachment style and stress. Patients and methods A total of 177 cases and 194 controls seen between November 1992 and November 1993 at the Istituto Dermopatico dell'lmmacolata (IDD) in Rome, were enrolled into the study. Cases were outpatients with first diagnosis of hyperidrosis, chronic urticaria, generalized pruritus or alopecia areata. Controls were outpatients seen in the same period of time with first diagnosis of pigmenled nevi, keratosis or mycosis. The presence and weight of life stress events were assessed by u standard precoded questionnaire based on the Schedule of Recent Experiences (SRE) and on the Life Experiences Survey (LES). The attachment style was assessed by a modified version of the Shaver and Hazan questionnaire about feelings in a love relationship. We calculated 3 scores for each individual and classified study subjects in 2 groups: 1) "free" (= secure attachment); 2) "not free" (not secure attachment: anxious-ambivalent or avoidant). Questionnaires were self-administered in the presence of a trained psychologist. Adjusted odds ratios (OR) were calculated using a multiple logistic function. Results No association was found between the different stress scores and the skin diseases considered. The crude odds ratio for life stress events in the previous year was 1.4 (95% CI 0.8–2.7). After multiple adjustment for age, sex, marital status and education, the estimated OR was 1.6 (95% CI 0.8–3.0). One significant association emerged between the adult attachment style defined as “not free” and psychosomatic skin diseases: the adjusted OR was 4.0 (95% CI 1.4–12).     

Early-onset encephalomyopathy associated with tissue-specific mitochondrial DNA depletion: A morphological,biochemical and molecular-genetic study

A male infant, born from consanguineous parents, suffered from birth with a progressive neuromuscular disorder characterized by psychomotor delay, hypotonia, muscle weakness and wasting, deep-tendon areflexia and spastic posture. High levels of lactic acid in blood and cerebrospinal fluid suggested a mitochondrial respiratory chain defect. Muscle biopsy revealed raggedred and cytochromec oxidase-negative fibres, lipid accumulation and dystrophic changes. Multiple defects of respiratory complexes were detected in muscle homogenate, but cultured fibroblasts, myoblasts and myotubes were normal. Southern blot analysis showed markedly reduced levels of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) in muscle, while lymphocytes, fibroblasts and muscle precursor cells were normal. Neither depletion of mtDNA nor abnormalities of the respiratory complexes were observed in innervated muscle fibres cultured for as long as 4 months. No mutations were observed in two candidate nuclear genes,mtTFA andmtSSB, retro-transcribed, amplified and sequenced from the proband's mRNA. Sequence analysis of the mtDNA D-loop and of the origin of replication of the mtDNA light strand failed to identify potentially pathogenic mutations of these replicative elements in the proband's muscle mtDNA. Our findings indicate that mtDNA depletion is due to a nuclear encoded gene and suggest that the abnormality underlying defective mtDNA propagation must occur after muscle differentiation in vivo.     

Cavernous angioma of the cauda equina: Report of two cases and review of the literature

Two cases of intradural cavernous angioma of the cauda equina are reported, one of which presented with symptoms of subarachnoid hemorrhage. The clinical and therapeutic aspects of intradural angiomas, in particular those of the cauda equina, are discussed.     

Pregnancies in an 18-Year Follow-up after Biliopancreatic Diversion

Background: 239 pregnancies occurred in 1136 women who had undergone biliopancreatic diversion (BPD). Methods: There were 73 abortions, and 14 pregnancies are presently in their course. The 152 term pregnancies (six twins) occurred in 129 women 2-173 months (mean 42.7) after BPD. Mean age and current excess weight were 31.4 years (20-42) and 29.1% (-6.9-78.2), and mean excess weight loss was 72.9% (30.4-110.5). Results: Mean weight gain during pregnancy was 6.2 kg (-21-25). In 32 patients (21%), parenteral nutritional support was needed. In all the other patients (79%), the usual supplementations were given. Of the newborns, 122 were delivered at term (84.7%) with a mean weight of 2842.4 g (1760-4600 g) and a mean length of 48.5 cm (43-59 cm), while the 22 preterm babies (15.3%) weighed 2151.1 g (1400-3850 g) and had a length of 44.6 cm (33-56 cm). Forty infants (27.8%) were small for gestational age but 17 of them weighed more than 2500 g. Eleven twins (one abortion at 26th week) were also delivered, with a mean weight of 2088.6 g (1200-3100 g) and a mean length of 45.6 cm (35-50 cm). Delivery was spontaneous in 85 instances (56%), while vacuum extractor was used in one, and 66 cesarean sections were performed. There were two birth malformations, one infant died after surgery for meconium obstruction and two died from unknown causes. Of the 129 women, 35 had been infertile before BPD. Conclusions: Disappearance of infertility and decrease of pregnancy risk are to be considered among the beneficial effects of weight reduction following BPD.     

Design and methods of the Ludwig-McGill longitudinal study of the natural history of human papillomavirus infection and cervical neoplasia in Brazil. Ludwig-McGill Study Group.

This article reports on a large longitudinal study, begun in 1993, of the natural history of human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cervical neoplasia in a population of low-income women in S?o Paulo, Brazil, a city with one of the highest risks worldwide for cervical cancer. Known as the Ludwig-McGill cohort study, the epidemiological investigation focuses on persistent infection with oncogenic HPV types as the precursor event leading to cervical neoplasia. The objectives of this study are to: 1) study the epidemiology of persistent cervical HPV infection in asymptomatic women, 2) investigate whether persistent HPV infection increases risk of low-grade and high-grade cervical lesions, 3) search for determinants of persistent HPV infection, 4) search for molecular variants of HPV that may be associated with an increased risk of lesions, 5) investigate whether viral burden is correlated with persistent infections and with lesion risk, 6) study the antibody response to HPV as a predictor of persistence and lesion progression, and 7) examine the role of HLA typing and codon 72 p53 gene polymorphism in mediating HPV persistence and lesion severity. The study accrued 2,528 female subjects through March 1997. Subjects were followed up every 4 months in the first year, with twice-yearly return visits to take place in subsequent years. Participants undergo a questionnaire-based interview, have a cervical specimen taken for Pap cytology and HPV testing, and have a blood sample drawn for HPV antibody testing. A cervicography is performed once in the first year and every two years thereafter. In this article we describe the design and methods of the study, provide baseline cohort characteristics, and present a preliminary assessment of the prognostic value of baseline HPV status.     

Interaction between tobacco and alcohol consumption and the risk of cancers of the upper aero-digestive tract in Brazil

The authors investigated the joint effects of tobacco and alcohol consumption on the risk of squamous cell carcinomas of the upper aero-digestive tract (UADT) using data from a hospital-based case-control study conducted in southern Brazil, 1986-1989. A total of 784 cases of cancers of the mouth, pharynx, and larynx and 1,578 non-cancer controls matched on age, sex, hospital catchment area, and period of admission were interviewed about their smoking and drinking habits and other characteristics. Using logistic regression, evidence was found for interaction between the cumulative exposures for smoking and alcohol on UADT cancer risk. The joint effects for pharyngeal cancers exceeded the levels expected under a multiplicative model for moderate smokers (p = 0.007). There was little statistical evidence, however, for interaction on cancers of the mouth (p = 0.28) or larynx (p = 0.95). Among never smokers, heavy drinkers had 9.2 times (95% confidence interval 1.7, 48.5) greater risk of cancers of mouth, pharynx, and supraglottis than never drinkers, with a dose-response trend (p = 0.013) with cumulative consumption. The authors conclude that the interaction occurring in the pharynx between smoking and alcohol on UADT cancers is not uniform, with varying effects depending on the level of smoking exposure. Alcohol may act as both a promoter for tobacco and as an independent risk factor.     

p53 Accumulation Is a Prognostic Factor in Intestinal-Type Gastric Carcinoma but Not in the Diffuse Type

Background: The prognostic value of p53 nuclear accumulation in gastric cancer is still unclear, as shown by the discordant results still reported in the literature. In this study, we evaluated the correlation between p53 accumulation and long-term survival of patients resected for intestinal and diffuse-type gastric cancer.Methods: Eighty-three patients with carcinoma of the intestinal type and 53 patients with carcinoma of the diffuse type were included in the study. Immunohistochemical staining of the paraffin sections was performed by using monoclonal antibody DO1; cases were considered positive when nuclear immunostaining was observed in 10% or more of the tumor cells. Prognostic significance of different variables was investigated by univariate and multivariate analysis.Results: p53 positivity was found in 51.8% of intestinal-type and 50.9% of diffuse-type cases. No significant correlation between the rate of p53 overexpression and age, sex, tumor location, tumor size, depth of invasion, lymph node involvement, distant metastases, and surgical radicality was found in the two groups of patients. A statistically significant difference in survival rate was observed between p53-negative and p53-positive cases in the intestinal type (P < .05), confirmed by multivariate analysis (P < .005; relative risk = 3.09). On the contrary, no correlation with survival was found in diffuse-type cases according to p53 overexpression.Conclusions: These results suggest that the immunohistochemical detection of p53 accumulation is a useful indicator of poor prognosis in the intestinal but not in the diffuse type of gastric cancer, and are indicative of distinct molecular pathways and pattern of progression in the two histotypes.