Pedigree analysis and epidemiological features of idiopathic congenital talipes equinovarus in the United Kingdom: a case-control study

Background  

Congenital talipes equinovarus (CTEV) is a common developmental disorder of the foot, affecting between 1 and 4.5 per 1000 live births. The aetiology is not well elucidated. While both genetic and environmental factors are implicated, no specific genes have been identified and little is known about environmental risk factors.     

The determination of the maximal angular visual acuity and of the Vernier acuity (author's transl)

In clinical diagnosis it is important to determine the maximal angular visual acuity by using for example the TNO Landolt C ring chart of Vos. The determination of the Vernier- or Nonius acuity is hardly of any clinical diagnostic significance because in several pathological conditions and in normal eyes the visual acuity is always three times higher than the angular visual acuity. Therefore this does not contribute to further differentiation.     

Drug-related hospitalizations in a tertiary care internal medicine service of a Canadian hospital: a prospective study

STUDY OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency, severity, preventability, and classification of adverse drug events resulting in hospitalization, and to identify any patient, prescriber, drug, and system factors associated with these events. DESIGN: Prospective, observational study. SETTING: Internal medicine service of a large tertiary care hospital in Canada. PATIENTS: A total of 565 consecutive adult patients admitted to the hospital during a 12-week period. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A patient's hospitalization was defined as drug related if it was directly related to one of eight predefined classifications; severity and preventability of the hospitalization were also assessed. Multivariate logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate patient, prescriber, drug, and system factors associated with drug-related hospitalizations. The frequency of drug-related hospitalization was 24.1% (95% confidence interval [CI] 20.6-27.8%), of which 72.1% (95% CI 63.7-79.4%) were deemed preventable. Severity was classified as mild, moderate, severe, and fatal in 8.1% (95% CI 4.1-14.0%), 83.8% (95% CI 76.5-89.6%), 7.4% (95% CI 3.6-13.1%), and 0.7% (95% CI 0.0-4.0%), respectively, of the hospitalizations. The most common classifications of drug-related hospitalization were adverse drug reactions (35.3% [95% CI 27.3-43.9%]), improper drug selection (17.6% [95% CI 11.6-25.1%]), and noncompliance (16.2% [95% CI 10.4-23.5%]). No independent risk factors for drug-related hospitalization were identified with regression modeling. CONCLUSION: Approximately 25% of patients in our study were hospitalized for drug-related causes; over 70% of these causes were deemed preventable. Drug-related hospitalization is a significant problem that merits further research and intervention.     

Kinetics of buccal absorption of amphetamines

The buccal absorption of amphetamine, methylamphetamine and dimethylamphetamine in solutions at pH 8·16 and 9·18, was measured in man after 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 10 min. The recovery of the drugs from the buccal membrane after uptake was also measured by washing out the mouth for varying times with buffer solutions. An analogue computer model of the biological system was used and the kinetic parameters for the buccal absorption of the amphetamines were calculated.