Radium-226 dose to a boy from playing on mill tailings

Two boys born in September 1949 played on uranium mill tailings from about ages 8 to 12. One of these boys was diagnosed as having leukemia at age 15.5. The 226Ra body burden of the survivor was measured at age 38. The whole-body 226Ra content measured by counting in vivo was 0 +/- 17 Bq and independently by Rn breath analysis as 4.3 +/- 2.1 Bq. At the same time, a control subject with no known exposure to 226Ra, matched in age, height, and weight, was also measured. The whole-body content was estimated as 4 +/- 15 Bq and independently by Rn breath analysis as 5.5 +/- 3.7 Bq. The body burden of the control subject was not significantly different from that of the exposed person. The radiation dose to the marrow-free skeleton assuming a constant 226Ra:Ca ratio since birth was 0.49 and 1.33 mGy at ages 14 and 38, respectively. The radiation dose to the marrow-free skeleton assuming 226Ra intake only between ages 8 to 12 was 1.4 and 2.8 mGy at ages 14 and 38, respectively. The best estimate is the mean of these two estimates: 0.9 and 2.1 mGy at ages 14 and 38, respectively. The alpha-particle dose to the red marrow from 226Ra and its decay products was 0.05 mGy at age 14 and 0.10 mGy at age 38. Since no excess was found for the radium dial painters whose doses were much higher, the induction of leukemia by doses of this magnitude would seem quite unlikely.     

Dietary fiber and bowel function in tube-fed patients.

In tube-fed patients, dietary fiber is often used to manage constipation/diarrhea. Dietary fiber consists of water-soluble and insoluble plant compounds that are resistant to digestion by small-bowel enzymes but are fermented to varying degrees by colonic bacteria. Many physiologic effects of fiber may be related to the degree of fermentation. Few controlled studies of fiber-containing tube feedings have been performed. These studies have limitations and are nondefinitive as to whether fiber prevents or controls constipation/diarrhea. Constipation in tube-fed patients has not been shown to respond to mixed soluble/insoluble fiber in the few studies performed to date. Likewise, fiber may be of only limited benefit in controlling diarrhea in acute illness because of such factors as stress or medication. Fiber does play a role in maintaining gut integrity in all patients, whether they have diarrhea or not. Fiber may be recommended as part of a standard tube-feeding regimen to help assure gut mucosal integrity but not specifically to treat constipation/diarrhea. Further studies are necessary before the role of fiber in the management of constipation/diarrhea in tube-fed patients is determined.     

Thiamin status of incarcerated and nonincarcerated adolescent males: dietary intake and thiamin pyrophosphate response

We measured thiamin status in 137 incarcerated and 42 nonincarcerated adolescent males by use of both dietary intake data and a standard biochemical assay, thiamin pyrophosphate (TPP) response. Average thiamin intake of the total group was greater than 120% of the age-specific recommended dietary allowance (RDA). Ninety-two percent of incarcerated subjects and 93% of nonincarcerated subjects were consuming greater than or equal to 70% of RDA. Although average daily thiamin intake of nonincarcerated subjects was significantly higher than that of incarcerated subjects, both groups appeared to be at minimal risk for marginal thiamin status. Comparison of TPP response values indicated that there was no significant difference between groups. However, approximately 24% of the total population appeared to have less than adequate RBC thiamin on the basis of current standards for TPP response. Neither dietary intake nor reported previous alcohol intake was correlated with TPP response. These discrepant findings raise questions about the usefulness of the TPP response as the sole indicator of marginal thiamin status.     

The transient hypercholesterolemia of major weight loss

Serum lipoproteins, body composition, and adipose cholesterol contents of six obese women were studied during and after major weight loss by very-low-calorie diets (VLCDs). Subjects started at 168 +/- 11% of ideal body weight, lost 30.3 +/- 3.7 kg in 5-7 mo, followed by 2+ mo in weight maintenance. Serum cholesterol fell from a prediet (baseline) value of 5.49 +/- 0.32 to 3.62 +/- 0.31 mmol/L (P less than 0.01) after 1-2 mo of VLCDs (nadir), after which it rose to 5.95 +/- 0.36 mmol/L (peak, P less than 0.01 compared with nadir and baseline) as weight loss continued. With weight maintenance, serum cholesterol fell to 4.92 +/- 0.34 mmol/L (P less than 0.05 compared with peak). Adipose cholesterol content did not change in peripheral (arm and leg) biopsy sites but rose significantly in abdominal adipose tissue with weight loss. We conclude that major weight loss was associated with a late rise in serum cholesterol, possibly from mobilization of adipose cholesterol stores, which resolved when weight loss ceased.     

A feasibility study of quantitative respirator fit testing by controlled negative pressure

The feasibility of using a direct measure of respirator leakage flow rate as a quantitative index of respirator face seal fit has been explored through the use of a new controlled negative pressure method. The method is based on exhausting air from a temporarily sealed respirator facepiece at a rate sufficient to generate and then sustain a constant negative pressure inside the facepiece while the wearer holds his breath. The magnitude of the negative pressure is preselected to replicate the mean inspiratory pressure inside the mask during normal wear. With the air-purifying paths into the respirator temporarily blocked, measurement of the exhaust flow rate yields a synonymous measure of the leakage flow rate into the mask during inspiration under normal use conditions. The feasibility of using the new method to quantify respirator fit was assessed in a preliminary study that compared its performance with a quantitative fit test method based on the use of dichlorodifluoromethane as a challenge agent. Study data exhibit a high degree of correlation (r greater than 0.99) and no significant difference between the two methods over a range of controlled mask leakage rates. A major advantage of the new method is that a worker can be fit tested with his assigned respirator because the method does not require a destructive sampling probe. Other significant benefits compared to current methods used to quantify respirator fit appear to include (1) ease of test administration, (2) simplicity of test components, (3) lack of a potentially toxic challenge agent, (4) a straightforward calibration procedure, (5) multiple test capability, (6) immediacy of test results, and (7) field portability of the test system.     

Clinical decision making: from theory to practice. The individual vs society. Resolving the conflict

Eddy argues for reform of the American health care system. In seeking health coverage, he explains, there are two positions: the first, that of society, seeks to allocate services efficiently; the second, that of the patient, seeks to optimize individual patients' care. Using his illustration of breast cancer coverage from a previous JAMA article (1991 Mar 20; 265 (11): 1446+), Eddy contends that a tradition of decision-making from the second position is the root of present health care inefficiencies. Eddy's ideal would be complete information to physicians and patients about service costs, benefits, and financial feasibility, and an agreed-upon standard of fair resource allocation, based on the threshold of a specific measure of benefit per resource. To approach this ideal, he concludes, we must recognize the problem, pursue education about service costs and benefits and people's desires of the system, and identify and review services that presently are inefficiently utilized.     

Thiazide diuretics and the risk of hip fracture. Results from the Framingham Study

Thiazide diuretics may preserve bone mass and prevent elderly women's osteopenic fractures, but studies have not distinguished between thiazide preparations or examined former users. We performed a case-control study looking at thiazide use and subsequent hip fracture in postmenopausal female members of the Framingham Study cohort. Cases who had experienced a first hip fracture (n = 176) were compared with age-matched controls (n = 672). Results showed a modest protective effect of any recent thiazide use (not significant). However, recent pure thiazide users experienced significant protection against fracture (adjusted odds ratio, 0.31; 95% confidence interval, 0.11 to 0.88), whereas recent users of combination drugs containing thiazides experienced no protection (adjusted odds ratio, 1.16; 95% confidence interval, 0.44 to 3.05). Combination drugs generally contained only 25 mg of hydrochlorothiazide, suggesting that the small amount of thiazide was insufficient to preserve bone mass. Former thiazide users were not protected against fracture. In sum, recent pure thiazide use in women protects against hip fracture.