Who Attends Family Planning Clinics?

Summary: Data were obtained from 1,810 consecutive women who attended a central metropolitan (Brisbane) Family Planning Clinic during a 5 week period in 1982. Young women in particular formed the major client group with 32% being under 20 years of age. The client population was skewed towards women of upper socioeconomic status (SES). There was no SES disproportion in the use of oral contraceptives or IUD's. However, diaphragm use occurred disproportionately in women of upper SES groups; postcoital contraception was sought by and limited to, women of SES classes A and B only. The clinic satisfied a need for women with a history of failed or absent contraception and 15% had already had a termination of pregnancy by the time they first presented at the clinic.     

Hypoxaemia during induction of anaesthesia—an audit of children who underwent general anaesthesia for routine elective surgery

Arterial oxygen saturation was measured using pulse oximetry during induction of anaesthesia in 108 children aged 10 days--14 years. No restriction was placed on the method of induction. Oxygen saturation decreased to less than 90% in 29 children (26.8%) and less than 80% in seven children (6.4%). There was a significantly increased incidence of desaturation (to less than 90%) in children under one year of age, in those who had no premedication, in those who received only atropine as a premidicant and in children who were anxious or crying before intravenous induction. Oxygen saturation did not decrease below 90% in any child who received inhalational induction.     

OCULAR INVOLVEMENT IN THE ACQUIRED IMMUNE DEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS)

The acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) has reached epidemic proportions in the USA and the incidence of this potentially fatal viral infection is increasing rapidly in Australia. The loss of normal cellular immunity in affected individuals predisposes them to severe opportunistic infections and neoplasms, especially Kaposi's sarcoma. Both of these pathological processes may affect the eye, and ocular involvement with an opportunistic infection or malignancy may be the first clue to the presence of AIDS. We present here the first Australian report of a patient with AIDS presenting with ocular involvement. The case is discussed in relation to current concepts of AIDS.