A decision support simulation model for bed management in healthcare.

Purpose: In order to provide access to care in a timely manner, it is necessary to effectively manage the allocation of limited resources. such as beds. Bed management is a key to the effective delivery of high quality and low-cost healthcare.

Language dysfunction after frontal lobe partial seizures.

Postictal language delay (PILD) patterns can lateralize temporal lobe complex partial seizures (CPS). The authors studied PILD in 24 patients with 118 frontal lobe CPS. Prolonged PILD occurred in only 7% of CPS confined to the dominant frontal lobe compared with 91% of CPS that started as frontal and spread to the dominant temporal lobe (p = 0.

Psychopathology and quality of life: psychogenic non-epileptic seizures versus epilepsy.

Background: HRQOL is lower in patients with psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) than in epilepsy patients. Although psychopathology may reduce HRQOL, it is not known whether patients with PNES and epilepsy are similarly affected. We aimed to compare the relationship between psychopathology and HRQOL in PNES and treatment resistant epilepsy.

Quality of life in psychogenic nonepileptic seizures.

Purpose: Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNESs) are events that alter or seem to alter the neurologic function and, in their appearance, resemble epileptic seizures (ESs). In patients with ESs the psychological and medical aspects of epilepsy greatly influence the health-related quality of life (HRQOL). The relation between these factors and PNESs is not well established.

Four-year incidence of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures in adults in hamilton county, OH.

In this retrospective study, the incidence of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures in Hamilton County, OH, between 1995 and 1998 was determined. The mean incidence of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures was 3.03/100,000, with the highest incidence in 1998 (4.

Laparoendoscopic diagnosis of eosinophilic enteritis.

As the popularity of laparoscopic cholecystectomy continues to grow, evaluation of patients with documented cholelithiasis and concomitant vague abdominal complaints becomes less rigorous. We present the case of a patient with chronic cholecystitis documented by history and ultrasonography, incidentally noted on laboratory examination to have peripheral blood eosinophilia. At the time of laparoscopy, an inflamed segment of jejunum was discovered.

Postictal language dysfunction in patients with right or bilateral hemispheric language localization.

Purpose: As shown previously, when temporal lobe complex partial seizures (TLCPS) originate from the language dominant hemisphere, patients cannot read a test phrase correctly within 60 s of the end of the ictal discharge. We wished to assess whether postictal language testing results discordant with this pattern identified patients with non-left (right hemisphere or mixed) language dominance.

Methods: Since 1988, all patients undergoing video/EEG monitoring at our institution have been given a test phrase to read aloud as soon as a seizure is detected.

Repetition and the arcuate fasciculus.

According to the traditional model of language organization, repetition deficits arise following damage to the arcuate fasciculus of the dominant hemisphere (conduction aphasia). Conduction aphasia may result from lesions that spare the arcuate fasciculus. However, these patients have atypical language organization.

Neuropsychological and neurological function of human immunodeficiency virus seropositive asymptomatic individuals.

Although individuals with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) are often impaired on a variety of neuropsychological tasks, questions remain as to when neuropsychological decline can be reliably detected during the course of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Detailed neuropsychological testing was accomplished on a cohort of 83 immunologically and neurologically intact asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals drawn from a larger pool of 649 US Air Force personnel with HIV antibodies. These asymptomatic subjects were compared with a group of HIV-negative subjects, and no significant differences in neuropsychological functioning were found.

Spectrum of cerebrospinal fluid findings in various stages of human immunodeficiency virus infection.

This report summarizes the results of neurologic and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) study findings in over 400 of the 649 human immunodeficiency virus-infected US Air Force personnel, evaluated as of Dec 31, 1987. Eighty percent of these patients were entirely asymptomatic and immunologically normal, 13% had low T-helper lymphocyte counts and/or cutaneous anergy, and only 7% had opportunistic infection. Sixty-three percent of all patients had some CSF abnormality.

The rules keep changing: recent NSW legislation.

The author surveys important legislative developments in recent years in the areas of hospital funding and categorisation, regulation of public hospitals and private health establishments, area health services, the medical profession, occupational health and safety, tissue and organ transplantation, freedom of information and anti-discrimination.

Monocular rotary nystagmus.

A patient with transient monocular rotary-vertical nystagmus demonstrated decreased gain of vertical pursuit and normal vestibulo-ocular reflex on electrooculogram. A supranuclear brain stem lesion, resulting in lack of monocular inhibition of oculomotor neurons, is postulated on the basis of these findings.

Exposure of pesticide applicators and support personnel to O-ethyl O-(4-nitrophenyl) phenylphosphonothioate (EPN).

Applicator personnel were monitored during aerial and ground applications of EPN to cotton in Mississippi and Arizona. Respiratory exposure based on an 8-hr workday averaged 11 micrograms for pilots,, 15 micrograms for loaders, and 39 micrograms for ground applicators. Respiratory exposure of flagmen, monitored during a complete application cycle, averaged 317 micrograms/8 hr.

DDT moratorium in Arizona--agricultural residues after seven years.

The moratorium on agricultural use of DDT in Arizona that began in January 1969 proved very effective during the first 7 years of enforcement. Residues on green alfalfa declined significantly to a probable inherent level of 0.02 ppm wet weight.