A systems analysis of obstetric triage.

Objective: The purpose of this study is to examine some of the variables involved in obstetric triage in an effort to develop a more efficient patient care delivery system in a high-volume obstetric unit. An efficient triage system is essential to a busy labor and delivery unit for the evaluation of unscheduled patient visits. In hospitals that lack an efficient obstetric triage system, it is very difficult to regulate patient flow and wait times.

Holoprosencephaly: a case presentation.

Holoprosencephaly is a rare, potentially catastrophic genetic defect involving the midfacial region and brain. The most severe expressions of the disorder are fatal. Approximately 20 percent of individuals with holoprosencephaly have normal brains and mild facial deformities.

Daniel's story: congenital central hypoventilation syndrome.

Central hypoventilation syndrome (CHS) is a disorder characterized by little or no ventilatory or arousal sensitivity to hypercapnia and variable reactivity to hypoxemia, with little or no hypoxic arousal responsiveness. CHS may be congenital or acquired and can be idiopathic or secondary to a known central nervous system abnormality. Infants often present with life-threatening apnea during quiet sleep and develop severe respiratory acidosis because of the inadequate response to hypercapnia and hypoxia.

Meconium testing for cocaine metabolite: prevalence, perceptions, and pitfalls.

Objectives: We determined the prevalence of prenatal cocaine use in a racially mixed sample of urban and suburban mothers and correlated its use with maternal demographics and newborn measurements.

Study Design: Meconium from 621 consecutive newborns delivered at two university-affiliated urban hospitals were assayed for benzoylecgonine. Maternal and infant characteristics were linked anonymously with the results.