Visits to the emergency room for asthma attacks and short-term variations in air pollution. A case-crossover study.

Background: The 'case-crossover' design is a strategy fitted to studying transient effects of intermittent exposure on acute-onset disease occurring shortly after exposure. It has the important advantage of eliminating most confounding variables, allowing a stronger causality inference.

Objectives: The objective of the study was to evaluate the relationships between emergency room (ER) visits for asthma attacks and gaseous air pollution changes.

[Gastric lactobezoar in an infant induced by Gelopectose].

We report an observation of intragastric lactobezoar secondary to the use of thickened feeding by adding pectin and silicium to milk. Medical management resulted in a favourable outcome.

[Upper extremity abnormalities, thrombopenia and thrombopathy. 3 cases].

Three cases of congenital radial aplasia and amegakaryocytic thrombopenia are discussed from clinical, genetic and hematological viewpoints. Electron microscope studies of the megakaryocytes in the first two patients revealed the presence of microcytic, immature and hypogranular cells. Platelet aggregability studies in the first patient demonstrated the presence of pathological intra-platelet nucleotide release as well as membrane abnormalities of the Willebrand factor binding site.