Lower-Dose Mepivacaine Plus Fentanyl May Improve Spinal Anesthesia for Knee Arthroscopy.

Background: Previous work indicates that 30 mg isobaric mepivacaine 1.5% plus 10 μg fentanyl produces reliable anesthesia for knee arthroscopy with a more rapid recovery profile than 45 mg mepivacaine.

Questions/purposes: This randomized controlled trial compared plain mepivacaine to three reduced doses of mepivacaine with 10 μg fentanyl for spinal anesthesia.

Decreasing the local anesthetic volume from 20 to 10 mL for ultrasound-guided interscalene block at the cricoid level does not reduce the incidence of hemidiaphragmatic paresis.

Background And Objectives: This prospective, randomized, double blind study was designed to determine whether reduction in volume from 20 to 10 mL of ropivacaine 0.5% for ultrasound-guided interscalene block might decrease the incidence of diaphragmatic paresis and preserve pulmonary function.

Method: Thirty patients scheduled for arthroscopic shoulder surgery were randomized to receive either 10 or 20 mL of ropivacaine 0.

Variability in interpretation among B-readers in the U.S. Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program.

U.S. Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program B-reading reports were analyzed for variability in identifying pneumoconiosis in 278,944 chest radiographs done from 1990 to 2004 using commercial database and statistical software.

Changes in B-readings over time in the United States Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program.

Objective: To study the impact of variability among B-readers on clinical occupational medicine.

Methods: A total of 419,770 B-reading reports from February 1980 to May 2004 in the US Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program were analyzed for changes in category from the previous B-reading on each individual worker.

Results: Over 7% of films were categorized as worse (ie, read as going from negative to positive), and over 6% were categorized as better.

Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program 1990-1999: demographic features and trends in abnormal radiographic findings.

A 10-year cross-sectional analysis was conducted for 233,353 radiographic examinations performed as part of the Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program. Demographic and temporal trends in abnormal radiographs were assessed during this analysis. Abnormal radiograph prevalence increased significantly with age, and abnormal radiographs were nearly 30 times more likely to occur among participants 60 to 69 years of age, compared with participants < 20 years of age (odds ratio, 27.

Trends in pleural radiographic findings in the Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program (1990-1999).

The U.S. Navy Asbestos Medical Surveillance Program is a comprehensive effort to decrease exposure to asbestos, a known health hazard.

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps Hearing Conservation Program, 1995-1999: mean hearing thresholds for enlisted personnel by gender and age groups.

This study presents mean hearing thresholds from a cross-sectional study of 68,632 monitoring audiograms submitted to the Navy Environmental Health Center for 1995 to 1999. Records included U.S.