Prospective randomized study to compare between intravenous dexmedetomidine and esmolol for attenuation of hemodynamic response to endotracheal intubation.

Background: Esmolol has an established role in attenuation of hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and endotracheal intubation. We studied the effect of dexmedetomidine compared to that of esmolol in this study.

Aim: To study the role of dexmedetomidine in attenuation of hemodynamic response to laryngoscopy and oral endotracheal intubation compared to that of esmolol hydrochloride in patients posted for elective surgery under general anesthesia.

Diverging trends in gastroenteritis hospitalizations during 2 decades in western Australian Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children.

Background: Gastroenteritis is a major cause of pediatric morbidity. We describe temporal, spatial and seasonal trends in age-specific gastroenteritis hospitalizations among Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal Australian children during 2 decades, providing a baseline to evaluate the impact of a rotavirus vaccine program begun in 2007.

Methods: We conducted a population-based, data linkage study of Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal births in Western Australia, 1983 to 2006, and analyzed gastroenteritis-coded hospitalizations before age 15 years in the cohort of 596,465 births.