Computers as teachers: learning from animations.

The effectiveness of an interactive multimedia computer program, the "Electronic Textbook in Human Physiology," in improving the knowledge of students studying cardiovascular physiology was determined from scores on tests given before and immediately after completion of a two-hour animation program on the Cardiac Cycle and Introduction to Electrocardiography and by comparison of performance on a final examination taken later with their unexposed (control) classmates. Unsigned comments on the use of the program were obtained from all participants and were universally laudatory. A marked and significant improvement in the immediate posttest compared with the pretest scores was found.

UNRWA and the health of Palestinian refugees. United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) has provided health, education, and welfare services since 1949. A team of physicians from Georgetown University visited UNRWA Health Centers and refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip, as well as some affiliated hospitals. Living conditions of refugees vary widely.

Effectiveness of antihistamines in the symptomatic management of the common cold.

A multicentric trial compared the effect of chlorpheniramine maleate with a placebo on the signs and symptoms of the common cold. Two hundred seventy-one patients were domiciled for 48 hours and evaluated during this period and for four days afterwards. Evaluations by both patients and physicians showed that chlorpheniramine maleate was superior to placebo in lessening the degree of symptoms of the common cold.

Antitussive activity of diphenhydramine in chronic cough.

A double-blind crossover study was conducted to evaluate the antitussive effectiveness of diphenhydramine (DPH) in chornic coughs related to bronchitis, at doses of 25 and 50 mg every 4 hr for four doses. Both 25- and 50-mg doses caused a statistically and clinically significant reduction in frequency of coughs, compared to placebo. The most frequently reported side effect was drowsiness, principally at the 50-mg dose level.