Effects of alternative communication on the communicative effectiveness of an individual with a progressive language disorder.

This study was designed to investigate the effects of two different modes of communication on the communicative output of an individual who is no longer able to communicate verbally, presenting with a primary progressive aphasia and apraxia of speech. The two treatment approaches included training the patient with a text-to-speech alternative communication device and with American sign language. An alternating treatment design was used to compare two communicative approaches (an alternative communication device and American sign language) on the subject's communicative effectiveness.

Epidural analgesia for labour and delivery: informed consent issues.

Objective: Many anaesthetists believe that informed consent for epidural analgesia during labour is inadequate. Patients are perceived to be poorly informed and unable to cope with the information given during labour for informed consent. We reviewed these two hypotheses: A) to define complications for which patients want clear information: B) to quantify the influence of pain, anxiety, opioid premedication, and the importance of level of education, on a patient's level of satisfaction with regard to the consent process: and C) to assess how satisfactory epidural pain relief correlates with satisfaction with the consent process.

Obstetrical analgesia in a parturient with antithrombin III deficiency.

Antithrombin III (AT III) deficiency is a rare inherited disorder which predisposes patients to thrombotic complications. Anticoagulation is necessary to prevent recurrent thrombosis and high doses of heparin are often required. Anticoagulation complicates analgesia in parturients with the condition.

Population characteristics and sex-role patterns in a yough-run crisis center.

A youth-run crisis/counseling center was studied by participant observation. The population was found to be predominatly white and young and equally divided between males and females. All social classes and both urban and suburban residents were present.

CLINICAL STUDIES UTILIZING A NEW METHOD FOR THE SERIAL DETERMINATION OF PLASMA CORTICOIDS.

The clinical applications of a recently introduced method for determination of plasma corticoids were investigated with a view to its routine use in the evaluation of pituitary-adrenal problems. Simple protocols to assess the diurnal variation and the responses of the plasma corticoids to adrenocorticotropin, dexamethasone, and methopyrapone administration were adopted to study healthy subjects, chronically ill subjects free of endocrine disease, and subjects with previously diagnosed adrenal or pituitary disorders. The results in all cases were in accord with the clinical assessment of the subjects.