Medical care in a tropical national reference and teaching hospital: outline study of cost-effectivenees.

During a 28-day prospective audit the cost-effectiveness of treatment in three types of medical wards in a large tropical teaching hospital was assessed. Patients with chronic diseases such as rheumatic heart disease were more expensive to treat than those with acute, curable illnesses such as malaria. It was concluded that the cost of providing treatment could not be reduced without affecting standards of medical care.

Baroreflex sensitivity and carotid sinus dimensions in dogs with coarctation.

Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) has not been assessed in coarctation, though it is diminished in renal and essential hypertension. Previous experimental studies of coarctation have dealt primarily with renal mechanisms of hypertension, and have relied on constricting the aorta in adult animals. We banded the thoracic aorta in newborn puppies, and performed studies 2 yr later.

Myocardial infarction complicating aortic valve replacement.

One hundred consecutive aortic valve replacements were studied. Fifteen patients had a myocardial infarction as a result of the operation, and four of the five deaths in the series stemmed from this group. In the four deaths from infarction, autopsy revealed occlusion of a main coronary artery.

Trout ova, an alternative source of anti-B.

Background: The reasons Blacks have higher mortality rates from colorectal cancer (CRC) than non-Hispanic Whites are not fully understood. Blacks have higher rates of vitamin D deficiency than non-Hispanic Whites, and vitamin D deficiency has been associated with CRC. We investigated the association of vitamin D deficiency with excess risk for CRC mortality for Blacks in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III) 1988-1994.

Carotid baroceptor re-setting in the hypertensive dog.

1. The behaviour of forty-four single carotid baroreceptor fibres from nine dogs with normal blood pressure was contrasted with that of forty-seven single fibres from nine dogs with renal (nephrectomy--clip) hypertension. 2.

The influence of alclofenac treatment on acute-phase proteins, plasma tryptophan, and erythrocyte sedimentation rate in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Alclofenac and D-penicillamine were compared under controlled, double-blind conditions in the treatment of 35 patients with active rheumatoid arthritis over a period of 26 weeks. The principal aim of the study was to investigate any relationships between changes in clinical status and changes in concentrations of three serum acute-phase proteins (fibrinogen, C-reactive protein, and haptoglobin), plasma free and protein-bound L-tryptophan, and the erythrocyte sedimentation rate. Both alclofenac and D-penicillamine were clearly effective: all patients showed steady improvement on the seven clinical indices of response employed.

Simultaneous pharmacokinetics of alclofenace in plasma and synovial fluid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

The simultaneous pharmacokinetics of alclofenac in the plasma and synovial fluid of 10 patients with rheumatoid arthritis were studied after a single 1 g. oral dose. A gas-liquid chromatographic method was used for assaying alclofenac in both plasma and synovial fluid.

Simultaneous pharmacokinetics of benorylate in plasma and synovial fluid of patients with rheumatoid arthritis.

Twenty patients with definite or classical rheumatoid arthritis and chronic knee effusions were each given an oral dose of 4 g benorylate as the 40% suspension. Synovial fluid and plasma samples were obtained up to 9 hours after drug administration and assayed for their salicylate and benorylate content. A mean peak benorylate plasma level of 2.