The availability of general practice in Ireland's Mid-West Region: does the 'Inverse Care Law' still apply?

Introduction: The 'Inverse Care Law' suggests the availability of good medical care tends to vary inversely with the needs of the local population. Dr Julian Tudor Hart's observations related to lack of access to care for those in both socially deprived and geographically remote areas. In this study, we aim to examine if the 'Inverse Care Law' is still relevant to GP service provision in the Mid-West of Ireland.

A feasibility study of an exercise intervention to educate and promote health and well-being among medical students: the 'MED-WELL' programme.

Background: Medical School programme workloads challenge the physical and mental health of students particularly in compressed graduate entry programmes. There is evidence that physical activity (PA) can improve holistic care and help maintain wellness among medical students. We tested the feasibility of introducing an exercise programme to the medical school curriculum which would educate and promote health and well-being among its students.

South African medical schools: Current state of selection criteria and medical students' demographic profile.

Background: Selection of medical students at South African (SA) medical schools must promote equitable and fair access to students from all population groups, while ensuring optimal student throughput and success, and training future healthcare practitioners who will fulfil the needs of the local society. In keeping with international practices, a variety of academic and non-academic measures are used to select applicants for medical training programmes in SA medical schools.

Objectives: To provide an overview of the selection procedures used by all eight medical schools in SA, and the student demographics (race and gender) at these medical schools, and to determine to what extent collective practices are achieving the goals of student diversity and inclusivity.

Dispersal, density and habitat preference of the blow-flies Chrysomyia albiceps (Wd.) and Chrysomyia marginalis (Wd.) (Diptera: Calliphoridae).

16 000 Chrysomyia albiceps and 52 000 C. marginalis adults were radioactively labelled with 32P-orthophosphate and released in the northern Kruger National Park, South Africa. After a 1-week dispersal period 69 baited blow-fly traps were placed in different habitat types and at varying distances around the release point.

Evaluation of the effects of premoistening of polyamide 6 nylon suture material on its overall characteristics.

A clinical evaluation in 59 ptients showed that the premoistened form of polyamide 6 nylon suture material (Ethilon; Ethicon) is significantly better for the closing of clean surgical skin incisions than the unmoistened form. The moistening agent presumably did not adversely affect wound healing.

Urological management of the patient with spinal cord injury.

A total of 515 patients with spinal cord injuries were admitted to the Conradie Hospital's Spinal Cord Injuries Centre during a 3-year period from September 1974 to September 1977. Intermittent catheterization was used for urinary drainage in all patients with incomplete lesions as initially assessed neurologically, and indwelling catheterization in those with complete lesions. Transcutaneous suprapubic Bonnano (stab) continuous catheter drainage was used in a random group of 24 male patients with complete neurological lesions.

Diagnosis and treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm. A report of 82 cases.

Resection for abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is being performed with decreasing mortality and morbidity. A retrospective study on 82 consecutive patients with AAAs admitted during the period 1974-1977 shoowed that 66 had a non-ruptured aneurysm and 16 a ruptured aneurysm. The mean age of the patients was 66,7 years.

Migration of a kirschner wire in the body. A case report.

Foreign bodies may enter the body by various ways, yet migration in the body seldom occurs. A case is described where a Kirschner wire, which had been inserted in the shoulder joint, migrated through the pleural cavity and the diaphragm, apparently by force of gravity. It was subsequently easily removed by laparotomy.

Fertility in undescended testes.

Since 1956 many children with undescended testes have been treated at the Red Cross War Memorial Children's Hospital in Cape Town, and in this article the conesequent degree of fertility achieved by orchidopexy, the method of treatment, is appraised. In 567 children the condition was unilateral, and in 202 it was bilateral. Assessment of potential fertility in 76 unilateral and in 29 bilateral cases was mainly by semen analysis; the average age of the youths at the time of the examination was 19 years, and parenthood was therefore regarded as an unsuitable criterion for assessment.

Familial vesico-ureteral reflux.

Four families of which 2 or more members were affected with primary vesico-ureteral reflux are reported. A multifactorial inheritance pattern subject to environmental factors is likely. Early examination and detection of the disorder in relatives at risk provide an opportunity to avoid the serious sequelae of vesico-ureteral reflux.

Management of urethral valve obstruction in male neonates.

Over the past 6 years, 18 neonates with a posterior urethral valve obstruction have been treated. The mortality has been markedly reduced by meticulous investigation, better medical management of renal failure, greater use of catheter drainage and simpler methods of valve ablation and reduction in the use of nephrostomy and ureterostomy. Mortality was 33%, but ther has been no mortality in the last 7 patients.