Underestimation of infant mortality rates in one republic of the former Soviet Union.

Objectives: Kazakhstan's live-birth definition--that dates from the former Soviet Union (FSU) era--differs from that used by the World Health Organization (WHO). We studied the impacts of both live-birth definitions on the computations of the infant mortality rate (IMR) and maternal and child health (MCH) planning in Zhambyl Oblast, Kazakhstan.

Methods: We interviewed caregivers and abstracted medical records to obtain birth weight and age-at-death information on infant deaths in Zhambyl Oblast from November 1, 1996, through October 31, 1997.

[Quality of life and characteristics of the external respiration function in patients with bronchial asthma].

Aim: To investigate correlations between quality of life, bronchial obstruction, nonspecific bronchial hyperreactivity (NSBH) and response of these parameters to treatment with inhalation steroids in patients with bronchial asthma (BA).

Material And Methods: The study included 67 BA patients (47 women and 20 men) aged 18 to 62 years (mean age 43 years). 59 of them had the diagnosis of atopic BA, 8 had bacterial BA.

[Epifamine efficacy in aspirin bronchial asthma].

Nine patients with moderate and severe aspirin bronchial asthma (ABA) received epifamine (a course dose 400 mg) in addition to continuous antiasthmatic therapy. Matched 12 ABA patients received placebo. Epifamine was found to improve the patients' clinical condition, response of distal bronchi to berotek; to promote achievement of long remission and increased production of melatonin.

[Role of biological defects in formation and development of bronchial asthma and potentialities of premorbid diagnosis].

The paper considers bronchial asthma as a polygenic disease. It presents some data available in the literature on the role of genetic disorders in the development of atopic states and the authors' own findings of various biological defects detected in apparently healthy blood relatives of patients with bronchial asthma. It is concluded that premorbid diagnosis is of importance in high risk persons.

[Influence of berotec inhalations on pulmonary gas exchange in patients with bronchial asthma].

Aim: To determine mechanisms inducing changes in lung gas exchange after berotec inhalation in patients with bronchial asthma (BA).

Materials And Methods: A study was made of external respiration function including estimation of lung transfer factor (TLCO sbh.) and its components--transfer coefficient (KCO), membrane diffusion capacity (DM), pulmonary capillary blood volume (Vc)--by the single breath holding method on CO in 14 healthy persons and 39 patients with BA before and after berotec inhalation.