Peptic ulcer surgery in the nineties: patient profile, immediate results and clinical findings.

The decreasing frequency of elective ulcer surgery and the persisting frequency of emergency surgery for peptic ulcer diseases has often been reported. The reason for the divergent epidemiological behaviour of the two subgroups of surgical candidates is not clear. The present cross-sectional, population-based analysis of patients undergoing peptic ulcer surgery evaluates the mode of preoperative therapy in elective and emergency cases.

The prognosis of near-drowned children.

Thirty children were treated for near-drowning in the Children's Hospital, University of Helsinki during 1971--1976. The patients were divided into 3 groups according to the prognosis: group I included 13 children (43%) with a favourable prognosis, group II four children (13%) with a less favourable prognosis who developed severe sequelae, and group III 13 children with poor prognosis and in whom the subsequent outcome proved fatal. The surviving children underwent neurological, neurophysiological and psychological examination 6--58 months after the accident.