Patients' use of health-teaching materials at three readability levels.

The extent to which patients use and learn from drug literature written at three different readability levels was examined. A two-way analysis of variance showed an interaction effect on knowledge score between the readability level of the leaflet and the amount of schooling subjects reported: persons with higher education learned most from the hardest pamphlet and persons with the least formal education learned the most from the easiest pamphlet. A similar interaction was found in testing the likelihood that patients had read the leaflet. The results suggest that persons with little formal education would benefit from teaching materials with a readability level considerably lower than even many "easy-to-read" health-teaching materials available today.

CT findings of mesenteric injury after blunt trauma: implications for surgical intervention.

OBJECTIVE: The purposes of this study were to determine the spectrum of CT findings of mesenteric injury, to compare CT findings of mesenteric injury with surgical observations, and to assess the potential of CT to predict which patients with mesenteric injury require laparotomy. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Blunt trauma patients admitted to our facility during a 5-year 4-month period with a CT or surgical diagnosis of mesenteric injury were identified from a radiology database and trauma registry. Patients with CT findings of full-thickness bowel injury associated with mesenteric injury or diagnostic peritoneal lavage performed before CT were excluded. CT scans of all patients were retrospectively reviewed both with and without knowledge of surgical results. Medical records of all study patients were reviewed to ascertain admission physical findings and surgical results. RESULTS: Twenty-seven of 29 patients meeting the study criteria underwent laparotomy, and two others were managed conservatively. Among the 27 patients who had surgery. 24 (89%) had CT findings of mesenteric injury confirmed. Surgical findings showed CT scans to be falsely negative in two other patients and falsely positive in one other patient. No major discrepancies were found between retrospective CT review done with and without knowledge of the surgical findings. Two CT findings unique to patients whose injuries, in the judgment of the surgical team, required surgical repair were active extravasation of IV contrast material and bowel wall thickening associated with mesenteric findings. Physical findings did not correlate well with the type and clinical significance of the mesenteric injury. CONCLUSION: The CT finding of mesenteric bleeding or bowel wall thickening associated with mesenteric hematoma or infiltration in the blunt trauma patient indicates a high likelihood of a mesenteric or bowel injury requiring surgery. The finding of focal mesenteric hematoma or infiltration without adjacent bowel wall thickening is nonspecific and can occur both in mesenteric or bowel lesions that require surgery and those that do not.

Traumatic isolation of the cervical articular pillar: imaging observations in 21 patients.

OBJECTIVE: Imaging studies of patients diagnosed with traumatic isolation of a cervical articular pillar were retrospectively reviewed to better understand the mechanism, clinical significance, and management requirements of this injury. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Imaging studies obtained before definitive treatment of 21 patients with traumatic isolation of a cervical articular pillar were reviewed to determine the level and mechanism of injury, fracture patterns, and associated fractures. Lateral cervical radiographs and axial and reformatted sagittal cervical CT images were obtained for all patients. Medical records were reviewed to ascertain the neurologic deficit, if any, and clinical management. RESULTS: Traumatic isolation of a cervical articular pillar was diagnosed at 24 levels in the 21 patients. The imaging studies indicated that the injury mechanisms producing isolation of the articular pillar were hyperflexion-rotation in 17 patients (81%), hyperflexion-distraction in three patients (14%), and hyperextension-rotation in one patient (5%). A fracture through the transverse foramen ipsilateral to the isolated articular pillar was observed in 19 patients (90%). Contralateral injuries at the level of the isolated articular pillar were present in 14 patients (67%). Neurologic deficits were present in 13 patients (62%) and included spinal cord injury (10) and radiculopathy (3). Eighteen patients underwent surgical reduction and internal stabilization. CONCLUSION: On the basis of an analysis of cervical radiography and CT findings, cervical spine fractures resulting in isolation of an articular pillar most commonly occur from hyperflexion-rotation or hyperflexion-distraction mechanisms. Previous literature has indicated that cervical hyperextension is responsible for this injury, but hyperextension accounted for only one case in this series. It is important to identify the isolated cervical articular pillar as a component of other cervical fracture patterns, as the injury creates two levels of mechanical instability requiring internal fixation of three contiguous vertebrae.

Excision and transposition of two Ds transposons from the bronze mutable 4 derivative 6856 allele of Zea mays L.

The regulatory mutation bronze mutable 4 Derivative 6856 (bz-m4 D6856) contains a complex 6.7 kb Dissociation (Ds) element tagged with a duplication of low copy bz 3' flanking sequences (Klein et al. 1988). This creates a unique opportunity to study the transposition of a single member of the repetitive family of Ds elements. Eighteen full purple revertants (Bz' alleles) of bz-m4 were characterized enzymatically and by genomic mapping. For 17 of the Bz' alleles, reversion to a wild-type phenotype was caused by excision of the 6.7 kb Ds transposon. Nine of these Bz' alleles retained the transposon somewhere in their genome. In this study we show that like Ac (Schwartz 1989; Dooner and Belachew 1989), the 6.7 kb Ds element can transpose within a short physical distance, both proximal and distal to its original position. Additional bz sequences have been mapped immediately distal to the mutant locus in bz-m4 D6856; genetic evidence suggests these are flanked by two additional Ds elements. The remaining Bz' revertant, Bz':107, arose from excision of a more complex 13 kb Ds element.

Accuracy of nurses in performing capillary blood glucose monitoring.

The accuracy and outcome of capillary blood glucose (CBG) monitoring as routinely performed by nursing staff were assessed. The sample consisted of 160 readings conducted by 93 nursing staff members in four hospitals; 19% of the readings deviated from simultaneous laboratory results by greater than 20%, and deviations resulted in altered responses to standing orders in 26 patients (17%). There was no statistically significant difference between the total variation attributed within and between nurses, possibly indicating that all nurses should be given the same intensity of follow-up training rather than targeting those who perform incorrectly on sample tests. Nurses in the one hospital that required certification before CBG monitoring had significantly less deviation from the laboratory standard than the other three hospitals. Although these data do not provide direct evidence that the certification program increased accuracy, this seems a logical conclusion. More study is needed to determine the most cost-effective type of training and follow-up.

Grip and pinch strength: normative data for adults.

The primary purpose of this study was to establish clinical norms for adults aged 20 to 75+ years on four tests of hand strength. A dynamometer was used to measure grip strength and a pinch gauge to measure tip, key, and palmar pinch. A sample of 310 male and 328 female adults, ages 20 to 94, from the seven-county Milwaukee area were tested using standardized positioning and instructions. Right hand and left hand data were stratified into 12 age groups for both sexes. This stratification provides a means of comparing the score of individual patients to that of normal subjects of the same age and sex. The highest grip strength scores occurred in the 25 to 39 age groups. For tip, key, and palmar pinch the average scores were relatively stable from 20 to 59 years, with a gradual decline from 60 to 79 years. A high correlation was seen between grip strength and age, but a low to moderate correlation between pinch strength and age. The newer pinch gauge used in this study appears to read higher than that used in a previous normative study. Comparison of the average hand strength of right-handed and left-handed subjects showed only minimal differences.