Primary care diagnosis and management of Bell's palsy.

Bell's palsy, an idiopathic facial paralysis of the seventh cranial nerve, is an important entity for clinicians to identify early because prognosis is more favorable with early intervention. Although the etiology is unknown, recent studies have indicated a familial tendency and increased incidence in patients with a history of diabetes, arterial hypertension and serum lipid disturbances. The specificity and severity of signs and symptoms are determined by the facial nerve fibers affected. Various diagnostic tests become an important factor in determining not only the differential diagnoses but also the severity of the occurrence and the prognosis for recovery.

A comparison of body mechanic usage in employees participating in three back injury prevention programmes.

Fifty-eight subjects, 23 female and 35 male, 19-62 years of age employed by four local industries, participated in one of three different Back Injury Prevention Programmes offered by a community hospital. Group A, 31 males, received two 1.5 hr classes of informational and exercise instruction plus mandatory 10-min daily exercise participation. Group B received three 1-hr mandatory classes of informational and exercise instruction with no follow-up daily exercise, and Group C received 1 hr of information and exercise demonstration only. Differences in body mechanic performance between the three groups were examined using Body Mechanic Questionnaire (BMQ) scores. The BMQ consists of 11 Likert-type questions developed by the researcher which were administered pre-, 1-week post-, and 3-months post-class instruction. At final post-testing, Group A showed a 12.9% improvement over pre-test scores; Group B, a 5.1% increase; and Group C, a 13.3% increase. These findings are discussed in terms of mandatory, continued reinforcement and Pender's Health Promotion Model.