Injuries among disabled children: a study from Greece.

OBJECTIVE: To compare the differential implications of sociodemographic and situational factors on the risk of injury among disabled and non-disabled children. DESIGN: Data from the Emergency Department Injury Surveillance System (EDISS) were used to compare, in a quasi case-control approach, injured children with or without disability with respect to sociodemographic, event and injury variables, and to estimate adjusted odds ratios for the injury in a disabled rather than a non-disabled child. SETTING: Two teaching hospitals in Athens and two district hospitals in the countryside that participate in the EDISS. PATIENTS: In the five year period 1996-2000, 110 066 children were recorded with injuries; 251 among them were identified as having a motor/psychomotor or sensory disability before the injury event. INTERVENTIONS: None. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Mechanism of injury, type of injury, risk-predisposing socioeconomic and environmental variables, odds ratio for injury occurrence. RESULTS: Falls and brain concussion are proportionally more common among disabled children, whereas upper limb and overexertion injuries are less common among them. Urban environment, migrant status, and cold months are also associated with increased odds for injuries to occur among disabled rather than non-disabled children. The odds ratio for the occurrence of an injury among disabled children increases with increasing age. CONCLUSIONS: The results of the study provide the information for the targeting of trials of preventive measure in disabled children at increased risk of severe injuries.

Relations between dietary restraint and patterns of alcohol use in young adult women.

The present study examined relations between dietary restraint and self-reported patterns of alcohol use, including separate assessment of quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption. One hundred seventy-six female university undergraduates completed the Restraint Scale (RS) and measures of their usual quantity and frequency of alcohol consumption over the past year. Quantity and frequency self-reports were scored separately and were also used to calculate 3 additional drinking variables: a composite weekly alcohol consumption score (drinks per week), a binge drinking categorical variable (where participants were classified as either binge drinkers or non-binge drinkers), and a yearly excessive drinking score (number of times in the past year that each participant consumed at least 4 alcoholic beverages per drinking occasion). RS scores were significantly positively correlated with scores on 4 of the 5 drinking behavior measures (i.e., quantity, drinks per week, binge drinking, and yearly excessive drinking, but not frequency). Thus, chronic dieting appears to be related to a relatively heavy drinking pattern that can be characterized as potentially risky, due to its established associations with adverse health and social consequences.

Word learning in the context of referential and salience cues.

Adult referential behavior (gaze direction) and salience (target activation) were independently manipulated in a study of novel word learning. Children (seventy-five 18-month-olds and seventy-two 24-month-olds) were trained in different conditions with a novel word in the context of 2 remote-controlled toys. In response to the novel word at test, 24-month-olds tended to pick out the toy to which the adult referred in all conditions. They also tended to use the novel word appropriately. Comprehension by 18-month-olds was good when the salience of the toy did not conflict with the adult's referential intent, but it was disrupted when referential and salience cues conflicted and when referential cues were not available. Results imply that, at 24 months, children use the referential intent of the speaker to learn new words, but when first learning words, children may have a less secure grasp on the meaning of speakers' referential cues.

Primary intraventricular hemorrhage in adults: clinical features, risk factors, and outcome.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Nontraumatic primary intraventricular hemorrhage in adults is uncommon. The purpose of this study was to identify clinical features, risk factors, and outcome of primary intraventricular hemorrhage in adults. METHODS: We identified computed tomography scans for nontraumatic primary intraventricular hemorrhage performed between 1982 and 1993 at our institutions and reviewed medical records to determine clinical features, risk factors, and outcomes of these patients. RESULTS: Of 14 cases studied, the onset of symptoms was acute in all and the most common symptom was headache (78%), followed by nausea/vomiting (71%), and mental status change (71%). Seizures as well as focal neurologic deficits were uncommon. The associated risk factors were hypertension in 7 cases, aneurysm or arteriovenous malformation in 5, coagulopathy in 1, and fibromuscular dysplasia in 1 case. Five patients died acutely, and all of the survivors returned to functional independence. The patients with lethargy, pupillary and extraocular movement abnormalities, quadriparesis, hydrocephalus, and aneurysmal intraventricular hemorrhage had worse outcomes. CONCLUSION: Patients with nontraumatic primary intraventricular hemorrhage present with sudden onset of diffuse neurologic symptoms. The mortality in early phase is high (36%) and the prognosis for survivors is good. Factors correlating with the outcome are discussed.

Plasma beta-endorphin concentrations and analgesia-muscle relaxation in the newborn infant supported by mechanical ventilation.

We evaluated the effects of pancuronium and opiates on plasma beta-endorphin concentrations in 25 infants supported by mechanical ventilation. Infants receiving opiate were randomly assigned to receive either fentanyl or morphine. There was no change in beta-endorphin concentrations after administration of pancuronium, whereas both fentanyl and morphine reduced beta-endorphin concentrations by approximately 60%.

Effect of dietary intake on the 137Cs retention model.

Whole-body counting measurements were conducted to monitor the 137Cs biological half-life of 14 individuals in Athens during the period June 1988 to June 1989. The results and the solution of a 137Cs retention model showed that the individuals examined were receiving 0-3.7 Bq d-1 of 137Cs through the food chain during the period investigated.