Telemedicine for airline passengers, seafarers and islanders.

Airline passengers, seafarers and islanders are three different examples of people who can benefit from telemedicine. However, the peculiar characteristics of each group require different applications. In 60 years of activity, the CIRM has assisted more than 37,000 patients. In the 10 years from 1986 to 1996 the Centre provided radio medical assistance to 7647 patients, of whom 6981 (91.3%) were sailors, 642 (8.4%) were people living in isolated areas (small italian islands) with few medical facilities, while only 24 patients (0.3%) were airline passengers. In the same period, the telecommunication service received or transmitted almost 80,000 medical messages.

[Use of systolic times and electrocardiography for the evaluation of left ventricle involvement in aortic valve diseases]. / L'uso dei tempi sistolici e dell'elettrocardiogramma per la valutazione dell'impegno del ventricolo sinistro nelle valvulopatie aortiche.

75 patients suffering from aortic valvulopathy without signs of left ventricular insufficiency have been examined. Left ventricular function is studied by determining systolic times with polygraphic examination (Q-S2, LVET and PEP). The ECG findings were assessed with a myocardial hypertrophy criterion based on a point-score system. Finally, the time of total carotidogram ascent, the 1/2 T and the distance between Q wave and acme of the systolic murmur (Q-acme) were measured. It is concluded that: 1) The most meaningful increases in LVET are associated with the most evident shortenings in PEP only in the phase of the disease in which left ventricular hypertrophy is at its height. 2) The delay in systolic wave ascent should be considered indicative of the functional haemodynamic importance of aortic stenosis, whereas the earliness or otherwise of systolic murmur acme is an expression of the anatomic extent of the stenosis in question.