Sixth nerve schwannoma: a case report with literature review.

A 40-year-old woman presented with diplopia and left VI nerve palsy. After investigations, diagnosis of a meningioma in the parasellar-prepontine region was considered. Following angiography and embolization, near-total excision of the tumour attached to abducens nerve was performed. Histological examination was consistent with the diagnosis of schwannoma. This is the thirteenth case report of a schwannoma of cranial nerve VI and the first such case where embolization of feeding tumour vessels was performed.

Cranial subdural haematoma after spinal anaesthesia.

Intracranial subdural haematoma is an exceptionally rare complication of spinal anaesthesia. A 20-yr-old male underwent appendicectomy under partial spinal and subsequent general anaesthesia. A week later, he presented with severe headache and vomiting not responding to bed rest and analgesia. Magnetic resonance imaging showed a small acute subdural haematoma in the right temporo-occipital region. The patient improved without surgical decompression. The pathogenesis of headache and subdural haematoma formation after dural puncture is discussed and the literature briefly reviewed. Severe and prolonged post-dural puncture headache should be regarded as a warning sign of an intracranial complication.

The influence of reference price on the acceptance of new healthcare services among the elderly.

Reference price has been postulated in the consumer behavior literature to be an important determinant of new product acceptance in the marketplace. This study was undertaken to assess the influence of reference price on the acceptance of new healthcare transportation services among the elderly. Over five hundred elderly, chosen at random, were studied in a major metropolitan area. The proposed new healthcare transportation services were: a shuttle service (from the hospital to a satellite healthcare center) and an escort service (from the hospital to the patient's home). The results show that reference price is the main influence on the acceptance of the shuttle service superseding the effects of the traditional demographic variables of gender and marital status. However, reference price was not found to be an influence on the acceptance of the escort service. It appears that the use of reference price as a guide in the acceptance of a new product is not universal but rather contingent on the product being offered.

Designing healthcare transportation for the elderly: an empirical study.

The growing elderly market in the United States has spawned a number of studies examining different aspects of the elderly market such as their expenditure patterns, healthcare needs, attitudinal types, etc. One of the least studied areas in this field is the transportation of the elderly to their primary health care facilities. This study was undertaken to assess the likelihood of adoption by the elderly of two proposed transportation alternatives by a hospital in a major metropolitan area: a shuttle service and an escort service. The receptivity to the proposed new service was hypothesized to differ across age subsegments among the elderly. Five-hundred and fifty-three elderly, selected at random, were studied in telephone interviews. The results show that the escort service was received more favorably than the shuttle service and the 75+ age group was the most receptive to the two services. The 71-75 age group appeared to be the least receptive to the proposed services.