JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association
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Medical control is an essential component of a prehospital care system. It is a method of ensuring quality and accountability of the care provided and thus provides a method of risk management for the system. Politicians, fire departments, ambulance companies, physicians, and others are struggling for control of prehospital emergency care. ⋯ Medical control includes three phases: prospective, immediate, and retrospective. The incorporation of medical control in a specific EMS system will be dependent on that system's characteristics; nevertheless, proper medical control is essential to ensure a high quality of prehospital care. Further studies will be necessary to evaluate medical control and determine the best mechanism for providing quality assurance in prehospital care.
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Although the cesarean section rate has increased steadily for the past 12 years, further increase seems unlikely since the indications for performing the operation are already broadly defined. Most of the earlier indications will remain unchanged (eg, the presence of placenta previa and cephalopelvic disproportion). The trend toward vaginal delivery in perhaps 30% to 40% of breech births will probably have no material effect on the number of cesarean sections performed, and the present use of cesarean section for multiple pregnancy will probably continue. ⋯ Cesarean section mortality is much lower than it was in former years, but one may expect from one to two deaths per 1,000 operations. Overall, the maternal mortality from cesarean section per se is probably from three to five times higher than that of vaginal delivery (in one series, 11.5 times higher than vaginal delivery). The incidence of mild, transient respiratory signs in the newborn is higher after cesarean than after vaginal delivery, and the incidence of respiratory distress syndrome is also slightly higher.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
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Review
Unusual causes of death in Haitians residing in Miami. High prevalence of opportunistic infections.
Twenty-one (100%) Haitians and 42 (21.5%) of 192 native black Americans autopsied in a 33-month period at Jackson Memorial Hospital, Miami, were included in this review. All autopsied materials were examined. Among the Haitians autopsied, infectious diseases accounted for 11 (52%) of 21 deaths. ⋯ Seven Haitian cases fulfilled the Centers for Disease Control case definition for the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). For comparison, autopsies of black Americans were chosen from conditions that would most likely predispose them to opportunistic infections. Among the autopsies on black Americans there were no cases of opportunistic infections or Kaposi's sarcoma that were considered to be consistent with the AIDS.