Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine
-
A survey was performed of 425 consecutive patients attending Lewisham Hospital as a result of deliberate physical violence. Eighty-two per cent attended 'out of hours', and in at least 50% alcohol was a contributing factor. Less than half the incidents were reported to the police. ⋯ The results support the view that it is becoming common for youths to be armed. Assault victims, particularly those with knife wounds place a considerable burden on hospital resources. Accident and Emergency departments are ideal places to monitor the epidemiology of assaults.
-
To investigate the present status of pulmonary embolism as a cause of death in a general hospital patient population, a 5-year retrospective study of all autopsy reports and associated hospital records was undertaken. Pulmonary embolism was thought to be the cause of death in 239 of 2388 autopsies performed (10%): 15% of these patients were aged less than 60 years and 68% did not have cancer. ⋯ Twenty-four per cent of patients who died from pulmonary embolism had undergone surgery a mean of 6.9 days before. Screening tests for DVT should be applied widely in the hospital population.