The Medical journal of Australia
-
The exposure of council and forestry workers to 2,4,5-T, a plant poison, has been monitored for a period of two years. It was found that the excessive urine levels of 2,4,5-T fell dramatically once the exposure was minimized. Therefore, the use of protective clothing and adoption of measures to prevent inhalation exposure are essential.
-
Early commencement of habilitative measures is vital for a deaf child's development. This implies a need for early diagnosis. Some improvement has occurred in recent years, but early diagnosis is still the exception rather than the rule. ⋯ Further, over half the hearing-impaired children who were tested in screening programmes were not detected, and the false sense of security given the parents in these cases resulted in long delays before suspicion of deafness (based on informal observation) developed. If early diagnosis of deafness is to become the rule, a purposeful attempt to use risk criteria, coupled with improved screening programmes, will be the most promising avenues to follow. Improved education of the community at large may also assist, but this is a much longer-term aim.
-
An account of an operation for squint using acupuncture analgesia is given. This is the first ophthalmic operation carried out in Australia using this form of analgesia; and is probably the first surgical operation of any type carried out in Australia using acupuncture technique. The indications and possibilities of this method are discussed.
-
This is a report of an interdisciplinary workshop which was held to define the roles of different disciplines within a psychiatric unit. While the report emphasizes the medicolegal responsibility of the psychiatrists, we found, in a review of the knowledge background of the several disciplines, potentials for a further utilization of the knowledge which is acquired during their training. ⋯ Each discipline has both an exclusive role and an inclusive role. One important result of the workshop was the warmth and the esprit de corps that was felt afterwards.
-
Little data are available concerning the prevalence of thyroid autoantibodies in the Australian community. The present study, performed in a non-iodine deficient area, reveals a high prevalence of microsomal and thyroglobulin autoantibodies in healthy females. The proportion of females with one or either antibody is almost three times greater than that observed for males, but, in both sexes, the prevalence does increase with age.