The Medical journal of Australia
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Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical Trial
Tinidazole in the prevention of wound infection after elective colorectal surgery.
During the first six months of 1978, 71 patients were the subject of a controlled trial of the use of tinidazole for the prevention of wound infection after elective colonic surgery. The trial design was prospective, randomized and double-blind with tinidazole or placebo given at the last oral intake before operation. ⋯ At the end of the trial there were three wound infections in 40 patients who were given tinidazole, and eleven wound infections in 31 patients who were given placebo. The difference in wound infection rate between these two groups is significant (x2 with Yates correction = 7.3; P less than 0.01).
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A case of acute glomerulonephritis occurring during Staphylococcus albus infection of a ventriculoatrial shunt is described. It is the first case in which renal biopsy was repeated after clinical cure by shunt removal. This indicates that isolated haematuria and some histopathological changes may persist for at least a year.
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The problems of clinical measurement of pain are considered. Various adjuncts to the standard clinical interview are proposed. ⋯ Correlations between various pain measures are shown. The use of the weekly pain chart by doctors is recommended in cases of chronic pain.
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Whereas lung cancer is strongly associated with cigarette smoking, and upper alimentary tract cancers with both alcohol and cigarettes, the situation has been less clear-cut for laryngeal cancer. This century's time trends in laryngeal cancer death rates in Australia follow those of oesophageal cancer rather than lung cancer. ⋯ The separate analyses of trends in age-specific death rates for men and women reveal a pattern of laryngeal cancer risk variation between successive generations which is consistent with a causal role of alcohol consumption. Biological mechanisms, and synergism, between alcohol and cigarette consumption are discussed.