The Medical journal of Australia
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Comparative Study
Lung function in an Australian population: 1. Spirometric standards for non-smoking adults.
Relationships between age, height, weight and spirometry with FEV0.5, FEV1, FVC and FEV1/FVC are described for a sample of 6275 female and 6511 male non-smoking adults living in New South Wales. Prediction equations for ventilatory function tests are derived from non-smokers and compared with other standards that are available in a population sample of 31172 subjects. It is concluded that the standards described in this paper are more appropriate for use in Australian populations. Nomograms for predicting FEV1 and FVC in females and males are provided.
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A case of chlorbutol toxicity and dependence is presented. A very long elimination half-life (13.2 days) was found in the patient. The data suggest that chlorbutol is an unsuitable sedative to be available freely to the public.
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The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Memory Scale were administered to 32 patients both before and six months after they received open prefrontal leucotomies. The preoperative and postoperative test results are compared, consideration being given to individual patients as well as to the group. ⋯ However, it seems probable that in individual cases such deterioration occurred. In most of these cases brain damage would appear to be responsible, and the ability "to comprehend and size up a total situation" is seen as the area of functioning primarily affected.
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Eighty-six children aged three to 14 years were skin-tested for immediate hypersensitivity to antigens which are seasonal (grass pollens) or non-seasonal (car, dog, house-dust mite) in occurrence. Children who reached the age of three months during a time of environmental exposure to grass pollen demonstrated a significantly increased incidence of immediate hypersensitivity reactions to three grass pollens, as compared with children born at other times of the year. ⋯ These findings indicate a relationship between the time of birth and the subsequent development of immediate hypersensitivity in childhood. It is suggested that infants are particularly susceptible to sensitization when presented with antigen around three months of age.
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The survival of 320 patients, who were born in and after 1958 with cystic fibrosis and managed by the Departments of Thoracic Medicine and Gastroenterology, Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne, is reviewed. Eighty per cent of patients survived to 11 years of age, and 64% to 18 years. ⋯ In the same period, 79% of patients survived for 16 years after diagnosis. Forty-four per cent of the 240 patients currently being managed have no significant permanent lung disease, and only 9% have advanced disease.