Articles: disease.
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Large administrative databases are increasingly valuable tools for health care research. Although increased access to these databases provides valuable opportunities to study health care utilization, costs and outcomes and valid and comparable results require explicit and consistent analytic methods. Algorithms for identifying surgical and nonsurgical hospitalizations for "mechanical" low back problems in automated databases are described. ⋯ Twenty-seven diagnosis and two procedure codes identify hospitalizations for problems definitely in the lumbar or lumbosacral region. Exclusion criteria were developed to eliminate nonmechanical causes of low back pain, such as malignancies, infections, and major trauma. The use of the algorithms is illustrated using national hospital discharge data.
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Ethiopian medical journal · Jul 1992
Case ReportsCryptococcal meningitis in a young Ethiopian woman with AIDS.
The case of a 20 year old Ethiopian woman with cryptococcal meningitis and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is presented. Though cryptococcal infections have been reported from many countries throughout the world, this is the first case reported from Ethiopia in a patient with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). The clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and treatment are discussed, with a review of recent literature.
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Fertility and sterility · Jun 1992
Review Randomized Controlled Trial Clinical TrialWas the Dalkon Shield a safe and effective intrauterine device? The conflict between case-control and clinical trial study findings.
To compare the findings of the case-control and cohort studies used to indict the Dalkon Shield (A.H. Robins Company, Inc., Richmond, VA) with the findings of the Dalkon Shield clinical trials. ⋯ This study offers convincing evidence that the indictment of the Dalkon Shield was a mistake. Additionally, this study shows that physician skill and experience is far more important to successful IUD insertion than previously recognized, a finding with considerable implications for IUD study designs and for marketing strategies.