Cardiac surgery is now offered to more patients than ever before. Different age groups are affected by different forms of the disease and, as a result, patients range from new born infants to those in their eighties. In recent years attention has begun to focus on the psychological effects of such surgery. This article considers current research into the cognitive, psychiatric and psychological changes associated with cardiac surgery, with specific reference to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG).
This essay examines the condition of Ireland before, during and after the famine which began in 1845 when the potato crop began to fail. A series of topics is presented: the quality of life, families, government aid, philanthropy, population changes, literacy, emigration, and public policy. The essay draws on the author's research quantifying the quality of life in Ireland, and on research analysing the heights of a sample of Irish army recruits in the famine era.
Surveys were conducted using a pre-tested questionnaire in 1991 and 1993 in South Africa to find out how the people perceive the government's social responsibility with special reference to the provision of free health care and other determinants of well-being. Provision of jobs for the unemployed and free education were identified to be the main priorities. Free health care ranked as the fifth priority. The study supports the call for increasing participation of communities in determining and prioritising their needs. It also calls on health care professionals to support the communities by advocating for policies that are directed towards the perceived needs of the community and to use the present available resources efficiently.
The case report is presented of a ten-and-a-half year old boy with acute onset of confusion and visual hallucinations, subsequently confirmed to be due to hyoscine toxicity following ingestion of over-the-counter (OTC) travel sickness tablets. It is suggested that packs of such pills should carry a prominent cautionary label. A clear clinical history is very important--not only in aiding the differentiation of acute viral infections involving the central nervous system (such as acute encephalitis) from drug toxicity, but also in rationalizing any further diagnostic investigations. The possible underlying reasons for drug ingestion in this case are discussed.