Transient right sided hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in an infant born to a diabetic mother

Hypertrophie cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a rare primary myocardial disease, characterized by hypertrophy of the left and/or right ventricle. Infants of diabetic mothers (IDM) are at risk for development of HCM, respiratory distress and persistent pulmonary hypertension. A case of severe right sided HCM in an infant born to a diabetic mother is presented. The patient's findings were complementary to the previous observations reporting HCM in IDM. The presence of disproportionate septal hypertrophy in the echocardiography of an infant born to a diabetic mother is highly suggestive of HCM in IDM. In our opinion, further cardiac evaluation is not indicated unless other cardiac abnormalities are suspected. © 1996 Dr. K C Chaudhuri Foundation

Radioactivity in sediments and gross alpha-beta activities in surface water of Firtina River, Turkey

The concentrations and distribution of natural and artificial radionuclides in sediment and water samples collected from FIrtIna River in the Eastern Black Sea region of Turkey were investigated with an aim of evaluating the environmental radioactivity and radiation hazard. Natural gross ? and gross ? activities were determined for 21 different water samples, and the activity concentrations were obtained for 226Ra, 214Pb, 214Bi, 228Ac, 208Tl, 40K and 137Cs in 20 different sediment samples. The obtained results showed that natural gross ? and gross ? activity concentrations in water samples range from 12.4 ± 3.4 to 66.2 ± 9.2 mBq l-1 and from 27.9 ± 3.3 to 133.3 ± 4.1 mBq l-1, respectively. The mean activity concentrations were 32.6 ± 3.8 mBq l-1 for gross ? and 69.9 ± 4.4 mBq l-1 for gross ?. Generally, the gross ? activities were higher than the corresponding gross ? activities. The average concentrations of 238U and 232Th daughter products vary from 11 to 167 Bq kg-1 and from 16 to 107 Bq kg-1, respectively. The concentrations of 40K and 137Cs vary from 51 to 1,605 Bq kg-1 and from 0.8 to 42 Bq kg-1, respectively. Sediment characterization was also investigated using grain size, thin section and XRD analysis. © 2007 Springer-Verlag

Benefits, harms, and costs for breast cancer screening after US implementation of digital mammography

Background Compared with film, digital mammography has superior sensitivity but lower specificity for women aged 40 to 49 years and women with dense breasts. Digital has replaced film in virtually all US facilities, but overall population health and cost from use of this technology are unclear. Methods Using five independent models, we compared digital screening strategies starting at age 40 or 50 years applied annually, biennially, or based on density with biennial film screening from ages 50 to 74 years and with no screening. Common data elements included cancer incidence and test performance, both modified by breast density. Lifetime outcomes included mortality, quality-adjusted life-years, and screening and treatment costs. Results For every 1000 women screened biennially from age 50 to 74 years, switching to digital from film yielded a median within-model improvement of 2 life-years, 0.27 additional deaths averted, 220 additional false-positive results, and $0.35 million more in costs. For an individual woman, this translates to a health gain of 0.73 days. Extending biennial digital screening to women ages 40 to 49 years was cost-effective, although results were sensitive to quality-of-life decrements related to screening and false positives. Targeting annual screening by density yielded similar outcomes to targeting by age. Annual screening approaches could increase costs to$5.26 million per 1000 women, in part because of higher numbers of screens and false positives, and were not efficient or cost-effective. Conclusions The transition to digital breast cancer screening in the United States increased total costs for small added health benefits. The value of digital mammography screening among women aged 40 to 49 years depends on women's preferences regarding false positives