Failure of a repeat course of cyclooxygenase inhibitor to close a PDA is a risk factor for developing chronic lung disease in ELBW infants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The optimal treatment regimen or protocol for managing a persistent patent ductus arteriosus (PDA) in extremely low birth weight (ELBW) infants has not been well established. This study was aimed at evaluating the failure rate of a cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor (COI) for PDA closure and to determine the incidence of a PDA requiring ligation in ELBW infants. We examined the clinical characteristics and risk factors that may predict the clinical consequences of failure of PDA closure by COI.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Medical information on 138 infants with birth weight (BW) < 1000 gm who survived for > 48 hours was retrieved. Clinical characteristics and outcomes of patients whose PDAs closed with COI were compared with those who did not close.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Of the 138 patients, 112 survived to discharge. Eighty (71.4%) of those who survived received 1-3 courses of COI treatment for a symptomatic PDA. A total of 32 (40%) failed COI treatment and underwent PDA ligation. Multivariable logistic regression analysis suggests that the observed differences in the outcomes in infants with or without symptomatic PDA can be explained by the babies with symptomatic PDA being more immature and sicker. No significant difference was seen in the incidence of chronic lung disease (CLD) in infants whose PDA was treated medically versus those who failed medical treatment and then underwent ligation. However, after adjusting for disease severity and other known risk factors, the odds ratio of developing CLD for surviving babies with a persistent PDA compared to those whose PDA was successfully closed with 1-2 courses of COI is 3.24 (1.07-9.81; p = 0.038).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>When successfully treated, PDA in ELBW infants did not contribute significantly to the adverse outcomes such as CLD, retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) and age at discharge. This suggests that it is beneficial for a hemodynamically significant PDA to be closed. The failure of a repeat course of COI to close a PDA is a major risk factor for developing CLD in ELBW infants.</p

Nonresponse Bias Analysis of Body Mass Index Data in the Eating and Health Module

The ERS Eating and Health Module, a supplement to the American Time Use Survey (ATUS), included questions on height and weight so that respondents’ Body Mass Index (BMI—a measure of body fat based on height and weight) could be calculated and analyzed with ATUS time-use data in obesity research. Some respondents did not report height and/or weight, and BMIs could not be calculated for them. Analyses focusing on correlations between BMIs and time use could be biased if respondents who did not report height and/or weight differ significantly in other observable characteristics from the rest of the survey respondents. However, findings reveal that any nonresponse bias associated with the height and weight data appears to be small and would not affect future analyses of BMIs and time-use pattern correlations

Macroeconomic Impacts on Nonmetro Unemployment: Preliminary Research

Analysis done on both the rural and urban unemployment rates suggests that rural areas are more sensitive to the changes in exchange rate, interest rates, and inflation than are urban areas. This report presents models for the rural and urban unemployment rate and also discusses regional and county type differences in the macroeconomic impacts on the rural unemployment rate

Federal Forecasters Conference 1990: Proceedings

This is the proceedings of the third annual Federal Forecasters Conference held on September 6, 1990, at the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The theme of the conference was "The Role of the Federal Forecaster." Contained in this document are remarks made on the theme, which are nontechnical in nature, as well as technical presentations on various forecasting techniques and on forecasting activity from around the Federal Government

Minimum Wage Increase Would Have Greater Impact on Food System Than on Overall Economy

I ncreasing the minimum wage would affect the food system more than the overall economy. The food system provides a large number of jobs, particularly entrylevel jobs for workers with few skills or experience. Because of this large share of low-wage, low-skill jobs, an increase in the minimum wage would disproportionately affect the employers and workers in the food system. The minimum wage is currently $5.15 an hour. A proposal to increase it to$6.15 failed in the Senate in 1998, but demands to increase it still remain. This article examines which workers would be affected by a minimum wage increase while the next article examines how the increase would affect prices of food away from home. In order to understand how a minimum wage increase would affect the food system, we must first know about the food system workers and their jobs. Here a demographic profile of all food system workers and the characteristics of food system jobs are presented. Understanding the demographics and jobs characteristics provide insight into how the minimum wage will affect employment and income among food system workers. Next, a look at the demographics and job characteristics of those workers who would be directly affected by a minimum wage increase is presented

Rural Labor Markets Often Lead Urban Markets in Recessions and Expansions

Rural labor markets respond quickly to business cycle movements, and appear to show signs of recession and expansion before urban labor markets. The rural and urban unemployment rates, on the other hand, show about the same degree of response to changes in gross domestic product. Some rural labor market groups—parttime for economic reasons workers and discouraged workers— respond less to business cycle movements, so that an expansion is less likely to benefit these individuals than those in urban areas

Nonmetro Displaced Workers Face Less Hardship Than Metro Displaced Workers

During 1993-95, 4 million workers were displaced from their jobs, of which 775,000 (19 percent) were nonmetro workers. Although the displacement rate was similar for nonmetro and metro workers, nonmetro displaced workers were less likely to be unemployed at the survey date, found a new job faster, and had less earnings loss on the new job than did metro displaced workers. The nonmetro displaced worker was likely to be male, have at most a high school diploma, and be working as an operator, fabricator, or laborer