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Biomedical subjects

H G Pledger

Publications and source records attributed to H G Pledger.

6 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1987

Deaths in children with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis in England and Wales 1980-4.

Thirty five children died of acute appendicitis in England and Wales in 1980-4 compared with 204 in 1963-7. Thirteen of the 35 deaths in 1980-4 took place at home or on the day of admission to hospital before operation and a further 18 on the day of operation or the first day after it. Thirty one of the children had peritonitis. A third of the deaths were in children aged 0-4 years, and the hospital fatality rate in this age group was one death in 320 cases compared with one death in 4760 cases in children aged 5-14 years. The fall in the number of deaths between the 1960s and the 1980s was due to improvements in medical care, a reduction in the incidence of appendicitis, and changes in the age structure of the child population. Difficulty and delay in diagnosis and inadequate intravenous therapy are now the main factors contributing to death.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed1986

Triage of casualties after nuclear attack.

Casualties from a nuclear attack on the United Kingdom would overwhelm the health services, and health workers would be faced with many more people seeking help than could be offered treatment. Discussion is needed to determine which methods of medical and non-medical triage would be acceptable and feasible.

Emergency Medical Services↗
PubMed1969

Deaths in children with acute appendicitis.

Two hundred and four children died of acute appendicitis in England and Wales in the five-year period 1963-7. The mortality rate in children less than 5 years old was eight times higher than that in those aged 5-14. It is suggested that diagnosis, intravenous therapy, treatment of convulsions and hyperpyrexia, and anaesthesia are fields where there is room for improvement in management. Moreover, there is a place for the wider use of national medical audits on the lines of the Confidential Enquiry into Maternal Deaths.

Acute Disease↗