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Biomedical subjects

H W Bain

Publications and source records attributed to H W Bain.

18 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

Birth weight, length, head circumference and bilirubin level in Indian newborns in the Sioux Lookout Zone, northwestern Ontario.

The norms for birth weight, length, head circumference and bilirubin level for native newborns have not been available. To develop appropriate norms, data were obtained from the charts on all live births in the Sioux Lookout Zone, northwestern Ontario, in 1968-69 and 1974-77. These data were correlated to maternal age and parity as well as sex of the infant. Despite impoverished living conditions, the birth weights of the study population were significantly higher than the Canadian norms; length and head circumference, however, were not significantly different. Over one third of the infants had serum bilirubin levels greater than 12 mg/dL (205 mumol/L). Increased maternal age was associated with increased birth weight and length and a lower bilirubin level.

Adult↗
PubMed1983

Preventive health care of Indian preschoolers in the Sioux Lookout Zone, northwestern Ontario.

The provision of preventive health care to native children in the Sioux Lookout Zone of northwestern Ontario was assessed by reviewing the medical charts of 568 randomly selected preschoolers in 1980. Data were collected on the method of infant feeding; immunization status, vaccination and testing for tuberculosis; development, vision and hearing screening; monitoring of growth; and nutritional status and vitamin supplementation. Most of the children had been breast-fed and had received primary diphtheria-pertussis-tetanus-polio immunization as well as measles-mumps-rubella and bacille Calmette-Guérin vaccination. However, less than 30% had undergone developmental screening, and only 10% and 8% respectively had had their vision and hearing screened. Growth monitoring was adequate in the first year of life but not thereafter. Only about 55% of the children had ever had a hemoglobin level determined. More emphasis on health promotion is needed if native children are to receive adequate preventive health care.

Breast Feeding↗
PubMed1980

An expanded emergency service: role of telephone services in the emergency department.

The Medical Information Center at The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto began in March 1977 to improve triage, provide an improved poison information center, improve response to telephone callers seeking medical advice, and establish a telephone consultation service for physicians. It employs specially trained nursing staff and integrates functionally related services. To determine program effectiveness we studied the records of patients triaged, telephone calls to the poison information center, and calls for other medical information, for periods both before and after the center's opening. We analyzed in detail a sample of telephone calls about acute illness, and surveyed parents who had made such calls. Unnecessary emergency visits have decreased; more patients are sent to a walk-in clinic. Use of the poison information center, especially by physicians, has increased, but fewer poisonings are treated in the emergency department or hospitalized. The Medical Information Center telephone service ensures that more children are managed at home rather than (unnecessarily) treated in the emergency department. Most parents express satisfaction with this service. Few physicians have used the telephone consultation service.

Emergency Service, Hospital↗
PubMed1979

Partial trisomy 20 confirmed by gene dosage studies.

We describe a female infant with multiple congenital anomalies and mental retardation, pre- and postnatal growth failure, microcephaly, unusual facial appearance, and minor skeletal anomalies, all very suggestive of the partial trisomy 20(p) syndrome. Although she was born to karyotypically normal parents, she had an extra small metacentric chromosome. Analysis of metaphase and prometaphase chromosomes by GTG banding and Giemsa 11 staining showed that the extra chromosome was a number 20 with a deletion of the distal end of the long arm. Gene dose studies of adenosine deaminase (ADA) and inosine triphosphatase (ITP) supported the cytogenetic interpretation.

Abnormalities, Multiple↗
PubMed1975

Poisoning and poison control centres in Canada.

Poisoning is a major and increasing health problem in the Western world. In 1972 the 310 poison control centres in Canada reported 53 531 enquiries about poisoning, 40% in adults. In 1964 the numbers of hospital admissions and deaths due to poisoning in this country were 2446 and 38, respectively, but in 1972 the figures were 6263 and 319, respectively. Most of the hospitalizations and deaths were among adults. Of 100 Canadian poison control centres two thirds were staffed by "any nurse in the emergency room", most of whom had received no training to answer the phone enquiries. However, two thirds agreed a training program is needed. Only 6.7% of 223 parents surveyed stated they would call a poison control centre if their child had accidentally swallowed a large amount of a poisonous substance. Regionalization of centres, a training program for personnel answering telephone enquiries, the need for crisis intervention as part of poison control programs, and public education about poisoning and poison control centres are the new challenges facing those providing health services.

Canada↗
PubMed1975

Abdominal pain in children.

Chronic vague abdominal pain is an extremely common complaint in children over 5 years, with a peak incidence in the 8 to 10 year group. In over 90 per cent of the cases no serious underlying organic disease will be discovered. Most disease states can be ruled out by a careful history, a meticulous physical examination, and a few simple laboratory tests such as urinalysis, sedimentation rate, hemoglobin, white blood count determination, and examination of a blood smear. If organic disease is present there are often clues in the history and the examination. The kidney is often the culprit--an intravenous pyelogram should be done if disease is suspected. Barium enema is the next most valuable test. Duodenal ulcers and abdominal epilepsy are rare and are over-diagnosed. If no organic cause is found, the parents must be convinced that the pain is real, and that "functional" does not mean "imaginary." This is best explained by comparing with "headache"--the headache resulting from stress and tension hurts every bit as much as the headache caused by a brain tumor or other intracranial pathology. Having convinced the patient and his parents that no serious disease exists, no further investigation should be carried out unless new signs or symptoms appear. The child must be returned to full activity immediately.

Abdomen↗
PubMed1972

The University of Toronto "Sioux Lookout Project"--a model of health care delivery.

The University of Toronto's Sioux Lookout Project is described in detail. The scheme is a collaborative one in which universities, governments, doctors, dentists, nurses, communities and consumers participate. After three years of operation it appears to be a feasible model for delivery of health care in a remote area under extremely adverse conditions. It is suggested that a modified version would be applicable to other underdoctored areas. The individual roles of the various participants are outlined. Universities, by giving some preference in their postgraduate training programs to doctors who have spent a year in practice, especially in remote areas, would make a major step towards correcting the maldistribution of doctors.

Comprehensive Health Care↗