PubMed Health⌕ Search

Biomedical subjects

R Rickard

Publications and source records attributed to R Rickard.

5 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Knowledge and use of folic acid supplementation: a study of Colorado women whose pregnancies were affected by a fetal neural tube defect.

OBJECTIVES: To determine whether women who have ha da pregnancy in which the fetus is affected by a neural tube defect (NTD) know of current folic acid recommendations; whether the recommendations are followed before or during the pregnancy associated with an NTD and subsequent pregnancies; and to insure that women who have had an NTD-affected pregnancy have access to proper information about NTDs and folic acid recommendations. METHODS: Women living in Colorado who had a pregnancy in 1996 or 1997 in which the fetus had an NTD were interviewed in 1998 about their knowledge and use of folic acid supplementation. RESULTS: Twenty-one of 42 eligible women were interviewed. All women first learned of the folic acid recommendations either during or after their affected pregnancy. Only 23.8% of the women took vitamins containing folic acid during the 1 to 3 months before becoming pregnant. None who had a subsequent pregnancy followed the recommendation to consume 4.0 mg/d of folic acid, beginning at least 1 month before conception. Women who had subsequent pregnancies became pregnant on average of 9 months after their affected pregnancy ended. CONCLUSIONS: Most women who have an NTD-affected pregnancy are unaware of the national folic acid recommendations and do not follow these recommendations for subsequent pregnancies. However, such women are receptive to information about folic acid supplementation. Health care providers and public health officials should consider their role in assuring that education is provided in an effective and timely manner to women with NTD-affected pregnancies.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

An infiltration technique for reduction mammaplasty: results in 192 consecutive breasts.

The use of local anaesthetic infiltration with adrenaline is now considered safe in reduction mammaplasty. However, the technique of infiltration by those who support its use is often unclear. Any technique must take account of the neurovascular anatomy of the breast if it is to be effective. We propose the use of a large volume of dilute local anaesthetic (20 ml of 1% lignocaine and 1 mg of adrenaline made up to 400 ml with 0.9% saline) which is placed judiciously in the retroglandular space 15 minutes prior to surgery. The results in 96 consecutive patients (192 breasts) who had an inferior pedicle technique were analysed. The breast complication rate was 9.36% and the patient complication rate 19.79%. Postoperative blood loss ranged from 0 to 305 ml with a mean of 56.03 ml and a median of 50 ml. The described method could be considered a variation of the tumescent technique used in liposuction. The results is an almost bloodless dissection with minimal postoperative blood loss. It should be possible to dispense with the use of drains in most cases.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Surveillance for fetal alcohol syndrome in Colorado.

The authors performed surveillance for fetal alcohol syndrome with an existing birth defects registry. Fetal alcohol syndrome cases were identified from multiple sources using passive surveillance and from two selected medical sites using enhanced surveillance. Between May 1992 and March 1994, a total of 173 cases were identified, and the medical records of the cases were reviewed to determine whether the cases met a surveillance case definition for fetal alcohol syndrome. Of these cases, 37 (21 percent) met either definite (28) or probable (9) criteria for fetal alcohol syndrome, 76 met possible criteria (44 percent), and 60 (35 percent) were defined as not fetal alcohol syndrome. Enhanced surveillance had the highest sensitivity for definite or probable cases, 31 of 37 (84 percent), followed by hospital discharge data, 14 of 37 (38 percent). The authors also compared birth certificate information for 22 definite or probable cases in children born between 1989 and 1992 to birth certificate information for all Colorado births for that period. The proportion of mothers of children with fetal alcohol syndrome was statistically significantly greater (as determined by exact binomial 95 percent confidence limits) than the proportion of all mothers for the following characteristics: black race (0.23 versus 0.05), unmarried (0.55 versus 0.22), not employed during pregnancy (0.86 versus 0.43), and started prenatal care in the third trimester (0.18 versus 0.04). Surveillance for fetal alcohol syndrome can be accomplished with an existing registry system in combination with additional case finding and verification activities. Through followup investigation of reported cases, data can be gathered on the mothers of children with fetal alcohol syndrome. These data could be used to target fetal alcohol syndrome prevention programs.

Alcohol Drinking↗