Seven Day Safety Net Service.

A seven day safety net telephone service was developed in an acute medical unit at a university hospital in London. The service attempts to provide all patients discharged from acute medicine with patient activated access to a member of the acute medical team. This allows patients to flag deterioration triggering further review in the ambulatory clinic or to ask for advice on symptoms or medication. Here we evaluate the first sixteen months of the service and report on its benefits and limitations.

Non-Cardiac Chest Pain: management in the Ambulatory Clinic setting.

Non-cardiac chest pain (NCCP) is a common presenting complaint which can be better managed. This requires the recognition of clinical sub-groups with investigation and treatment tailored accordingly. The aim of this paper is to encourage more accurate diagnoses and the better recognition of the source of chest pain. We discuss the appropriate investigations and management of each clinical sub-group.

Body mass index and the prediction of percentage body fat in Australian Chinese women.

BACKGROUND: Body mass index (BMI) is frequently related to percentage body fat. Nevertheless the relationship between BMI and fat mass/height2 (FM/H2), theoretically, should be more appropriate. AIM: This study seeks to evaluate the relationship between BMI and both percentage body fat and FM/H2 in a group of Chinese Australian females. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty subjects took part in the study and all were Chinese females resident in Brisbane, Australia. Body mass index was calculated from height and weight. Percentage body fat and fat mass were calculated from measurements of total body water. RESULTS: The use of BMI to predict FM/H2 accounted for double the variance of that found when BMI was used to predict percentage body fat. CONCLUSIONS: As a consequence, it is possible that the use of BMI to predict FM/H2 and not percentage body fat in the first instance may prove to be more useful in a number of adult populations. Nevertheless, with a relatively small sample size it is difficult, if not impossible, to test the developed equations on a validation group and further investigation into the findings described in this paper needs to be undertaken.

The prediction of body composition in Chinese Australian females.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the efficacy of applying specific body composition techniques to, and assess the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and body fat levels for Chinese Australian females. DESIGN: Statistical comparative analysis of body composition techniques. SUBJECTS: Australian resident females of Chinese extraction (n=40) (aged 18-45 y, mean 32.5+/-8.0; BMI range 15.7-30.9 kg/m2, mean 21.7+/-3.1 kg/m2, median 20.8 kg/m2). MEASUREMENTS: Body composition determined using bio-electrical impedance analysis (BIA), the skin-fold equations of Durnin and Womersley (D&W) and a deuterium dilution technique. Body size was calculated as the body mass index (BMI) weight/height(2) (kg/m2). RESULTS: With a median BMI of 20.8, range 15.7-30.9, an acceptable BMI existed for 87.5% of the subjects (mean (s.d.) 21.7+/-3.1 kg/m2). Percentage fat mass (%FM) from the deuterium dilution technique (mean (s.d.) 35.6+/-6.4) suggested 75% were overweight or obese. %FM from the D&W equation (mean (s.d.) 28.0+/-3.9) and BIA (mean (s.d.) 29.4+/-5.1) also indicated a tendency towards overweight or obese. The deuterium technique was significantly correlated and significantly different to the D&W eqn, r=0.71 P=0.001; and BIA, r=0.77, P=0.001. Bland and Altman analysis indicated that bias existed between the techniques (BIA mean (s.d.)-6.7+/-4.1) and D&W equation mean (s.d.)-6+/-4.5) when compared to the deuterium method. CONCLUSIONS: Despite a low mean BMI, body fat levels determined by the three methods suggested that, overall, an unsatisfactory body composition existed. The levels of overweight and obesity (%FM>30) were higher than reported in previous research despite a mean BMI lower than the Australian national average. Comparative analysis suggested that the body fat prediction techniques used may be precise but not accurate. Comparative results obtained for the BIA and D&W equation techniques suggest an overestimation of body fat levels for leaner individuals and under estimation for overfat individuals. The results support the notion that accurate determination of body composition and the determination of appropriate body size may require equations developed for specific ethnic populations.