Comparing four methods to inform parents about child behavior management: how to inform for consent.

One hundred twenty parents were shown descriptions of eight traditional behavior management techniques via one of four different presentation methods: one of two types of video presentation, an oral presentation, or a written presentation. They were asked whether they felt well informed about each technique and asked for consent to perform any one of the techniques that might be needed with their child. Fisher's exact test found that a written explanation resulted in parents who felt well informed significantly less often than those in the other conditions, while an oral presentation resulted in parents who felt well informed more often than those in the other groups, although this difference was not statistically significant. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) found no significant differences between the four conditions with respect to parents providing consent, however, exact tests found the oral method produced significantly better consent for some individual procedures. More than 60% of the parents considered information about each technique to be material or consequential to their decision to consent. Acceptability was correlated with consent, however, more than 10% of the respondents reported incongruencies between consent and acceptability (high approval ratings without subsequent consent or low approval ratings followed by consent). Overall, the oral method of delivering information to parents about child behavior management techniques was the best method of ensuring that the average parent felt informed and was likely to consent.

Halitosis: knowing when 'bad breath' signals systemic disease.

Halitosis in older adults is a common condition that may have oral or nonoral sources, result from a number of different etiologies, and have more than just social consequences. In some cases, bad breath may reflect serious local or systemic conditions, including gingivitis, periodontal disease, diabetic acidosis, hepatic failure, or respiratory infection. Your role as the primary care physician is first to determine whether the odor has an oral or nonoral cause. Odors can be distinct in their quality and thus can help make this determination. Management of nonoral sources requires treatment of the underlying cause, whereas suspected oral sources require referral for a dental evaluation.

Management of orofacial manifestations of Parkinson's disease with splint therapy: a case report.

Patients with Parkinson's Disease display a number of orofacial manifestations. These manifestations are secondary to motor and sensory deficits, resulting in bradykinesia, muscle rigidity and tremor, and difficulties with speech, swallowing, proprioception, tactile sensitivity, and hard- and soft-tissue trauma. This case describes the use of a bruxism splint which benefited a PD patient by diminishing the occurrence of orofacial pain secondary to muscle tremor and rigidity while reducing the cumulative damage to the oral structures common with the disease. The impact of therapy on sleep, speech, and swallowing difficulties is also discussed.

Management of traumatic oral-facial injury in the hemophiliac patient with inhibitor: case report.

This report describes identification of Factor VIII inhibitor in a patient who then received immune tolerance therapy. The precipitating event was a traumatic orofacial injury that was nonresponsive to traditional factor-replacement therapies. An inhibitor complicates medical and dental management of the hemophiliac patient because it counteracts usual techniques of hemorrhage control using coagulation agents derived from Factor VIII (Monoclate--Armour, Blue Bell, PA). Successful identification and management of the inhibitor patient require communication and consultation between the physician and dentist, up-to-date knowledge regarding the hemophiliac patient's bleeding and infusion history and aggressive application of local adjunctive hemostatic therapies.

Congenital diaphragmatic hernia: implications for nitrous oxide use in dentistry.

The development of diaphragmatic hernias, their associated physical and diagnostic signs and symptoms, and the potential complications with nitrous oxide use are presented with a case report. Depending upon the location and extent of the diaphragmatic defect, portions of the stomach, omentum, liver and/or intestine can occupy a portion of the thoracic cavity. Nitrous oxide's solubility properties allow for rapid expansion of the herniated bowel, resulting in compression of the thoracic organs or strangulation of the herniated abdominal viscera. The presence of a diaphragmatic hernia may necessitate a change in sedation or anesthesia plans to eliminate the use of nitrous oxide during prolonged procedures.

Facial nerve paralysis related to HIV disease. Case report and dental considerations.

Neurologic manifestations of human immunodeficiency virus disease have been well documented and include peripheral neuropathy of the facial nerve. HIV-related peripheral facial nerve paralysis may be of predictive value in endemic populations, and it may be associated with acute HIV infection. It may herald the onset of seroconversion, and it is more common in the later stages of HIV disease. Treatment is palliative in nature and, although self-limiting, the condition may be of an extended duration and result in increased patient morbidity. The nutritional impact of HIV-related peripheral facial nerve paralysis on the patient and associated exacerbation of oral manifestations of HIV disease resulting from the presence of oral dryness are addressed. Early dental intervention is essential to reduce patient morbidity.

Management of aspiration and swallowing incidents: a review of the literature and report of case.

This article has reviewed aspiration and swallowing incidents in a dental environment with particular emphasis on the young child and the medically, physically and mentally handicapped patient. A thorough review of prevention, signs and symptoms, management and documentation of these incidents has been presented. This review was presented to reaffirm the potential of these incidents and strives to educate the practitioner who treats these special populations. The case report applies reported guidelines for noting signs and symptoms, management and documentation. This case report also affirms the need to check all dental instruments before their use, as a safeguard against possible failure. Current policy for infection control maintains strict guidelines for asepsis. With the increasing use of steam autoclaving and cleansing products, an increased rate of failure may be seen in some instruments. Manufacturers should be contacted for instrument care and sterilization recommendations, as well as projected longevity of the instrument, if their sterilization procedures are followed. The economic implications of replacing instruments because of the protocol for maintaining asepsis will undoubtedly contribute to the rising cost of care. Prevention has been the goal of dentistry for decades and dental emergencies are not excluded. Preparation for such incidents will prevent many incidents and allow for proper patient management should they occur.

The effect of lysed platelets on neutralization of heparin in vitro with protamine as measured by the activated coagulation time (ACT)

The effect of lysed platelets on the activated coagulation time (ACT) was studied in heparinized whole blood during titration with protamine. Frozen-thawed washed platelet suspension, or a chromatography fraction thereof, or autologous frozen-thawed platelet-rich plasma was added in various dilutions to freshly drawn blood anticoagulated with 3,000 USP units/l heparin. After a 10 min incubation, the amount of protamine needed to restore the ACT to baseline ("protamine titration dose") was determined. We found that the protamine titration dose decreased in proportion to the amount of lysed platelet material added; expressed as a percentage of the total number of platelets present, each unit increase in lysed platelets produced a 1.7% +/- 0.8 (SD) reduction in the protamine dose needed to normalize the ACT. A heparin activity assay showed that this effect was not due to anti-heparin activity of lysed platelets such as platelet factor 4 (PF4). Our data indicate that the procoagulant activity of platelet membranes reduced the sensitivity of the ACT to heparin. These findings suggest that membranous platelet microparticles may cause an inaccurate calculation, based on the ACT, of a protamine dose to reverse heparin anticoagulation in cardiopulmonary bypass procedures.

Diagnostic and prognostic utility of phospholipase A activity in patients with acute pancreatitis: comparison with amylase and lipase.

We compared the diagnostic and prognostic utility of phospholipase A (PLA; EC 3.1.1.4) for acute pancreatitis with that of amylase and lipase by analysis of sera from 151 consecutive patients presenting with abdominal pain in whom assays of serum amylase and (or) lipase had been ordered. We determined the diagnostic accuracy for both the initial and the peak enzyme activities. Maximal diagnostic accuracy obtained for the initial activities of amylase, lipase, and PLA was 0.83, 0.83, and 0.76 at cutoff values of 650, 650, and 41 U/L, respectively. Use of peak enzyme activities showed maximal diagnostic accuracy of 0.85, 0.86, and 0.73 at cutoff values of 650, 1050, and 42 U/L, respectively. Receiver-operator characteristic curve analysis revealed the diagnostic performance of amylase and lipase to be similar, whereas that of PLA was almost random and not incremental. As with amylase and lipase, PLA activities in sera showed no relation to patients' survival; three patients who died after an attack of acute pancreatitis failed to demonstrate the dramatic increases in PLA activity previously described. We conclude that assessing the severity of acute pancreatitis by using enzyme activities still remains problematical. Measurements of amylase or lipase activities provide similar diagnostic discrimination when appropriate cutoff values are used and remain the methods of choice for diagnosis of acute pancreatitis.

Effect of reticulocytosis on lactate dehydrogenase isoenzyme distribution in serum: in vivo and in vitro studies.

We investigated the effect of reticulocytosis on the lactate dehydrogenase (LD; EC 1.1.1.27) isoenzyme LD1/LD2 ratio in patients with and without evidence of hemolytic disease. Analysis of sera from patients with reticulocytosis and in vivo hemolysis showed a mean LD1/LD2 ratio of 0.92 compared with a ratio of 0.69 in patients with in vivo hemolysis and normal reticulocyte counts. Determination of LD isoenzymes in erythrocyte lysate revealed significantly increased LD1/LD2 ratios for patients with marked reticulocytosis compared with those for patients with normal-to-minimal increases in reticulocytes. Finally, separation of mature erythrocytes and reticulocytes by flow cytometry revealed marked differences in the LD1/LD2 isoenzyme distribution between these two cell types. The ability of hemolysis to cause a "flipped" LD1/LD2 ratio is dependent on the proportion of the hemolyzed cells that are reticulocytes.