Brachioradial pruritus: a case report and review of the literature.

Brachioradial pruritus is an enigmatic pruritic sensation that characteristically involves the proximal lateral forearm of middle-aged women residing in tropical to temperate climates. There are often no associated cutaneous signs. The pathophysiology has been debated but is believed to involve UV radiation and/or cervical spine disease. We present a patient with brachioradial pruritus and a review of the literature. Brachioradial pruritus should be suspected in patients with intractable pruritus overlying the brachioradialis muscle of the forearm that is recalcitrant to standard therapies. These patients commonly report a history of chronic solar damage and/or cervical spine disease.

The Inner-City Asthma Intervention: description of a community-based implementation of an evidence-based approach to asthma management.

BACKGROUND: In 2000, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention funded a 4-year project to implement the Inner-City Asthma Intervention (ICAI)-an asthma treatment and management project based on the protocol developed for the National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study (NCICAS) funded by the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease. OBJECTIVE: To describe the ICAI's major components and implementation issues. METHODS: Information contained in this article is based on project activity and management reports, site client tracking and data collection reports, site visit and other program oversight activity, and general subject matter knowledge. The site client tracking data collection process varied among sites during the intervention. Common definitions and processes were developed and implemented as needed. RESULTS: Three of the 24 original sites discontinued participation. The remaining sites enrolled 4,174 children into the intervention. Although the project ended earlier than originally scheduled, 1,035 children completed the entire intervention. Of the 3,139 children who did not complete the entire protocol, 1,355 children and their families completed the core activities or the core activities plus one or more follow-up activities. CONCLUSION: The ICAI project demonstrated that although there were a number of implementation issues to overcome, it is possible to implement effectively a proven National Institutes of Health protocol in the community setting.

The Inner-City Asthma Intervention tool kit: best practices and lessons learned.

BACKGROUND: Asthma is a major public health problem of increasing concern in the United States. Low-income populations, minorities, and children living in inner cities experience disproportionately higher morbidity and mortality due to asthma. In 1991, the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease at the National Institutes of Health funded the National Cooperative Inner-City Asthma Study (NCICAS), the foundation for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)-funded Inner-City Asthma Intervention (ICAI) on which the tool kit discussed in this article is based. OBJECTIVE: To summarize the purpose and content of a tool kit for health care organizations that wish to enhance their asthma management efforts and to improve the quality of life of children with asthma and their families. METHODS: The ICAI was tailored to the individual child and family through a combination of group and individual activities (core) and follow-up. Information contained in the tool kit is based on project reports, tracking and data collection reports, program oversight activity, and general subject matter knowledge. RESULTS: Although the NCICAS proved successful, moving from a research design to the real world of implementation was difficult. The tool kit draws on the experience of implementation and provides strategies, options, and considerations for health care organizations to use in tailoring project activities. CONCLUSION: The ICAI demonstrated that committed health care organizations, with trained and experienced individuals, could help empower children and families to manage childhood asthma. The tool kit was designed to share the best practices and lessons learned from the ICAI implementation of the NCICAS protocol at the community level.

Third party intervention in community conflicts

In conclusion, it is our impression that these intervenor roles represent a valid contribution to the reduction of collective violence. Only future events and the study of more cases will determine whether this impression will stand up over time and be supported by firmer empirical evidence than is now available. Given the innate aggressiveness of human beings, it would appear that conflict management through ritualization of hostile encounters accompanied by problem-solving procedures offers the best hope of keeping levels of intergroup violence within acceptable limits of tolerance (AU)