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BACKGROUND: Frailty is a multidimensional syndrome characterized by loss of physiologic and cognitive reserve that heightens vulnerability. Frailty has been well described among elderly patients (i.e., 65 years of age or older), but few studies have evaluated frailty in nonelderly patients with critical illness. We aimed to describe the prevalence, correlates, and outcomes associated with frailty among younger critically ill patients. METHODS: We conducted a prospective cohort study of 197 consecutive critically ill patients aged 50-64.9 years admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) at six hospitals across Alberta, Canada. Frailty was defined as a score ≥5 on the Clinical Frailty Scale before hospitalization. Multivariable analyses were used to evaluate factors independently associated with frailty before ICU admission and the independent association between frailty and outcome. RESULTS: In the 197 patients in the study, mean (SD) age was 58.5 (4.1) years, 37 % were female, 73 % had three or more comorbid illnesses, and 28 % (n = 55; 95 % CI 22-35) were frail. Factors independently associated with frailty included not being completely independent (adjusted OR [aOR] 4.4, 95 % CI 1.8-11.1), connective tissue disease (aOR 6.0, 95 % CI 2.1-17.0), and hospitalization within the preceding year (aOR 3.3, 95 % CI 1.3-8.1). There were no significant differences between frail and nonfrail patients in reason for admission, Acute Physiology and Chronic Health Evaluation II score, preference for life support, or treatment intensity. Younger frail patients did not have significantly longer (median [interquartile range]) hospital stay (26 [9-68] days vs. 19 [10-43] days; p = 0.4), but they had greater 1-year rehospitalization rates (61 % vs. 40 %; p = 0.02) and higher 1-year mortality (33 % vs. 20 %; adjusted HR 1.8, 95 % CI 1.0-3.3; p = 0.039). CONCLUSIONS: Prehospital frailty is common among younger critically ill patients, and in this study it was associated with higher rates of mortality at 1 year and with rehospitalization. Our data suggest that frailty should be considered in younger adults admitted to the ICU, not just in the elderly. Additional research is needed to further characterize frailty in younger critically ill patients, along with the ideal instruments for identification.

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There is an increasing suspicion among the travelling public and the international media of an association between the occurrence of deep venous thrombosis (DVT) and air travel. It was noted by the UK House of Lords Select Committee on Science and Technology that up to 20% of the total population may have some degree of increased clotting tendency. It follows that some air travellers are at risk of developing DVT when, or soon after, travelling. There have been no epidemiological studies published which show a statistically significant increase in cases of DVT when travelling in the absence of pre-existing risk factors. The literature was reviewed. Current evidence indicates that any association between symptomatic DVT and travel by air is weak, and the incidence is less than the impression given by recent media publicity.

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BACKGROUND: With a lack of data from randomized trials, the optimal management of men with nonmetastatic prostate carcinoma is controversial. The authors sought to define the outcomes of three common strategies for managing patients with nonmetastatic prostate carcinoma: expectant management, radiotherapy, and radical prostatectomy. METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective cohort study with standardized collection of key prognostic data, including centralized assignment of Gleason grades from original biopsy specimens. Participants included all Connecticut hospitals (the expectant management cohort) and three academic medical centers in other states (the radiotherapy and surgery cohorts). Two thousand three hundred eleven consecutive men ages 55-74 years who were diagnosed during 1971-1984 with nonmetastatic prostate carcinoma and were treated at the participating sites were included. RESULTS: Kaplan-Meier estimates with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) of overall survival at 10 years for each cohort were as follows: expectant management cohort, 42% of patients (95% CI, 38-46%); radiotherapy cohort, 52% of patients (95% CI, 46-58%); and radical prostatectomy cohort, 69% of patients (95% CI, 67-71%); for disease specific mortality, the estimates were as follows: expectant management cohort, 75% of patients (95% CI, 71-79%); radiotherapy cohort, 67% of patients (95% CI, 61-73%); and radical prostatectomy cohort, 86% of patients (95% CI, 84-88%). There were large differences in distributions of important prognostic factors among men in the different treatment groups. CONCLUSIONS: These data provide precise estimates of the outcomes of patients who have been treated with different modalities for nonmetastatic prostate carcinoma in the recent past. Direct comparisons of outcomes between treatment groups are inadvisable because of the different characteristics of patients who select these alternative management strategies.

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The galactic cosmic radiation field at aircraft operating altitudes is complex, with a large energy range and the presence of all particle types. The calculation of the complex radiation fields is difficult, as is the measurement. British Airways continues to cooperate with the U.K. National Radiological Protection Board in measuring cosmic radiation doses on supersonic and subsonic aircraft using a range of devices.

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The implementation into national law of Council Directive 96/29 EURATOM requires cosmic radiation exposure of flight and cabin crew to be considered as occupational and appropriate measures be taken. The implications for British Airways are discussed and compliance measures outlined.

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PURPOSE: To evaluate whether transient androgen deprivation improves outcome in patients irradiated after radical prostatectomy for locally advanced disease, persistent or rising postoperative prostate specific antigen (PSA), or local recurrence. METHODS AND MATERIALS: Records of 105 consecutive patients who were treated with pelvic irradiation after radical retropubic prostatectomy between August 1985 and December 1995 were reviewed. Seventy-four patients received radiation alone (mean follow up: 4.6 years), and 31 received transient androgen blockade with a gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonist (4) androgen receptor blocker (1) or both (24) beginning 2 months prior to irradiation (mean follow-up 3.0 years) for a mean duration of 6 months. Two of these patients were excluded from further analysis because they received hormonal therapy for more than 1 year. Patients received a prostatic fossa dose of 60-70 Gy at 2 Gy per fraction; 48 patients also received pelvic nodal irradiation to a median dose of 50 Gy. Survival, freedom from clinical relapse (FFCR), and freedom from biochemical relapse (FFBR) were evaluated by the Kaplan-Meier method. Biochemical relapse was defined as two consecutive PSA measurements exceeding 0.07 ng/ml. RESULTS: At 5 years after irradiation, actuarial survival for all patients was 92%, FFCR was 77%, and FFBR was 34%. FFBR was significantly better among patients who received transient androgen blockade before and during radiotherapy than among those treated with radiation alone (56 vs. 27% at 5 years, p = 0.004). FFCR was also superior for the combined treatment group (100 vs. 70% at 5 years, p = 0.014). Potential clinical prognostic factors before irradiation did not differ significantly between treatment groups, including tumor stage, summed Gleason histologic score, lymph node status, indication for treatment, and PSA levels before surgery or subsequent treatment. Multivariate analysis revealed that transient androgen deprivation was the only significant predictor for biochemical failure. CONCLUSION: This retrospective study of irradiation after radical prostatectomy suggests that transient androgen blockade and irradiation may improve freedom from early biochemical and clinically evident relapse compared to radiotherapy alone, although more prolonged follow-up will be needed to assess durability of impact upon clinical recurrence and survival rates.

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Adenocarcinoma of the prostate (CaP) in the Western world has become the most common noncutaneous human tumor. CaP is also the second most important cause of cancer deaths among the male population in the United States. Major progress was made in the past decade in better understanding this disease process, as well as in improved diagnostic accuracy. This improved diagnostic accuracy was due to wide application of prostate-specific antigen (PSA), use of transrectal ultrasound (TRUS), and greater awareness among clinicians of CaP. The use of PSA in clinical practice has resulted in a sharp increase in the number of patients diagnosed with capsule-confined tumors. The optimal treatment for capsule-confined CaP is in the process of being defined. Radical prostatectomy in the United States is currently the most commonly applied treatment for younger patients. Excellent treatment results with a 10-year actuarial survival > 80% are readily obtainable in properly selected patients. Nerve-sparing procedures helped reduce the high incidence of impotence that occurs in patients after radical retropubic prostatectomy. Radiotherapy remains the other curative treatment method in the management of CaP patients, with long-term survival rates similar to those reported in surgical series. Due to the problem of frequent preoperative tumor understaging, a routine use of postoperative irradiation to the prostatic fossa produces an excellent (> 95%) incidence of local tumor control. Management of patients with metastatic disease has undergone a considerable evolution with the development of modern hormonal management and treatment with strontium-89 to control intractable bone pain. Newer treatment methods such as hyperthermia are currently being investigated. Major efforts are directed toward the reduction of short- and long-term treatment toxicity associated with surgery, radiotherapy, and hormonal management, thus improving patient quality of life.

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British Airways has carried out radiation monitoring in Concorde for more than 20 years and has used a heuristic model based on data quoted by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to model radiation exposure in all longhaul fleets. From these data it has been calculated that no flight deck crew would exceed the control level of 6 mSv/y currently under consideration by regulatory authorities, which is three tenths of the occupational dose limit of 20 mSv/y recommended by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP). The model suggested that less than 4% of cabin crew based in Tokyo flying only between London and Japan could reach or exceed the 6 mSv/y level, based on a predicted effective dose rate of 7 microSv/h. To validate this calculation a sampling measurement programme was carried out on nine round trips flown by a Boeing 747-400 between London and Tokyo. The radiation field was measured with dosimeters used for routine personal monitoring (thermoluminescence dosimeters (TLDs) and polyallydiglycol carbonate neutron dosimeters). The limitations of the methodology are acknowledged, but the results indicate that the effective dose rate was 6 microSv/h which is consistent with the predicted effective dose rate of 7 microSv/h. This result, which is in accordance with other reported studies indicates that it is unlikely that any of the cabin crew based in Tokyo exceeded the 6 mSv/y level. In accordance with "as low as reasonably achievable" principles British Airways will continue to monitor flying crew routes and hours flown to ensure compliance.

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In the year ending March 1994, British Airways (BA) carried in excess of 30 million passengers worldwide. There was a total of 2078 reported in-flight medical incidents, with 18 unscheduled diversions for medical reasons. The commonest reported conditions were faints, diarrhoea and vomiting. The BA aircraft medical kit content exceeds the statutory minimum requirement and all cabin crew undergo training in first aid and life support. There is a BA doctor on 24 h call with whom an aircraft captain may communicate via a high-frequency radio link. This link has limitations and immediate contact is not always possible. BA is installing satellite communication facilities in new aircraft and the application of telemedicine utilizing this facility is being explored.

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PURPOSE: We evaluated prostate specific antigen (PSA) evidence for control of prostatic cancer after irradiation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We studied 110 patients for whom more than 2 PSA measurements were obtained to establish trends and the initial measurement was done between April 1985 and January 1988. RESULTS: A total of 42 patients (38%) had stable, normal PSA levels with followup averaging 12.4 years (range 4.4 to 24.8). Increasing clinical stage or Gleason score correlated significantly with risk for PSA relapse, as did pretreatment PSA level. Short PSA doubling times were associated with distant metastasis rather than with local recurrence. CONCLUSIONS: We found that irradiation durably controlled 38% of prostatic cancers of various stages and grades and is unlikely to accelerate tumor growth.

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The long-term outcome for 1,245 patients with carcinoma of the prostate treated with external beam radiation therapy is presented. The median survival for all patients without evidence of distant metastases but irrespective of T stage of the primary tumor, histopathological grade or lymph node status was 10 years compared to 15 years for an age-matched cohort of California men. The cause specific survival at 15 years was 52%. The data base is subdivided into a series of subsets that demonstrate the impact of T stage, Gleason pattern score and lymph node involvement on long-term outcome. The best results were shown in stages T1 and T2a cases with histopathologically proved negative lymph nodes. Survival at 15 years was 53%, which was essentially identical to the 55% survival rate of an age-matched cohort. The actuarial survival at 15 years for all stages T1 and T2N0M0 cancer patients was 45% compared to 56% for an age-matched cohort.

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