Infection is the commonest cause of serious neurologic sequelae of neuraxial anesthesia. The incidence depends on operator skill and patient population. Meningitis, a complication of dural puncture, is usually caused by viridans streptococci. The risk factors are dural puncture during labor, no mask and poor aseptic technique, vaginal infection and bacteremia. Epidural abscess is a complication...

BACKGROUND An obstetric fistula is a traumatic childbirth injury that occurs when labor is obstructed and delivery is delayed. Prolonged obstructed labor leads to the destruction of the tissues that normally separate the bladder from the vagina and creates a passageway (fistula) through which urine leaks continuously. Women with a fistula become social outcasts. Universal high-quality maternity...

Hole and Tressler • Management of preterm labor P birth occurs in approximately 10% of pregnancies in the United States. Therefore, it is not only one of the most common obstetric complications, but also one of the most serious. After fetal anomalies, it is the leading cause of perinatal mortality, resulting in 70% of perinatal/neonatal losses. It is also one of the leading contributors to long...

Hole and Tressler • Management of preterm labor P birth occurs in approximately 10% of pregnancies in the United States. Therefore, it is not only one of the most common obstetric complications, but also one of the most serious. After fetal anomalies, it is the leading cause of perinatal mortality, resulting in 70% of perinatal/neonatal losses. It is also one of the leading contributors to long...

Purpose This study aimed to describe, compare, and predict mental health outcomes of different migrant groups and native residents in Switzerland. Subjects and methods Asylum seekers (n = 65); refugees holding permanent protection visas (n = 34); illegal migrants (n = 21); labor migrants (n = 26); and residents (n = 56) completed an assessment by questionnaire. Main outcome variables were sympt...

OBJECTIVES We investigated the extent to which the political economy of US states, including the relative power of organized labor, predicts rates of fatal occupational injury. METHODS We described states' political economies with 6 contextual variables measuring social and political conditions: "right-to-work" laws, union membership density, labor grievance rates, state government debt, unem...

We thank Drs. Savitz and Werner (1) for their thoughtful comments about isolating the causal impact of early delivery on neonatal health outcomes. In our article (2), we sought to provide an estimate of the “pure outcome” of shortened gestation resulting from the acute event of unintentional injury during pregnancy and to contrast that outcome with that of preterm birth from other (predominantl...

OBJECTIVE Brachial plexus injury may be unrelated to manipulations performed at the time of delivery, occurring in the absence of shoulder dystocia and in the posterior arm of infants with anterior shoulder dystocia. To further support the hypothesis that some of these nerve injuries appear to be of intrauterine origin, we present a series of brachial plexus palsies associated with atraumatic c...

BACKGROUND The economic impact of the 9/11 terrorist attacks has rarely been studied. We examined the association between 9/11-related chronic health conditions with or without post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and one important aspect of the economic impact, retirement, and job loss before age 60. METHODS A total of 7,662 workers who participated in the World Trade Center Health Registry...