Paratyphoid blamed on Ulster: a nursing odyssey.
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SUMMARY: The aim of the Modicum mission from the United States was to determine the fate of the Western World, the Second Front and the Manhattan Project plans for development of atomic weapons. The Modicum mission was appointed in March 1942 by Franklin Delano Roosevelt as President and Commander-in-Chief of the US forces. The journey via the Anglican Cathedral in Bermuda, to Gander, to London, to Ulster was eventful. There was a clay-pigeon shooting contest in Gander. Generals Marshall, Eisenhower, Clark and Averell Harriman were outshot by their pilot. In Ulster, an escorting US sergeant killed a Londonderry bus driver with three shots. At a house party requested by King George VI and General Marshall, at Ashbrook, Ardmore, near Londonderry, it is alleged Averell Harriman was poisoned with Salmonella schottmulleri. He was delirious and 'gravely ill' for three weeks at 3 Grosvenor Square next to the American Embassy. He subsequently married his "other nurse", Pamela. Ambassador Pamela Churchill Harriman, a long-time ardent supporter of the Clintons, died in February 1997 following a stroke. (+info)
The development of cardiac surgery in an emerging country: a completed project.
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The necessity to develop cardiac surgery centers in the emerging world is widely accepted. Numerous groups and organizations from the developed world are involved in such work; however, the best method in which to develop a sustainable center in the emerging world is still debated. Herein, we present an approach that we have used in several such projects, which involves regular and frequent instructional visits with progressive reduction of our instructional support. Data to support our approach are presented. (+info)
Utility of portable ultrasound in a community in Ghana.
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OBJECTIVE: In many developing countries, access to medical imaging is limited by availability of resources. Portable ultrasound shows great promise to meet the needs in these countries because it is transportable and relatively inexpensive, and it has a wide range of applications. As part of the Ghana Health Mission, Sekondi-Takoradi, Ghana, we explored the utility of ultrasound in primary care and hospital settings during March 2004. Our objective was to evaluate the clinical utility of a portable ultrasound machine in a variety of physical conditions and multiple clinical scenarios. METHODS: Ultrasound examinations were performed at 2 primary care sites and 2 hospitals using a portable ultrasound machine with linear and curved linear phased array transducers. Most ultrasound examinations were musculoskeletal, with the remainder being obstetric, pelvic, breast, vascular, abdominal, and genitourinary examinations. RESULTS: In clinic settings, musculoskeletal ultrasound represented 46% (16) of the ultrasound examinations performed, and 29% (10) of the cases were a combination of abdominal, pelvic, and genitourinary examinations. In hospital settings, abdominal, pelvic, and genitourinary ultrasound examinations combined were 56% (18), and musculoskeletal was 41% (13). Of the 67 ultrasound examinations performed, 81% (54) showed abnormal findings, 81% (54) were considered to add to the clinical diagnosis, and 40% (27) influenced medical care for the patients. CONCLUSIONS: This experience shows the usefulness of portable ultrasound examinations performed by a skilled radiologist in a clinical setting in Ghana; the challenge is to address how to best incorporate ultrasound into the current practice of medical professionals in developing countries. (+info)
Educational, personal, and cultural attributes of dental students' humanitarian trips to Latin America.
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This article evaluates the educational, personal, and cultural attributes that motivate or inhibit dental students' participation in humanitarian and educational trips to underserved communities in Latin America. Interviews, concentrating on students' expectations and experiences, were conducted with students who participated in the trips and with those who did not. A survey of a larger group of students (including those interviewed) was also conducted; the survey included demographic data, ethnic affiliation, cultural competence, motivators and inhibitors to attend trips, and trip attributes. One hundred and seventy-four students at one dental school completed the survey; the group interviews were conducted with twenty-three students who attended humanitarian and educational trips and nine students who did not. This research found that skill development, educational opportunity, and philanthropy were the most important motivators for trip participation. Cost and time commitments were the strongest inhibitors to participate. Exposure to infectious diseases, substandard working and living conditions, threat of crime, and language barriers were mostly considered as "not important." However, female dental students were more concerned than males about crime, living conditions, and infectious diseases during the trips. Cultural education, increased knowledge, cross-cultural professional relationships, increased self-confidence, and public health awareness were the most important attributes of the trips. This study indicates that the undergraduate humanitarian educational trips to underserved Latin American communities have a most significant personal, professional, and social impact on dental students. (+info)
The early years of Toxoplasma research: What's past is prologue.
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Treatment of congenital anomalies in a missionary hospital in Bangladesh: results of 17 paediatric surgical missions.
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BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: We report 17 years of experience in a missionary hospital with decreased facilities in Bangladesh. Our interest was directed at children with congenital malformations since they live in a society where the exclusion of abnormal children is common. A better treatment for these children offers them a better future. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Bangladesh is among the most densely populated countries in the world: its population ranges from 142 to 159 million, and it is one of the poorest nations in the world. From 1991 to 2008 our Italian pediatric surgical team performed 17 5 weeks missions in a missionary hospital in Khulna, Bangladesh, during the months of January and February. RESULTS: A total of 1556 patients underwent surgery, mostly for severe congenital anomalies. The infection rates were very low: 2-3%; the mortality rate was 0.4% for all the operations. CONCLUSIONS: Good pre-operative preparation and assistance, assurance of cyclical follow-up and a trained surgical team allowed the successful treatment of complex malformations in a missionary hospital with modest services. (+info)