A population-based British cohort study, including ϳ6% of the population, was used to derive age-and sex-specific incidence rates of fractures during childhood. Fractures were more common among boys than girls, with peak incidences at 14 and 11 years of age, respectively. At childhood peak, incidence rates were only surpassed later in life at 85 years of age among women and never among men. Introduction:Fractures account for 25% of accidents and injuries in childhood; however, the descriptive epidemiology of childhood fractures remains uncertain. Materials and Methods: Age-and sex-specific incidence rates for fractures at various skeletal sites were derived from the General Practice Research Database (a population-based British cohort containing computerized medical records of ϳ7,000,000 residents) between 1988 and 1998. Results: A total of 52,624 boys and 31,505 girls sustained one or more fractures over the follow-up period, for a rate of 133.1/10,000 person-years. Fractures were more common in boys (161.6/10,000 person-years) than girls (102.9/ 10,000 person-years). The most common fracture in both sexes was that of the radius/ulna (30%). Fracture incidence was greater among boys than girls at all ages, with the peak incidence at 14 years of age among boys and 11 years of age among girls. Marked geographic variation was observed in standardized fracture incidence, with significantly (p Ͻ 0.01) higher rates observed in Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland compared with southeast England. Conclusions: Fractures are a common problem in childhood, with around one-third of boys and girls sustaining at least one fracture before 17 years of age. Rates are higher among boys than girls, and male incidence rates peak later than those among females. At their childhood peak, the incidence of fractures (boys, 3%; girls, 1.5%) is only surpassed at 85 years of age among women and never among men. The most common site affected in both genders is the radius/ulna. Studies to clarify the pathogenesis of these fractures, emphasizing bone fragility, are now required.

The driving performance is easily impaired as a consequence of the use of alcohol and/or licit and illicit drugs. However, the role of drugs other than alcohol in motor vehicle accidents has not been well established. The objective of this study was to estimate the association between psychoactive drug use and motor vehicle accidents requiring hospitalisation. A prospective observational case-control study was conducted in the Tilburg region of The Netherlands from May 2000 to August 2001. Cases were car or van drivers involved in road crashes needing hospitalisation. Demographic and trauma related data was collected from hospital and ambulance records. Urine and/or blood samples were collected on admission. Controls were drivers recruited at random while driving on public roads. Sampling was conducted by researchers, in close collaboration with the Tilburg police, covering different days of the week and times of the day. Respondents were interviewed and asked for a urine sample. If no urine sample could be collected, a blood sample was requested. All blood and urine samples were tested for alcohol and a number of licit and illicit drugs. The main outcome measures were odds ratios (OR) for injury crash associated with single or multiple use of several drugs by drivers. The risk for road trauma was increased for single use of benzodiazepines (adjusted OR 5.1 (95% Cl: 1.8-14.0)) and alcohol (blood alcohol concentrations of 0.50-0.79 g/l, adjusted OR 5.5 (95% Cl: 1.3-23.2) and >or=0.8 g/l, adjusted OR 15.5 (95% Cl: 7.1-33.9)). High relative risks were estimated for drivers using combinations of drugs (adjusted OR 6.1 (95% Cl: 2.6-14.1)) and those using a combination of drugs and alcohol (OR 112.2 (95% Cl: 14.1-892)). Increased risks, although not statistically significantly, were assessed for drivers using amphetamines, cocaine, or opiates. No increased risk for road trauma was found for drivers exposed to cannabis. The study concludes that drug use, especially alcohol, benzodiazepines and multiple drug use and drug-alcohol combinations, among vehicle drivers increases the risk for a road trauma accident requiring hospitalisation.

Objective. To determine whether patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have an increased risk of fracture, and to estimate their long-term absolute fracture risk.Methods. We studied patients with RA ages >40 years in the British General Practice Research Database, each matched by age, sex, calendar time, and practice to 3 control patients. Incident fractures, as recorded in the computerized medical records, were ascertained over a median followup of 7.6 years. The fracture rate in RA patients compared with controls was adjusted for smoking, body mass index (BMI), and several clinical risk factors, and Cox proportional hazards models were used to calculate the relative risk (RR) of fracture in RA. A risk score was then developed to provide an estimate of the 5-and 10-year fracture risk among RA patients.Results. There were 30,262 patients with RA, of whom 2,460 experienced a fracture during followup. Compared with controls, patients with RA had an increased risk of fracture, which was most marked at the hip (RR 2.0, 95% confidence interval [95% CI] 1.8-2.3) and spine (RR 2.4, 95% CI 2.0-2.8). Indicators of a substantially elevated risk of fracture (at the hip) included >10 years' duration of RA (RR 3.4, 95% CI 3.0-3.9), low BMI (RR 3.9, 95% CI 3.1-4.9), and use of oral glucocorticoids (RR 3.4, 95% CI 3.0-4.0). Modeling of the long-term risk profiles revealed that, for example, in a woman age 65 years with longstanding RA whose risk factors also included low BMI, a history of fracture, and frequent use of oral glucocorticoids, the 5-year risk of hip fracture was 5.7% (95% CI 5.3-6.1%).Conclusion. Patients with RA are at increased risk of osteoporotic fractures. This increased risk is attributable to a combination of disease activity and use of oral glucocorticoids.

Current exposure to quinolones increased the risk of Achilles tendon rupture. The risk is highest among elderly patients who were concomitantly treated with corticosteroids.

British patients with MS have a 3.5-fold increased mortality rate compared with the general population. Smoking and respiratory diseases are major (potentially preventable) factors related to increased mortality rate amongst patients with MS.

The findings illustrate that spontaneous reporting systems have a potential for signal detection and the analysis of possible drug-drug interactions. The method described may enable a more active approach in the detection of drug-drug interactions after marketing.

In general practice, triptan overuse does not increase the risk of ischemic complications. Overuse of ergotamine may increase the risk of these complications, especially in those simultaneously using cardiovascular drugs.

Hospitalizations for ventricular cardiac arrhythmias and cardiac arrest (coded according to ICD-9-CM as paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, ventricular flutter, ventricular premature beats, or cardiac arrest) have a high PPV and are useful for selecting events in epidemiological studies on drug-induced arrhythmias.