A 48-year-old woman developed QT prolongation and episodes of life-threatening ventricular tachycardia (torsades de pointes) after intentional overdose of haloperidol and orphenadrine. The arrhythmia did not respond to conventional anti-arrhythmic therapy but was suppressed by atrial overdrive pacing. A literature review identified haloperidol as the most likely cause of the torsades de pointes.
Abstract. Four
IntroductionThere is substantial evidence that psychological distress is related to physician utilization.' However, less is known about the conditions that affect that relationship, such as whether there is a threshold level of distress which must be reached before utilization is affected, and whether certain kinds of stress situations are more likely to lead to increased utilization than others. The crisis at Three Mile Island (TMI) in March and April of 1979* and related events during the following year provide an opportunity to study such questions. Four studies of physician utilization in the vicinity of TMI during the year following the crisis are summarized in this article.Two facts about the TMI crisis provide context for the studies reported here. First, the releases of radiation during the crisis were quite small** and, therefore, very unlikely to have any measurable physical health impact on the population. Second, levels of distress, as evidenced by both attitudinal concern and symptom reporting, were reported among persons living in the immediate vicinity of TMI for at least a year following the crisis.3-5 These long-term distress levels near TMI were in the "high normal" rather than "pathological" range as indicated by Symptom Check List 90 scores.4t5 The question addressed in the studies reported here was whether these persistent, low levels of psychological distress resulted in increased utilization of primary care physicians (family practitioners, pediatricians, obstetricians, and internists) by persons in the immediate vicinity of TMI.
Balloon dilatation as first line treatment for severe stenosis of the aortic valve in early infancy53 13 Lopez L, Golan SD, Rhodes I-A, et al. Differential survival after surgical or balloon valvotomy for critical aortic stenosis in infants [abstract].
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations –citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.