Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0012833 (dizziness)
 9,689 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Deliberate self-harm is an important problem in the developing world. Ingestion of yellow oleander seeds (Thevetia peruviana) has recently become a popular method of self-harm in northern Sri Lanka -- there are now thousands of cases each year. These seeds contain cardiac glycosides that cause vomiting, dizziness, and cardiac dysrhythmias such as conduction block affecting the sinus and AV nodes. This paper reports a study of the condition's mortality and morbidity conducted in 1995 in Anuradhapura General Hospital, a secondary referral centre serving 750 000 people in Sri Lanka's north central province. 415 cases were admitted to the hospital during 11 months; 61% were women and 46% were less than 21 years old. A prospective study of 79 patients showed that 6% died soon after admission. 43% presented with marked cardiac dysrhythmias which necessitated ther transfer to the coronary care unit in Colombo for prophylactic temporary cardiac pacing. The reasons for the acts of self-harm were often relatively trivial, particularly in children; most denied that they wished to die. Unfortunately, the case fatality rate for oleander poisoning in Sri Lanka is at least 10%. This epidemic is not only causing many unnecessary deaths, it is also putting immense stress on the already stretched Sri Lankan health services. There is an urgent need for an intervention which could be used in rural hospitals, thus preventing the hazardous and expensive emergency transfer of patients to the capital.
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PMID:Epidemic of self-poisoning with seeds of the yellow oleander tree (Thevetia peruviana) in northern Sri Lanka. 1035 62

This study presents findings on the socio-demographic and health characteristics, continuation rates, menstrual disturbances, and changes in menstrual patterns as well as other side effects among a sample of 952 1st time acceptors of the injectable contraceptive Depo-Provera during 1978-1980 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. Those continuing to use the method were observed for 24 months. The reasons for discontinuation are discussed based on another study that focused on 321 discontinuers who received Depo-Provera from the same clinic. The overall continuation rates at 12 and 24 months were 58% and 29%, respectively. Relatively older and higher parity women had lower continuation rates than younger and lower parity women. The occurrence of amenorrhea rose sharply foloowing the 1st dose and stabilized such that about 1/3 of those continuing with Depo-Provera became amenorrheic. 1/4 of the women experienced menstrual disturbances such as spotting and irregular bleeding. Other side effects, including vomiting, headache, and dizziness, affected 6% of the women following the 1st dose, but declined gradually over time. Over the course of the observation, 41-66% of the women appeared to gain weight. The 2 primary reasons for discontinuing Depo-Provera were non-medical: 1) the desire to have another child and 2) the decision to be sterilized. The findings suggest that Depo-Provera has played a signinficant role in Sri Lanka in 2 ways: 1) its use has provided desired pregnancy spacing for those who wished to have another child and 2) it has assisted couples by providing them with time (without the fear of pregnancy) to decide to stop having children and then get sterilized.
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PMID:Depo-Provera use in Sri Lanka: acceptor characteristics, continuation and side effects. 1234 Nov 88