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This study assessed the presence, amount, and sensitivity of personally identifiable information and personal health information found in hospital recycling bins in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

ContextTo compare family physicians' ability to retain information when reading a review article on paper vs on screen, and in their mother tongue vs in English.MethodsRandomized trial of 114 Scandinavian family physicians who read a review article in October or November 2000 from the Journal of Trauma for 10 minutes either on paper and in English, on screen and in English, on paper in their mother tongue, or on screen in their mother tongue. To assess comprehension, they immediately completed a questionnaire with 6 open questions about 13 key facts from the review article. Sum score was on a scale from 0 (no correct answers) to 13 points (all questions answered correctly).ResultsThere was no significant difference between readers of paper vs screen versions, with a median (interquartile range [IQR]) of 4 (2-6) vs 4 (2-5), respectively (P = .97). Physicians who read in their mother tongue scored significantly higher than those who read in English, with a median (IQR) of 4 (3-6) vs 3 (2-4) (P = .01).ConclusionThe medium (paper vs screen) did not influence the ability of family physicians to retain medical information. They best retained medical information when reading in their mother tongue.

Human exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) has been associated with adverse health outcomes, including reproductive function in adults1 and neurodevelopment in children exposed perinatally.2 Exposure to BPA is primarily through dietary ingestion, including consumption of canned foods.3 A less-studied source of exposure is thermal receipt paper,4 handled daily by many people at supermarkets, ATM machines, gas stations, and other settings. We hypothesized that handling of thermal receipts significantly increases BPA exposure, but use of gloves during handling minimizes exposure.

A 27-year-old woman experienced pruritus, eye and throat irritation, hoarseness, shortness of breath, and fatigue within half and hour of exposure to carbonless copy paper. On two separate occasions, she was purposely challenged in a controlled-blinded fashion with portions of the carbonless copy paper. This resulted on both occasions in contact urticaria of the hand that held the paper and changes in pulmonary function flow-volume loops characteristic of upper airway obstruction. To determine if alterations in prostaglandin (PG) metabolism might explain these findings, plasma PGF2 alpha and thromboxane B2 (both capable of causing these symptoms) were measured before and during the second exposure period. Both PGF2 alpha and thromboxane B2 increased substantially. We conclude that the cutaneous and respiratory symptoms induced by carbonless copy paper were probably related to PG release.

Proteinuria, edema, and an increase in the diastolic pressure, which occurs in the latter months of pregnancy, are well-established indications of preeclampsia. Of these findings, consistent proteinuria is considered most important because it is usually detectable before other signs of preeclampsia appear and because the quantity of protein excreted generally parallels the severity of the condition. Success in the management of the preeclamptic patient is markedly enhanced by its earliest possible diagnosis. Consequently, it is clinically essential to test for proteinuria frequently. It is our routine practice to see all uncomplicated obstetrical patients in the office or the clinic at monthly intervals during the first two trimesters, every three weeks during the seventh month, every two weeks during the eighth month, and weekly during the final month. Testing for proteinuria during these visits is done routinely. However, patients do develop toxemia, sometimes to a marked degree, between visits. For about

A glucose-specific test paper which is sufficiently sensitive to react with the small amounts of glucose present in urine from normal persons in the fasting state can be used to discriminate between urine samples containing more than and those containing less than 1 to 1.5 mg of glucose per 100 ml of urine. This provides a screening method for significant bacteriuria in an apparently healthy population since urine samples, obtained under standardized conditions from subjects in the fasting state with such bacteriuria, contain either very little or no glucose.