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Market research experts participated in a panel discussion focusing on the future of the marketing research practice during the 18th Annual Marketing Research Conference in Orlando, FL, in Sep 1997. The participants came from the corporate field, the academic world and independent research firms. When asked to cite the most pressing issues affecting the market research profession, they mentioned technological innovations, timing of service delivery, customer value, corporate reorganizations and the decentralization of the research function, education of market research students, and customer loyalty. Each of the participants offered recommendations on how market researchers can contribute to the continued viability of their profession beyond the year 2000.

The standard procedure for treatment of stab wounds to the trunk of the body is surgical exploration. This method was introduced during World War II to treat battle injuries, and it has more recently proved effective in treating victims of crime. But since 1960, the use of this approach has been questioned; there are new diagnostic techniques available to assist in evaluating a patient for possible intra-abdominal injury that can allow surgery to be avoided. A policy of mandatory celiotomy (surgical exploration of the abdomen) in patients with truncal stab wounds was evaluated. Exploratory celiotomy was performed on 1,241 patients over a 10-year period. There were 471 patients (38 percent) who were found to have no intra-abdominal injury at the time of celiotomy; this is called a negative finding. Stab wounds to the abdomen involved the lowest rate of negative findings (32 percent) while back wounds produced the highest rate of negative findings (65 percent), therefore exploratory surgery was the least useful in cases of back wounds. Complications developed in 16 of the patients (3 percent) who had negative findings at the time of exploratory surgery, and one patient died. The average length of hospitalization was five days. This was increased if the patient: required operation for another injury, developed complications following surgery, or required another operation. The mandatory celiotomy approach appears to be safe, however 471 of the 1,241 patients who had it had unnecessary surgery. The average cost of the hospital and physician's charges for this procedure has increased by 92 percent over the past 10 years. More conservative management (without exploratory surgery) is much less expensive, however these cost savings might be eliminated by even one case of missed injury and complications, and the financial impact of any litigation in such a case. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Abdominal trauma needs to be detected early in order to reduce morbidity, mortality and hospital costs. If the injury has caused internal bleeding that does not stop on its own, surgery is necessary to arrest the bleeding and repair the injured organs. One method of evaluating abdominal organ injury is the use of diagnostic peritoneal lavage (DPL), in which sterile fluid is introduced into the abdominal cavity and then removed; this lavage fluid is analyzed for evidence of bleeding and injury. Although DPL is highly sensitive (95 to 98 percent) in detecting red blood cells (RBC) in the fluid returned from the abdominal cavity, reliance on RBC count alone results in a rate of unnecessary surgery ranging from 13 to 28 percent. White blood cell (WBC) count in the peritoneal fluid is a more reliable indicator of the need for surgery. This is especially true in identifying hollow visceral injury, which is not easily found using computed tomographic scan or ultrasound study. However, WBC response may give false-negative responses when done early, specifically less than an hour after injury. The timing of the DPL is important; it is suggested that this be performed no earlier than 3 hours after the injury. There must be a protocol established within the laboratory for handling the lavage fluid; if the sample is not properly mixed, a falsely high or low count of blood cells will be obtained. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)