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Neonatal intensive care unit survivors (N = 494) from 10 tertiary care centers were evaluated over the first 4 to 5 years of life to determine the relative contributions of birth weight and sociodemographic factors to mental development. Six sociodemographic factors were studied: sex, race, family income, and mother's marital status, age, and educational level; the last five factors also are known to be associated with premature birth. Mental development was measured with the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (12 to 24 months) and the Stanford Binet Intelligence Test (4 to 5 years). Each factor's influence was assessed by multivariate analysis. Birth weight had limited long-term implications; at 4 to 5 years, only infants with birth weights less than 1000 gm had significantly lower scores than those in other birth weight categories. Sociodemographic variables had a greater impact on mental development, with age-dependent differences found between nonwhite and white children and between children with mothers of low, medium, and high educational levels.

The effect of an intravenous bolus of 25 mg of conjugated estrogen (Premarin) on vaginal blood flow in seven surgically menopausal women was measured by a thermal conductance probe. Electrical power (0.8 W) was supplied to a resistance wire incorporated in the surface of the probe, and its surface temperature was monitored continuously for 30 minutes six times daily for 3 days. The mean temperature difference (delta T) between the heated probe surface and the vagina remained unchanged during a preinjection control day. While there were individual differences in response, analysis of mean delta T during the first day following the injection of the estrogen revealed a significant linear downward trend at delta T, indicating a rise in vaginal blood flow. Delta T plateaued on day 2 and showed a slight rise in the morning of day 3. It may be concluded that estrogen administered in this dose and form markedly increases vaginal blood flow.

A prospective investigation was initiated to assess the effect of a low-dose oral contraceptive containing 35 μg of ethinyl estradiol and 0.4 mg of norethindrone on blood coagulation and fibrinolysis. Twenty-four women were studied before, during, and after one year of treatment. Positive results included an accelerated activated partial thromboplastin time and an increase in fibrinolytic and anticoagulation factors as measured by α 1 -antitrypsin antigen and plasminogen antigen and activity. Antithrombin III antigen was decreased but its activity was unaffected. There was no evidence of ongoing intravascular coagulation. No patient had a detectable thromboembolic event. In short, one year's usage of this low-dose oral contraceptive was not associated with a procoagulant hematologic profile.

Survival for low-birth-weight infants has traditionally been analyzed by birth weight categories spanning considerable ranges of weight. We developed a finer description of survival rates to allow estimation of survival percentages for infants of any specific birth weight between 500 and 2500 gm. Our sample consisted of 16,183 infants treated in tertiary neonatal intensive care between 1980 and 1987. Their survival data were analyzed by 50 gm increments between 500 and 2500 gm, and a continuous survival curve was constructed by log linear regression methods. Mortality differences between males and females and blacks and whites were analyzed. Survival for females was higher than males between 500 and 1500 gm and higher for blacks than whites between 650 and 1500 gm. Between 1500 and 2500 gm, no significant effects of birth weight, race, or sex were observed, with survival remaining stable at approximately 95% across all combinations of variables.