Objective-To determine injury patterns and characteristics specific to domestic violence in women who present to the accident and emergency (A&E) department. Design-A retrospective case note review of all female assaults over a one year period. The subjects were women who disclosed that their injuries were due to assaults by either a current or a previous male partner. Identification of markers would be important in alerting clinicians to the possibility of domestic violence, as it is known that many cases are not disclosed,4 5 9 and that attacks tend to be repeated with both increasing frequency and severity.9 [15][16][17] The study examines female assaults, comparing assaults due to domestic violence with a control group of women who were not injured by domestic violence. MethodsOne year of the A&E department medical and nursing case notes were hand searched by one author (RLS) to identify all female assaults. These were classified into two groups: disclosed domestic violence defined as "an assault by a current or previous male partner" and a control group (assault by a non-family member). All assaults by other relatives/family members were excluded. Other groups were excluded if the assailant had not been documented or was unknown. Patient and control groups were compared for injury and referral patterns. There were no directives to doctors during the study year to look for a history of domestic violence.The A&E department is in an urban setting and does not see patients under the age of 13. Statistical analysis was performed with Epi-Info using a X2 test.

No abstract

Objective-To determine if the 8 cm upper limit for mediastinal width applies in the trauma setting of today. To define the upper limit of normal mediastinal width for supine chest films. Methods-A retrospective review of chest computed tomography scans was conducted to determine the width and position of the mediastinum within the supine chest. Radiographs were performed using a model that enabled the degree of mediastinal magnification to be ascertained in a variety of clinical settings. Results-The

Emerg Med 1998;15:102-104)

A study of wear properties of hip-replacement materials, namely high-nitrogen stainless-steel femoral heads and ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE), was conducted in a non-conforming apparatus using various liquid lubricants. The liquids used were normal saline solution, sodium azide solution, pure ethanol, aqueous hyaluronic acid and aqueous hyaluronic acid/cholesterol and cholesterol palmitate liquid crystal lubricant. Saline solution proved to be unsuitable as a lubricant while sodium azide that was used as a bactericide provided some evidence of mixed lubrication. A bactericide was included to overcome degradation. The aqueous hyaluronic acid exhibited cushion form lubrication as evidenced by retention of the original polymer surface features within the wear indent. Cholesterol addition showed little improvement on the wear properties but massively increased the bacterial activity. Again, inclusion of a bactericide was necessary. Liquid crystal lubricant significantly reduced wear and the atomic force microscope (AFM) showed that the liquid crystal formed protective layers on the counter face surfaces. The sub-surface of the polymer possessed plastic creep under load but low adhesive wear was present. There also was an absence of sub-micron polymer debris. It was concluded that a dramatic reduction in wear could be achieved by incorporation of liquid crystal lubricant in hip-replacement elements. 