SummaryWith the current prevalence of obesity and trends in ethnic diversity amongst parturients in UK maternity units, we performed a prospective, observational study to establish the effect of ethnicity and body mass index on the distance from skin to epidural space in parturients. A total of 1210 parturients participated in this study. The mean (SD) distance from skin to lumbar epidural space was 5.4 (1.1) cm. When tested in a multiple regression model, both body mass index and ethnicity significantly influenced the distance from skin to lumbar epidural space in parturients. The distance from skin to lumbar epidural space amongst ethnic groups differed at any given body mass index. It was significantly greater in Black ⁄ British Black and White parturients compared with their Asian and Chinese counterparts.

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Summary With the current prevalence of obesity and trends in ethnic diversity amongst parturients in UK maternity units, we performed a prospective, observational study to establish the effect of ethnicity and body mass index on the distance from skin to epidural space in parturients. A total of 1210 parturients participated in this study. The mean (SD) distance from skin to lumbar epidural space was 5.4 (1.1) cm. When tested in a multiple regression model, both body mass index and ethnicity significantly influenced the distance from skin to lumbar epidural space in parturients. The distance from skin to lumbar epidural space amongst ethnic groups differed at any given body mass index. It was significantly greater in Black/British Black and White parturients compared with their Asian and Chinese counterparts. You can respond to this article at http://www.anaesthesiacorrespondence.com

Objective: To investigate the effect of token economy-a behaviour therapy technique for controlling drooling in children with cerebral palsy associated with mild intellectual disability. Methodology: A total number of 25 children with cerebral palsy associated with mild intellectual disability attending the occupational therapy department of Swami Vivekanand National Institute of Rehabilitation Training and Research (SVNIRTAR), Orissa, India, participated in a single blind randomized pre-and post-test control group training study. Subjects were randomly allocated to group A (experimental n=12) and group B (control n=13). Baseline frequency of drooling was observed by two independent raters for 20 minutes for both the groups. After the baseline data collection, subjects in group A received conventional therapy along with behaviour therapy (token economy) and group B received conventional therapy alone. Results: The result showed that there was a significant decrease in frequency of drooling after application of token economy as a behaviour modification technique in the experimental group (P=0.001) as compared to the control group (P=0.070). Conclusion: The result of the study demonstrated that the token economy program was effective in controlling drooling in children with cerebral palsy associated with mild intellectual disability.