EDITORIAL A new y e a r w ith its hopes and expectations has com e a round again. W ill w e as physiotherapists be a ble to m ake a c o n tribution to the global goal o f h ealth fo r all by y e a r 2000, and a re we doing enough to p re p a re ourselves a nd fu tu re physiotherapists fo r the different role o u r profession will probably play in th e new S outh A frica? L et us be proactive and decide w hat will be necessary to m eet future challenges b efore som eone else decides on o u r role. A t a tim e w hen th e g reenhouse effect a nd pollution o f o u r planet is o f c oncern to everyone, physiotherapists m ust realise th at they too may need to m ake a con trib u tio n to improve the w orld's health. In th e article by E sterhuyse a nd Irw in -C am ith ers the effect o f a tm o s­ p heric dioxide and n itra te gases on th e respiratory system is investi­ gated. T h e a u th o rs found a decrease in the lung function o f children teste d d u e to th e pollution, and have suggested th at the acceptable lim its f o r a tm o s p h e r ic S O 2 a n d N O 2 n e e d t o b e r e d e f in e d . A s physiotherapists we d o n eed to becom e involved and lobby fo r a cle an e r environm ent to which o u r p atien ts m ust re tu rn w hen d is­ charged from o u r care. In o rd e r to m eet th e challenges o f first contact physiotherapists we n eed to give even g re a te r a tte n tio n to th e assessm ent o f o u r patients. It is im portant to find a n objective m ethod o f assessing especially in th e field o f neurology w here m any o f o u r evaluation techniques are subjective and n ot always reliable. In the study by M orton e t al the a u th o rs a nd selected physiotherapists experienced in the field viewed video recordings m ade o f c ere b ral palsy children w ho had undergone selective p o ste rio r rhizotom y. T hey found th a t it was n ot possible to objectively assess these children using video recordings which w ere not standardised and have recom m ended a form at to be used when making such recordings in the future. In the article by van d e r M erw e et al the safety and efficacy of ultrasound therapy is discussed. In th e experim ent undertaken it was found th a t energy distribution o f ultrasound is not c o nstant and the high spatial intensities within the beam may cause dam age to the pa tie n ts’ tissues. B ecause the effective radiating a rea (E R A ) which was m easured by the a u th o rs was consistently higher than the E R A rated by the m anufacturers, it is im p o rta n t to be aw are o f the dangers th a t could be associated with u ltrasound therapy, a m odality which is com m only used by physiotherapists. It behoves all o f us to e n su re th a t n ot only d o we tre a t o u r patients effectively but we m ust also use reliable and valid m ethods o f assess­ m ent before and a fte r trea tm e n ts. T he m odalities that we use must be safe and correctly applied and w hen o u r p atien ts a re ready for discharge we m ust a tte m p t to m ake su re th at they will b e a ble to cope in th eir com m unities to which they return. AN EVALUATION OF THE LUNG FUNCTION OF EIGHT TO TWELVE YEAR OLQ CHILDREN LIVING IN TABLE VIEW, CAPE TOWN W J Esterhuyse, B Sc (Physio), Lecturer, University of Stellenbosch S H Irwin-Carruthers, M Sc (Physio), Senior Lecturer, University of Stellenbosch ABSTRACT Two groups of twenty children between the ages of 8 and 12 years, who lived in areas near the petrochemical complex in Table View, were studied to ascertain the prevalence of respiratory disease. A random sample of 15children from each group was subjected to lung function testing using the ELF. Results showed a higher incidence of respiratory disease in the group living closer to the petrochemical complex, but the sample was too small to show any statistical signi­ ficance. There was no difference in lung function test results between the two groups, but both groups demonstrated lower values than the predicted norms for their age, weight and height. OPSOMMING Twee groepe, elk bestaande uit twintig kinders tussen die ouder- dom m e van 8 en 12 jaar wat woonagtig is in die omgewing van die petrochemiese aanleg in Table View, is ondersoek om die voorkoms van longsiektes te bevestig. 'n Ewekansige steekproef van 15 kinders uit elke groep is onderwerp aan longfunksietoetse met the ELF. Die groep w at nader aan die petrochemiese aanleg gewoon het, het 'n hoer voorkoms van longsiektes getoon, maar die steekproef was te klein om statistiese beduidenheid te toon. Daar is geen verskil in longfunksies tussen die twee groepe bewys nie, maar beide groepe het wel laer waardes as die verwagte norme in verhouding tot die onderskeie ouderdom, gewig en lengte bereik. INTRODUCTION D uring the last decade th e re has been an increasing aw areness of environm ental pollution and, in particular, o f the effects o f pollution on m an’s health and his c o ntinued existence. In the C ape Peninsula this problem is as pressing as elsew here. If o n e drives in the direction o f T able View and B loubergstrand th ere is always a visible cloud o f gaseous sm oke which varies in degree and shifts in position according to the wind direction. T hese gasses o rig ­ inate in the petrochem ical industries in this area. M any children in the T able View, E dgem ead and Bothasig a rea undergo daily expo­ su re to the su lp h u r dioxide (S O 2), ozone (O 3) and n itra te (N O 2) gases p ro d u c ed .1 Physiotherapists and medical d o c to rs practising in these areas confirm th at local in h abitants to o a re c o ncerned a b o u t th e potential th rea t to th eir health caused by these p o llu ta n ts.1 A t the request o f local au th o ritie s and the D e p a rtm e n t o f H ealth, the CS1R conducted an epidem iological study during 1983, in which they investigated the effects o f air-pollution on the m ortality and m orbidity o f local in h ab i­ tants, with specific referen ce to respiratory problem s. N o statistically significant evidence o f increased m ortality was found in th e ex­ perim ental area. M orbidity was assessed by m eans o f notification o f respiratory diseases, com pletion o f qu estio n n aires and self-evalu- atio n o f th eir sym ptom s by previously identified bronchitis sufferers. An increased incidence o f re sp irato ry problem s was re p o rte d by people living in the experim ental area. In 1988 the D e p artm en t o f Physiotherapy, U niversity o f Stellen­ bosch, conducted a follow-up study aim ed at obtaining m ore o b jec ­ * This article is based upon a group study performed by the following final year students at the University o f Stellenbosch: C Ferreira, L Fourie, N Jooste, D Olwage, E Relief E Sassenberg, C van der Westhuizen, K van Niekerk, R Vos B Sc (Physio) University o f Stellenbosch, 1988. Submitted February 1991, corrections received November 1991. Bladsy 2 Fisioterapie. Februarie 1992, dee/ 48 no 1 R ep ro du ce d by S ab in et G at ew ay u nd er li ce nc e gr an te d by th e P ub lis he r (d at ed 2 01 3. )