Irish journal of medical science
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Asthma is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the airway. Arsenic trioxide (ATO) is an ancient Chinese medicine, which is used to treat psoriasis, asthma, and acute promyelocytic leukemia. ⋯ These data demonstrated that arsenic trioxide can reduce the severity of asthma attacks and induce the apoptosis of CD4+ T cell which the ER stress-CHOP pathway involved.
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Although blood pressure cuffs are commonly used and shared in medical facilities, their routine disinfection is performed infrequently. ⋯ Blood pressure cuffs are frequently contaminated by MRSA.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Comparative Study
Ventilator-associated pneumonia in patients using HME filters and heated humidifiers.
Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) is a clinical form of hospital-associated pneumonia, which may develop within 48 h in patients on mechanical ventilation who had no pre-existing pneumonia at the time of intubation. ⋯ There were no significant differences between the groups on HME filters and heated humidifiers in terms of infection development; although pulmonary radiography showed delayed average days to infiltration development for subjects using HME filters.
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Stress and burnout are common among doctors. Excess levels of stress have been shown to have detrimental personal and professional effects as well as a negative influence on patient care. ⋯ Burnout is reported among interns in our pilot study. Measures need to be taken to heighten awareness of burnout among doctors and to educate physicians regarding self-awareness and personal health.
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The Laboratory modernisation process in Ireland will include point of care testing (POCT) as one of its central tenets. However, a previous baseline survey showed that POCT was under-resourced particularly with respect to information technology (IT) and staffing. ⋯ Point of care testing remains under-resourced, despite the roll out of such devices throughout the health service including primary care. The present high standards of laboratory medicine may not be maintained if the quality and cost-effectiveness of POCT is not controlled. Adherence to national Guidelines and adequate resourcing is essential to ensure patient safety.