Irish journal of medical science
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Biography Historical Article
Sir William Wilde and provision for the blind in nineteenth-century Ireland.
As Assistant Commissioner for the Census of Ireland Sir William Wilde worked as an early epidemiologist, providing information regarding the deaf-and-dumb and the blind in mid-nineteenth-century Ireland. As a social agitator he focussed the attention of the authorities to the plight of the blind and their inability to earn a living and support themselves. This paper highlights his contribution to the provision for the blind in Ireland.
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Low bone mineral density (BMD) is common in older people with stroke, particularly in the paretic limb. Younger people with acquired brain injury (ABI), of all causes, are at increased risk of low BMD. ⋯ Osteopenia and osteoporosis are common in young adults with ABI compared with the general population. Bone heath monitoring should form part of the long-term follow-up of this patient group.
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Adjuvant endocrine therapy for at least 5 years improves oncological outcomes in oestrogen receptor-positive breast cancer. Adherence rates to prescribed endocrine therapy are low and the search for modifiable causes of this continues. The aim of this study was to assess adherence rates in an Irish cohort of breast cancer patients prescribed adjuvant endocrine therapy and to assess modifiable factors associated with suboptimal adherence. ⋯ Endocrine therapy adherence is suboptimal in almost one-third of patients in our cohort. Appropriate assessment and management of side effects and negative emotions, combined with direction of patients to accurate internet sources of information, could help improve endocrine therapy adherence in women with early-stage breast cancer.
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Historical Article
Chairman's opening address at the Sir William Wilde Bi-Centenary Symposium.
The opening address by Professor T Clive Lee at the William Wilde Bi-Centenary Symposium, hosted by the Royal Academy of Medicine in Ireland, History of Medicine Section on 6 May 2015.
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Posterior spinal instrumentation and fusion for correction of adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) typically requires lengthy operating time and may be associated with significant blood loss and subsequent transfusion. This study aimed to identify factors predictive of duration of surgery, intraoperative blood loss and transfusion requirements in an Irish AIS cohort. ⋯ Larger preoperative curve magnitudes in AIS increase operative time and intraoperative blood loss; preoperative Cobb angles greater than 70(o) and intraoperative blood loss greater than 1400 ml are predictive of red blood cell transfusion requirement in this patient group.