Irish journal of medical science
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Abnormal cholesterol profiles are a major risk factor for cardiovascular disease and severe triglyceride disorders cause life threatening pancreatitis. Identification and treatment of these disorders are essential. ⋯ There are very limited resources available to manage lipid problems in the republic of Ireland relative to the under-resourced UK. Most services rely on interested physicians but ancillary resources are lacking. Where services are available, all drug treatments are utilised.
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This study aimed to investigate the occurrence and predictive factors of restenosis in coronary heart disease (CHD) patients underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with sirolimus-eluting stent (SES). ⋯ Our findings provide a new insight into the prediction for restenosis in CHD patients underwent PCI with SES.
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A significant proportion of patients presenting to the Emergency Department with gastrointestinal symptoms that result in cross-sectional imaging receive a radiological diagnosis of colitis. We aimed to review the characteristics, outcomes, and final diagnoses of new emergency department presentations with colitis diagnosed on cross-sectional imaging. ⋯ Patients presenting to the Emergency Department with a colitis, requiring an abdominal CT are a heterogenous group with a proportion having concomitant intra-abdominal pathology resulting in critical illness. Hence their is a significant morbidity and mortality observed in this cohort which should not be extrapolated to a general population of patients presenting with colitis. In this cohort of patients, anaemia, hypoalbuminaemia, and elevated lactate in patients presenting to the ED with acute colitis are significantly associated with adverse outcomes. Early recognition of these prognostic factors may identify the cohort of patients who are best managed in a high-dependency setting.
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Acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (AMKL) is a subtype of myeloid leukaemia and is the most common leukaemia type in children with Down syndrome (DS) under 4 years of age. AMKL is often preceded by a transient neonatal pre-leukaemic syndrome, transient myeloproliferative disorder (TMD). Although TMD often spontaneously resolves, 20-30% of these patients subsequently develop AMKL within the first 4 years of life. ⋯ High cure rates are observed in AMKL-DS using current polychemotherapy protocols. The finding of a low platelet count at time of diagnosis is in keeping with the knowledge that AMKL-DS is a malignancy of platelet progenitor cells.
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Historical Article
Irish Medical Organisation Doolin Memorial Lecture 2019: rhetoric and reality in mental health-Ireland and the world.
This Doolin Memorial Lecture presents six suggestions for positive change in Ireland's mental health services, focused on legislation and rights: (a) revision of the Mental Health Act 2001 in line with existing recommendations, to better protect and promote a broad range of rights, including rights to treatment and liberty (which are related); (b) enhanced forensic mental health care to better protect and promote both treatment and liberty in this population; (c) prompt full implementation of the Public Health (Alcohol) Act 2018 to reduce alcohol-related harm and the opportunity cost of alcohol problems in the health service; (d) implementation of the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act 2015 to provide decision-making supports to the 29.4% of medical/surgical inpatients and 52.6% of psychiatry inpatients who lack full decision-making capacity for treatment decisions; (e) judicious medicalisation of our response to individual cannabis use (although legalisation is not advised); and (f) enhanced recognition of the social rights of the mentally ill, especially the right to housing. Attention to these areas would improve the quality of life and quality of liberty of people with mental illness and their families. ⋯ Enhanced attention to these areas would also help advance Ireland's national mental health policy, "A Vision for Change", which has yet to be implemented in full. That, too, would help.