Irish journal of medical science
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To assess the long-term stability of caloric testing in patients. ⋯ The stability of caloric testing with repeated testing over long terms is not reliable.
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Identifying the non-survived patients' characteristics compared to survived subjects and introducing the critical risk factors of COVID-19 mortality would help enhance patients' prognosis and treatment. ⋯ The present findings demonstrated that obesity, higher levels of CRP, blood sugar, D-dimer, and lipid markers were likely to be predictive factors of COVID-19-related mortality odds.
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Cataract surgery represents a significant workload for ophthalmologists in Ireland. Post-operative shared care with community optometrists can reduce the need for hospital follow-up appointments. ⋯ Community optometrist-led post-operative care for uncomplicated patients is an effective way of reducing the workload associated with cataract surgery. Re-referral pathways must be in place to facilitate timely management of post-operative complications.
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The difficult airway involves the complex interaction between patient factors, the clinical setting and the practitioner's skills (Apfelbaum in Anesthesiology 118(2):251-70, 2013 and Mark et al. in Anesth Analg 121(1):127-139, 2015). It can also be a result of preparedness and system failures. ⋯ We believe that these findings may aid institutions in establishing a difficult airway protocol or refining existing airway code workflows. Institutional board approval was granted for medical record review.
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The Covid-19 pandemic has caused worldwide upheaval from early 2020. Trauma and orthopaedic services are no different. A fundamentally important and significant portion of trauma services is the treatment of fragility fractures of the proximal femur, otherwise known as hip fractures. The hip fracture "Blue book Standards", the key performance indicators (KPIs) associated with appropriate hip fracture care are challenging during non-crisis times. We aim to review Blue Book compliance during the Covid-19 crisis and review outcomes of hip fractures, including Covid-19 infection rates. ⋯ Despite improvements in hip fracture care KPIs, the Covid-19 crisis was associated with increased 30-day mortality in hip fracture patients. A positive Covid-19 swab was associated with higher mortality. These observations are of paramount importance to ensure adequate service planning and provision in the face of a potential "second wave" of Covid-19 infections leading into the winter months of 2020.