Irish journal of medical science
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Frailty is a clinical syndrome characterized by a decrease in strength, resistance and body physiological condition, making the individual more vulnerable, and increasing his/her risk of dependence and death. Kidney transplant (KT) is currently the best end-stage renal disease therapeutic alternative for certain individuals. Frailty status occurs in approximately 20% of KT patients. Thus, it was evaluated if there would be any change in frailty status level in a population of adult patients on chronic HD after receiving KT. ⋯ A significant improvement was found between pre- and post-transplant clinical frailty scores in hemodialysis adult patients.
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Cystic hygroma (CH) is a benign congenital lymphatic malformation, occurring predominantly in children, typically as an asymptomatic neck mass. Surgical resection or sclerotherapy is the recommended treatment options. A retrospective review of four cases of adult-onset CH was performed over 2 years by a single surgeon across two institutions. ⋯ As of yet, there are no guidelines on the management of CH. Individualised care tailored to each patient, following careful discussion is the most prudent approach. This study demonstrates that surgical resection is a safe and effective treatment for adults in this rarely encountered clinical entity.
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To provide safe and effective patient care, records must be kept in a high-quality manner. Clinical audits should be conducted on a frequent basis to ensure that high standards of record-keeping are upheld. An audit and re-audit of the surgical inpatient records' documentation were conducted as part of a retrospective, descriptive study to see if it aligns with the hospital's stated policy. ⋯ Record-keeping must be considered as an integral part of medical practice; current documentation work demonstrates that when performed appropriately, audit can actually affect the quality of clinical records. The audit itself can increase awareness of the need for practice improvement. The distribution of findings, instruction, training, and local action planning are all essential for developing practice.
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Review Case Reports
This infant is having a stroke: an illustrative case report.
Paediatric stroke is a rare event, and timely intervention is required to minimise long-term disability, reduced quality of life and financial implications. Although reperfusion strategies such as thrombolysis and thrombectomy are now well established in the adult population, and paediatric consensus guidelines allow for reperfusion therapies in children, access is currently limited due to diagnostic delays. This challenge is partly due to the rarity of presentation, infrastructure and public awareness to support early diagnosis as exists in the adult setting. We use an illustrative case and literature to describe an achieved case of paediatric stroke within an Irish setting. ⋯ Paediatric stroke care should be available to all children presenting with acute stroke symptoms; however, the rarity of the diagnosis would suggest a national strategy will be required to provide equitable care at a national level.