Irish journal of medical science
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Effects of concentrated beetroot juice consumption on glycemic control, blood pressure, and lipid profile in type 2 diabetes patients: randomized clinical trial study.
While the prevalence of type 2 diabetes (T2D) is growing worldwide, dietary intake plays a remarkable role in the management of disease complications. Evidence suggests that beetroot has health-promoting potentials, including anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antidiabetic properties. Therefore, the present clinical trial aimed to investigate the effects of concentrated beetroot juice (BJ) supplementation on anthropometric measures, glycemic control, blood pressure (BP), and lipid profile in T2D patients. ⋯ Our study showed that daily consumption of 24 ml concentrated BJ did not affect the levels of glycemic measures, blood pressure, and lipid profile. More studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
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In emergency medicine, ultrasound is frequently used in the diagnostic and therapeutic procedures and evaluation of treatment of critically ill patients simultaneously, due to its bedside applicability, rapidness and inexpensive cost. ⋯ It was determined that focused cardiac ultrasound performed by emergency physician was sufficient in terms of accuracy of findings and diagnosis, and played an important role in excluding or including fatal diagnoses and conditions. The success rates of emergency physician can be further increased with long-term and comprehensive training programs.
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Observational Study
The DA VINCI study: is Ireland achieving ESC/EAS guideline-directed LDL-C goals?
The EU-wide, cross-sectional observational study of lipid-lowering therapy (LLT) use in secondary and primary care (DA VINCI) assessed the proportion of patients achieving low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) goals recommended by the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)/European Atherosclerosis Society (EAS) guidelines and provided an insight into regional use of LLT in Europe, including Ireland. ⋯ These results highlight the disparity between dyslipidaemia management in clinical practice in Ireland and guideline recommendations.
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Dental services in Ireland are delivered in a mixed public-private system but the majority of dental care is paid for out-of-pocket by individuals. Ireland is not unusual in the global context where public subsidisation for oral healthcare is limited in many countries. This is despite the fact that oral health plays an important role in well-being and despite international evidence on the negative impact of user fees on utilisation of beneficial healthcare. However, there has been little up-to-date assessment of the prices faced by individuals for a range of non-acute care services in Ireland, including dental care. This paper presents an up-to-date assessment of private dental prices in Ireland for a range of preventive, primary, and complex services based on a nationally representative survey. ⋯ Results showed that in addition to there being an uneven supply of dentists across the country, dental prices also vary with some notable variations by region and type of service. In particular, dental practices located in border counties, and those in rural areas typically show lower mean prices relative to non-border counties and urban areas. These factors need to be considered when planning how to reduce inequalities in access to oral health services in Ireland.
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The current sparsity of surgical trainees' exposure to training in operative trauma surgery is multifactorial. This concern has been addressed in the revised Intercollegiate Surgical Curriculum Programme (ISCP) for general and vascular surgery (2021). In the lead up to its implementation, we aimed to assess both trainee and consultant confidence levels as a surrogate reflection in the core competency operative skills in general emergency trauma surgery, identify individual experience in commonly performed trauma procedures and gauge interest in a career in trauma surgery. ⋯ Self-reported competencies in operative trauma skills across all subgroups were sub-standard with incremental levels of perceived competence proportional to years of surgical training. Our data supports the necessity of the new curriculum, in addition to modern training pathways with direct exposure to operative trauma surgery involving dedicated trauma centres and networks, and responsibility of training pathways in the provision of training trauma surgery.