Irish journal of medical science
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Information on the interaction between frailty and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is limited. ⋯ Frail COPD patients have increased dyspnea perception, impaired muscle strength, and functional capacity, ADL performance, balance, and quality of life. Whether pulmonary rehabilitation programs for patients with frail COPD need to be adapted with new rehabilitation strategies, including components of frailty, needs further investigation.
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The vast majority of sudden and unexpected natural deaths are related to cardiovascular diseases, especially coronary artery diseases. ⋯ In our study, it was found that deaths due to coronary artery disease are seen at an older age than cardiac deaths other than coronary artery disease. In addition, in line with current knowledge, it has been confirmed that the mortality rate of coronary artery disease is higher in men than in women.
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The coronavirus pandemic resulted in dramatic changes and challenges to healthcare practices. We endeavoured to establish the experiences of families of children attending a neurodevelopmental service after a transition to virtual consultations. ⋯ This study highlights the high level of parental satisfaction with the service, but especially satisfaction with the unplanned transition to virtual clinics. Virtual clinics cannot replace the holistic approach gained from face-to-face consultations; however, we identified their benefits of convenience and accessibility for our vulnerable population. In response, we have developed an integrated outpatient service involving both forms of consultation to potentiate satisfaction and adapt to meet the needs of our patients. The suggested proforma that has been developed offers a simple structure for undertaking a virtual consultation that can be adapted to different specialities, integrating the suggestions provided by our service users.
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Antipsychotics (APs) increase weight, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Guidelines recommend cardio-metabolic monitoring at initial assessment, at 3 months and then annually in people prescribed APs. ⋯ Targeted improvement strategies resulted in a significant improvement in a limited number of parameters in early and chronic psychotic disorders. Overall, monitoring remained suboptimal.