Irish journal of medical science
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Planning for end of life (EOL) care has become an important consideration for doctors and patients in the context of longer life expectancy in most high-income countries. Advance care plans (ACPs) allow individuals to make plans for future healthcare practices for when they no longer have the capacity to make such decisions. It has been suggested that general practitioners (GPs) have the ideal relationship with patients to facilitate this process. However, the uptake of ACPs still remains low, prompting the need to understand the views of GPs regarding ACPs. ⋯ In order to improve their implementation, workshops and courses should be developed to increase GPs' knowledge and confidence. Additionally, the healthcare system should be adapted, supporting GPs to facilitate these important discussions to take place.
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Covid-19 has placed unprecedented demand on healthcare systems and on healthcare professionals. There have been concerns about the risk of distress, moral injury and burnout among healthcare professionals, especially doctors. ⋯ More comprehensive evaluation of the effect of the pandemic on front-line staff is needed to identify the extent of the problem and the factors which contribute to it. This will inform measures to mitigate these effects.
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High-mobility group box 2 (HMGB2) is considered as oncogene in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), while its clinical implication is still unknown. This study aimed to explore the correlation of HMGB2 with clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis in NSCLC patients. ⋯ HMGB2 could be a biomarker that reflects disease features and prognosis of NSCLC, which is beneficial to improve clinical efficacy in NSCLC patients.
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Although the lung is seen as the main target organ affected by SARS-CoV-2, other organs are also damaged. ⋯ Autopsies play an important role in systematically examining the damage caused by the virus in all organs in order to elucidate the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection and contribute to the clinical management of infected patients.
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Screening programmes decrease the incidence of colorectal, breast and cervical cancer. As such, it is imperative that medical health professionals are educated on the screening programmes available and are aware of the research basis justifying them. ⋯ Medical students expressed a wish to understand the research basis of a common clinical screening programme (for cervical cancer) as well as the research basis for not providing screening to low risk populations (for ovarian cancer). Further research in this area may include exploring how this is taught in other medical schools.