The New Zealand medical journal
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The last few years have witnessed numerous publications addressing the management of thyroid nodules and differentiated thyroid cancers. The purpose of this review is to provide a simplified summary of the newly released guidelines by the American Thyroid Association. ⋯ Once diagnosed, thyroid cancers need to be staged and risk stratification needs to be applied to develop further treatment plans. Lastly, several recommendations have been presented to assure proper follow-up and support for thyroid cancer patients regardless of the treatment received.
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We ran a Multidisciplinary Operating Room Simulation (MORSim) course for 20 complete general surgical teams from two large metropolitan hospitals. Our goal was to improve teamwork and communication in the operating room (OR). We hypothesised that scores for teamwork and communication in the OR would improve back in the workplace following MORSim. We used an extended Behavioural Marker Risk Index (BMRI) to measure teamwork and communication, because a relationship has previously been documented between BMRI scores and surgical patient outcomes. ⋯ We demonstrated an improvement in scores for teamwork and communication in general surgical ORs following our intervention. These results support the use of simulation-based multidisciplinary team training for OR staff to promote better teamwork and communication, and potentially improve outcomes for general surgical patients.
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In a region with high rates of immunisation refusal, we examine whether refusing an immunisation at 6 weeks (the first scheduled immunisation) predicts the pattern for subsequent scheduled immunisations, and the characteristics of those who declined these immunisations. ⋯ Increasing Northland's immunisation coverage may require primary care providers to more actively engage with declining caregivers prior to the 3-month and 5-month vaccinations. Immunisation information and decision-making programmes targeted at parents and providers in the antenatal and prenatal period may also be of benefit, in addition to considering regulatory and incentive strategies.
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Curative treatments of upper gastrointestinal (UGI) cancers carry significant morbidity and mortality. Therefore, accurate pre-treatment staging is important. PET-CT scan is an expensive modality, and not readily available in New Zealand. The aim of this study was to describe how PET-CT scan influences management in UGI cancer. ⋯ Our study confirms the value of PET-CT scan in pre-operative staging of UGI cancer. It had a greater impact on patients with intermediate lesions on staging CT.