The New Zealand medical journal
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Urinary and faecal incontinence substantially impacts upon physical health and is associated with significant psychological distress and reduced quality of life. Due to stigma and embarrassment, many patients do not present for management of their incontinence. ⋯ Urinary and faecal incontinence can have a significant impact on an individual's psychological wellbeing and quality of life. Psychological factors may either contribute to or arise from incontinence and should be addressed as part of the overall management plan.
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To highlight the growing cost of electric-scooter (e-scooter) related injuries necessitating surgical intervention by the Auckland City Hospital Orthopaedic Department. ⋯ This study highlights that there can be serious consequences of e-scooter travel. High energy trauma not previously associated with scooter injuries is becoming increasingly prevalent as a result of readily available e-scooters. Many of the injuries identified represent significant morbidity to patients in terms of pain, lengthy rehabilitation and loss of income. Furthermore, the socioeconomic costs for DHBs continues to climb and adds to the acute surgical burden in an already busy healthcare system. The hazards of e-scooters should not be underestimated by both the general public and policy-makers.
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The ANZACS-QI Cardiac Implanted Device Registry (ANZACS-QI DEVICE) collects data on cardiac implantable electronic devices inserted in New Zealand. We evaluated completeness of data capture and quality of ANZACS-QI DEVICE in 2016. ⋯ The ANZACS-QI DEVICE registry had a good capture rate and excellent agreement with the national dataset. This high concordance supports the use of both datasets for future research.
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Prompt access to cardiac defibrillation and reperfusion therapy improves outcomes in patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). The study aim was to describe the 'patient' and 'system' delay in patients who receive acute reperfusion therapy for ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) in New Zealand. ⋯ Nationwide implementation of the NZ STEMI pathway is needed to reduce system delays in delivery of primary PCI, fibrinolysis and rescue PCI. Ongoing initiatives are required to reduce barriers to calling the ambulance early after symptom onset.