The New Zealand medical journal
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To assess the utility of blood cultures in the management of patients presenting to the Emergency Department at Christchurch Hospital from the community with non-facial cellulitis (or soft tissue infection) and no other morbidity. ⋯ Blood cultures are rarely positive in patients presenting from the community with non-facial cellulitis. When they are positive, initial empiric therapy is usually adequate to treat pathogenic bacteria. The available evidence does not support the routine use of blood cultures in the clinical management of healthy adults presenting with non-facial cellulitis at the Emergency Department.
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Liver resection has historically been regarded as difficult and dangerous surgery associated with significant perioperative mortality and morbidity rates. Partly as a result of this, adequate training in hepatic surgery has been difficult to obtain with most surgical trainees exposed only to hepatic trauma and damage control scenarios. This report describes the first 100 liver resections undertaken as a surgical consultant. ⋯ Hepatic resection can be undertaken safely, and increasing experience as a hepatic surgeon is associated with greater utilisation of parenchymal sparing and extended resections (without the routine use of in-flow occlusion).