Irish medical journal
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Irish medical journal · Feb 2012
The use of computerised tomography guided percutaneous fine needle aspiration in the evaluation of solitary pulmonary nodules.
The evaluation of a solitary pulmonary nodule (SPN) has changed over the years with increased access to percutaneous computerised tomography (CT) guided fine needle aspiration (FNA), where bronchoscopy is unhelpful. The aim of our study was to evaluate the sample adequacy, diagnostic and complication rate of CT-FNA of a SPN at our academic teaching hospital over an 18 month period. CT-FNA was performed by a radiologist, with a cytopathologist in attendance to confirm the adequacy of the sample obtained. ⋯ Pneumothorax occurred in 26/101 (26%) patients post CT-FNA, of these 7 (27%) required chest drain insertion, while 19 (73%) were managed conservatively. CT FNA is a useful tool for the diagnosis of a SPN, with our diagnostic accuracy comparable to that reported in the literature. However, CT-FNA may not provide adequate sample volume to perform ancillary testing and has a moderate complication rate.
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Irish medical journal · Jan 2012
Fracture liaison service in a non-regional orthopaedic clinic--a cost-effective service.
Fracture liaison services (FLS) aim to provide cost-effective targeting of secondary fracture prevention. It is proposed that a dedicated FLS be available in any hospital to which a patient presents with a fracture. An existing orthopaedic clinic nurse was retrained to deliver a FLS. ⋯ Two-thirds of patients (n=69) had reduced bone mineral density (BMD). An evidence based approach to both non-pharmacological and pharmacotherapy was used and most patients (76.6%) receiving pharmacotherapy received an oral bisphosphonate (n=46). The FLS has proven to be an effective way of delivering secondary prevention for osteoporotic fracture in a non-regional fracture clinic, without increasing staff costs.
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Irish medical journal · Nov 2011
Development of an adhesive surgical ward round checklist: a technique to improve patient safety.
Checklists have been shown to improve patient outcomes. Checklist use is seen in the pre-operative to post-operative phases of the patient pathway. An adhesive checklist was developed for ward rounds due to the positive impact it could have on improving patient safety. ⋯ There was significant improvement of documentation across all areas measured. An adhesive checklist for ward round note taking is a simple and cost-effective way to improve documentation, communication, hand-over, and patient safety. Successfully implemented in a tertiary level centre in Dublin, Ireland it is easily transferable to other surgical departments globally.
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Irish medical journal · Nov 2011
Epidural analgesia for labour: maternal knowledge, preferences and informed consent.
Epidural analgesia has become increasingly popular as a form of labour analgesia in Ireland. However obtaining true inform consent has always been difficult. Our study recruited 100 parturients who had undergone epidural analgesia for labour, aimed to determine the information they received prior to regional analgesia, and to ascertain their preferences regarding informed consent. ⋯ Knowledge of potential complications was variable and inaccurate, with less than 30 (30%) of women aware of the most common complications. Most women 79 (79%) believed that discomfort during labour affected their ability to provide informed consent, and believe consent should be taken prior to onset of labour (96, 96%). The results of this study helps define the standards of consent Irish patients expect for epidural analgesia during labour.