Irish medical journal
-
Accidental self-inflicted knife injuries to digits are a common cause of tendon and nerve injury requiring hand surgery. There has been an apparent increase in avocado related hand injuries. Classically, the patients hold the avocado in their non-dominant hand while using a knife to cut/peel the fruit with their dominant hand. ⋯ Despite their apparent increased incidence, we could not find any cases in the literature which describe the "avocado hand". We present a case of a 32-year-old woman who sustained a significant hand injury while preparing an avocado. She required exploration and repair of a digital nerve under regional anaesthesia and has since made a full recovery.
-
Irish medical journal · Jun 2017
Fancy a cup of scald? - The role of hot beverage burns in paediatric burns admissions in Ireland.
Burns and scalds are preventable injuries in children that typically occur in the home. This study aimed to examine the role of hot beverage scalds in paediatric burn admissions in order to identify key target audiences for future safety strategies. ⋯ Scalds caused 74% of burn injuries; hot beverages accounted for least 33% of these of which 77% were partial thickness and 73% were upper body burns. Effective hot beverage scald prevention strategies, targeted towards caregivers in the home, are required.
-
Irish medical journal · May 2017
I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For... Bono, Google and Glaucoma Awareness.
The effect of celebrity diagnosis on public awareness of health conditions has already been well documented. In October 2014, Bono, the lead singer with U2, revealed publicly for the first time that he has glaucoma. This study aimed to analyze the impact of Bono's announcement on public awareness of glaucoma using Google Search trends as an indicator of public interest in the disease. ⋯ Google Trends is useful in medical research as a means of assessing public awareness of, and/or interest in, health related topics. Current approaches to glaucoma related health promotion in both Ireland and the United Kingdom have failed to yield an increase in on-line Google Search activity. While there was an increase in interest in glaucoma it is unclear whether this led to an increase in health seeking behaviour.
-
Irish medical journal · Apr 2017
An audit of empiric antibiotic choice in the inpatient management of community-acquired pneumonia.
Adherence to antimicrobial guidelines for empiric antibiotic prescribing in community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) has been reported to be worryingly low. We conducted a review of empiric antibiotic prescribing for sixty consecutive adult patients admitted to the Mercy University Hospital with a diagnosis of CAP. ⋯ The use of excessively broad spectrum and inappropriate antibiotics is a notable problem. This study supports the theory that lack of knowledge regarding pneumonia severity assessment tools and unfamiliarity with therapeutic guidelines are key barriers to guideline adherence, which remains a significant problem despite increased focus on antimicrobial stewardship programs in Ireland.
-
Irish medical journal · Mar 2017
An Irish Experience in Establishing and Evaluating an Intern Led Teaching Programme.
Near-Peer Teaching is a relatively new and expanding area of medical education. The benefit to medical students has been demonstrated in numerous contexts around the world. Our aim was to establish a structured Intern-Led Teaching (ILT) programme in the context of an Irish Intern Training Network affiliated to an Irish Medical School. ⋯ A significant number of students felt less nervous about the final medical examinations after the intern-led tutorials. The establishment of a structured intern-led teaching programme was well received by final year medical students. This project shows that interns are a valuable teaching resource in the medical school and should be included in medical schools' curricula.