South African medical journal = Suid-Afrikaanse tydskrif vir geneeskunde
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Practice Guideline
Recommendations for the management of adult chronic myeloid leukaemia in South Africa.
Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder characterised by a chromosomal translocation between the long arms of chromosomes 9 and 22 [corrected] resulting in the formation of the BCR-ABL fusion gene. The management of CML has undergone major changes over the past decade. Novel treatment approaches have had a dramatic impact on patient outcomes and survival. Nevertheless, these outcomes can only be achieved in the context of expert management, careful monitoring of disease response, appropriate management of adverse events and timeous adjustments to therapy when responses are not achieved within stated time-frames. ⋯ Most patients with CML can live a reasonably normal life if their disease is appropriately managed. These recommendations should be of value to all specialists involved in the treatment of haematological disorders.
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Aspirin should not be used in children except for specific therapeutic reasons. We report on a severely ill infant who had ingested aspirin contained in a traditional medicine and review 21 other patients with pre-admission non-therapeutic salicylate exposure. ⋯ We found inappropriate use of OTC aspirin in children that requires explanation. There may be policy implications for the content and presentation of patient information; the incorporation of pharmaceuticals in traditional medicines merits further study. Salicylate toxicity should be considered in children with unexplained metabolic acidosis out of keeping with the severity of their acute illness.
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Letter Multicenter Study Comparative Study
Treatment of paediatric burns with a nanocrystalline silver dressing compared with standard wound care in a burns unit: a cost analysis.
Burns are a leading cause of non-natural death in South African infants and children. Conventional care of partial-thickness burns often requires painful, time consuming and costly twice-daily dressing changes to clean the wound and apply antimicrobial topical agents. A new topical nanocrystalline silver-coated NS dressing (Acticoat; Smith & Nephew) has been developed and is the first-line treatment of choice in many burn centres. ⋯ NS dressings were changed every 3 days based on their sustained and slow release of silver ions over 72 hours. Using NS clearly saved costs compared with the three other regimens. The demonstrated cost savings resulted primarily from the decreased number of dressings, and the presumed shorter hospital stay.
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Resuscitation of patients occurs daily in emergency departments. Traditional practice entails family members remaining outside the resuscitation room. ⋯ Short-course training such as postgraduate advanced life support and other continued professional development activities should have a positive effect on this practice.The more experienced doctors are and the longer they work in emergency medicine, the more comfortable they appear to be with the concept of FWR and therefore the more likely they are to allow it. Further study and course attendance by doctors has a positive influence on the practice of FWR.
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With the ubiquitous connectivity offered by the Internet, social media sites (like Twitter and Facebook) and personal publishing platforms (blogs) are proliferating rapidly. In this new, evolving scenario of social media, these tools become an important medium to disseminate information at a lightning speed. However, the conventional medical publication model is less than eager to regard them as equivalent to traditional modes of information dissemination. In this article we examine the role played by social media as a critic of the medical publication system, and how it acts as a safeguard by building a platform for post-publication peer review.