Journal of the Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh
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J R Coll Surg Edinb · Oct 1998
The 'black hole' sign: a visual ultrasonographic sign of hip dislocation.
Visual analysis of dynamic ultrasonography was employed in the assessment of hip stability in the neonate/infant. The 'black hole' sign visually describes the clearly recognizable ultrasonographic image of hip dislocation/dislocatability. This sign adds objectivity to the technique of visual analysis and is to be recommended.
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The aetiology of ulcerative colitis (UC) is unknown. However, much interest has been devoted recently to the relationship between appendicectomy and ulcerative colitis. ⋯ The present study shows that patients with ulcerative colitis had rarely undergone appendicectomy before the first manifestation of colitis. Further research on this relationship is called for.
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J R Coll Surg Edinb · Aug 1998
Are abdominal radiographs still overutilized in the assessment of acute abdominal pain? A district general hospital audit.
Several studies have shown that plain film radiography (PFR) is unnecessary for most patients with abdominal pain. To evaluate the current-day utilization of PFR, we retrospectively reviewed 224 patients presenting to an emergency department with acute abdominal pain. Plain film radiography was performed in 55.8% (125/224) of patients, but only 10.4% (13/125) of these were diagnostic. ⋯ Confining radiography to patients with suspected gastrointestinal obstruction, perforation or ischaemia, unexplained peritonism, or renal colic would have included all our diagnostic films and reduced the utilization of PFR to 20.5%. The reasons for inappropriate requests and issues concerning the use of emergency radiography are discussed. Staff education, departmental protocols and increased out-of-hours ultrasonography facilities are recommended to reduce the inappropriate use of PFR.
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J R Coll Surg Edinb · Jun 1998
Pre-admission clinic in an orthopaedic department: evaluation over a 6-month period.
A pre-admission clinic for patients undergoing elective orthopaedic surgery has been used at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, Guildford, for the past 3 years. This report audits the activities of the clinic over a period of 6 months. Data regarding the patients who were invited to the pre-admission clinic during the study period were analysed. ⋯ The pre-admission clinic in our orthopaedic department helps us to prevent a significant number of operation cancellations on the day of admission. It also facilitates an extensive pre-operative assessment of the patients and reduces the ward-based workload of the junior medical staff. More extensive use of the pre-admission clinic is recommended.