Irish journal of medical science
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Inadequate nutrition leads to poor neurodevelopmental outcomes in very low-birth weight infants (VLBWIs). This study aimed to investigate the beneficial effects of early amino acid intake on the neurodevelopmental outcomes in VLBWIs at 20 months of correct age and school age. ⋯ The results of this study revealed that early amino acid intake within 24 h could significantly improve the neurodevelopmental and cognitive outcomes in VLBWIs at 20 months of correct age and school age.
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While there is an abundance of research examining the outcomes of the arthroscopic Bankart repair in collision athletes, very few studies have involved the unique Irish collision sport athlete population. The previously held belief that collision athletes need to be treated with open surgery, due to the high traumatic forces the shoulder is subjected to in these sports, may no longer be true in the context of modern arthroscopic techniques and implants. ⋯ The arthroscopic Bankart procedure has a high rate of recurrence of dislocation in Irish collision sport athletes. The current international literature suggests that the arthroscopic Bankart has similar rates of recurrence to the open procedure in collision athletes; however, this may not hold true for Irish collision sport athletes. Further research is required to determine the optimum surgical procedure for anterior shoulder instability in this population, particularly those patients with subcritical bone loss.
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Antipsychotics (APs) increase weight, metabolic syndrome, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Guidelines recommend cardio-metabolic monitoring at initial assessment, at 3 months and then annually in people prescribed APs. ⋯ Targeted improvement strategies resulted in a significant improvement in a limited number of parameters in early and chronic psychotic disorders. Overall, monitoring remained suboptimal.
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Urinary tract infection (UTI) is one of the common infections in childhood. Prompt diagnosis and treatment reduces the risk of complications. The choice of antibiotic to treat UTI varies from region to region. Rational use and appropriately chosen antibiotic reduces the emergence of resistant uropathogens. ⋯ Despite rising resistance rates, we recommend that Cefalexin should cautiously remain the antibiotic of choice for empirically treating uncomplicated urinary tract infections in secondary care pending urine culture. Nitrofurantoin should be reserved for treating non-coliform/atypical UTIs or multi-drug resistant UTIs. There is an ongoing need for clinicians in all geographic regions to continue to monitor antibiotic resistance rates every few years.
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The first pillar of the End-TB Strategy is "early diagnosis and prompt treatment". Nevertheless, long delays in starting tuberculosis (TB) treatment are reported. We aimed to describe the demographics and clinical features of TB in the west of Ireland and better understand the delays in treatment. ⋯ TB patients experienced long symptom durations in the community prior to presentation. Many TB patients experienced delays in diagnosis and treatment following presentation. Both pre-hospital and in-hospital delays need to be addressed in order to 'End-TB'.