Irish journal of medical science
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Clinical genetics is an under-resourced service in the Republic of Ireland. There can be a number of avenues that lead to barriers in patient triage noted within the department. ⋯ The majority of referrals are rejected for non-enclosure of patient genetic reports. Many referrals would have accepted to the waiting list if the appropriate report had been attached. This means patients at risk of genetic disorders are not accessing clinical services because the referrer is not providing the necessary information to allow triage. Active management of the waiting list via upfront letters is costly, with a 57% response rate. Should similar rejection rates exist in other specialities, we estimate this would equate to a cost of €2,714,214.40/year to the HSE.
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Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is the most common functional gastrointestinal disorder that affects patients both physically and mentally. Our study aimed to investigate the burden of psychiatric disorders in IBS patients. ⋯ The presence of IBS is associated with an increased associated prevalence of psychiatric disorders such as anxiety, depression, and suicide attempt/ideation.
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Sarcopenia and obesity can cause severe physical and metabolic complications. We aimed to investigate the risk of mortality associated with sarcopenia and obesity in older adults. ⋯ Sarcopenic-obese participants had the highest mortality incidence compared to those without obesity or sarcopenia. In addition, the presence of sarcopenia or obesity alone also had a significant role in mortality risk. So, we should especially focus on maintaining or increasing muscle mass and preventing obesity.
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Lipid disorders are now considered causal for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) which remains one of the most important contributors to morbidity and mortality in the developed world. Identification and early treatment of lipid disarrays remains the cornerstone of good clinical practice to prevent, halt and even reverse ASCVD. Guidelines for lipid management are imperative to help promote good clinical practice. Given the detail involved in comprehensive guidelines and the multiple areas of knowledge required by clinical practitioners, abbreviated, easy to understand, practical versions of guidelines are required to ensure dissemination of the most important information. The recent ESC lipid guidelines 2019 and the ESC guidelines on CVD prevention in clinical practice 2021 (1,2), provide an excellent detailed summary of all the latest evidence supporting lipid interventions that reduce ASCVD. ⋯ It is presented here in a tabular format together with printable versions of the associated hyperlinks that provide the additional information required in decision making. It is hoped to audit the impact of this approach to help guide future ways of disseminating the latest clinical guideline updates.
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The extent of knowledge of bowel cancer, its symptoms and risk factors are unknown in Irish residents. An understanding of bowel cancer awareness may be useful in aiding healthcare professionals, and policy makers develop improved bowel cancer awareness programmes and public health initiatives in Ireland. ⋯ This survey emphasises the need to improve the awareness of bowel cancer as gaps in this specific cancer knowledge were evident among Irish residents.