Irish journal of medical science
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Information on the interaction between frailty and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is limited. ⋯ Frail COPD patients have increased dyspnea perception, impaired muscle strength, and functional capacity, ADL performance, balance, and quality of life. Whether pulmonary rehabilitation programs for patients with frail COPD need to be adapted with new rehabilitation strategies, including components of frailty, needs further investigation.
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Emergency warning systems (EWS) are becoming a standard of care, but have unproven screening value in early critical illness. Similarly, emergency response team (ERT) care is of uncertain value. These questions are most controversial in mixed patient populations, where screening performance might vary, and intensivist-led ERT care might divert resources from existing patients. ⋯ In a diverse hospital population, most triggering patients did not receive critical care and most critical care transfers occurred without triggering. Triggering was an insensitive screening measure for critical illness, followed by poor outcome. Higher scores predicted higher probability of transfer, but not later mortality, suggesting that EWS is being used as a decision aid but is not a true severity of illness score. Other, non-EWS data are needed for earlier detection and for prioritizing access to critical care.
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There is a higher prevalence of lifestyle-related diseases among Irish farmers than the general adult population. Lifestyle interventions that increase physical activity and improve dietary patterns have been associated with reduced chronic disease risk and improved quality of life among high-risk populations. The impact of lifestyle interventions among Irish farmers is unknown. ⋯ Irish farmers remain at high risk of developing chronic diseases but respond positively to lifestyle intervention.
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As the SARS-CoV-2 virus made a pandemic all over the world, its transmission routes became significant. Transmission from human to human is known, but other possible routes are not determined well. ⋯ This study showed that there is no transmission of SARS-CoV-2 virus via sweat. However, general precautions must be taken while doing interventional procedures.
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International guidelines emphasise the importance of securing ruptured cerebral aneurysms within 48-72 h of ictus. We assessed the timing of treatment of patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid haemorrhage (aSAH) referred to a national neurosurgical centre. ⋯ In centres with 7 day per week provision of interventional neuroradiology and vascular neurosurgery, the majority of patients with aSAH can be treated within the timeframes recommended by international guidelines and this applies to all grades of aSAH. However, delays still occur in a significant proportion of patients and this particularly applies to delays in presentation and diagnosis in good grade patients.