Irish journal of medical science
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Dr Séamus Mac Suibhne (Sweeney) (1978-2019) was a widely admired psychiatrist, writer and scholar whose contributions ranged from psychiatric care to Greek philosophy, and from medical education to the application of new technologies in educational and clinical settings. Séamus wrote extensively on these and many other themes in the professional and popular literature. In his clinical work, Séamus was a compassionate doctor, effective team-worker and skilled manager. ⋯ Philosophy was, perhaps, his greatest intellectual passion and he spoke and wrote extensively on themes linking philosophy with clinical care, the history of psychiatry and reflective practice in medicine. Séamus wrote and co-wrote on a range of other topics including psychiatric liaison with primary care, 'vampirism' as a mental illness, translation and interpretation in psychiatry, synaesthesia, 'new' mental illnesses such as solastalgia and hubris syndrome, bibliotherapy, the work of Nicholas Culpeper (a seventeenth-century English physician) and mental illness among psychiatrists. Séamus Mac Suibhne is deeply missed in Irish psychiatry, but his many contributions bear elegant, lasting testament to a dedicated family man, a gifted doctor and an enquiring, often brilliant mind.
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Review Case Reports
Transient derangements in Hepatitis B serology in patients post-intravenous immunoglobulin therapy-a case-based review.
Intravenous immunoglobulin (IVIg) is a commonly utilized therapy in multiple medical subspecialities, indicated for the management of various primary and secondary immunodeficiency states and autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. A lack of awareness exists among clinicians regarding the serological downstream effects of its use. An observed phenomenon post-IVIg is the passive transfer of antibodies from the product which can lead to transiently positive hepatitis B serology in recipients. ⋯ Three patients encountered in the hematology department of a tertiary referral hospital developed spurious hepatitis B serology after administration of IVIg, whose cases are briefly outlined here. These cases highlight the need for routine pre-treatment viral screening and emphasize the importance of clinicians recognizing such potentially confounding results. This is of particular relevance to the sizeable subset of hematology patients who are planned for future immunomodulatory treatment (such as rituximab), where previous hepatitis B infection can often be a barrier to timely treatment.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
The effect of spinal manipulation on brain neurometabolites in chronic nonspecific low back pain patients: a randomized clinical trial.
In patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain (NCLBP), brain function changes due to the neuroplastic changes in different regions. ⋯ In the patient with low back pain, spinal manipulation affects the central nervous system and changes the brain metabolites. Consequently, pain and functional disability are reduced.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
An observational analysis of meal patterns in overweight and obese pregnancy: exploring meal pattern behaviours and the association with maternal and fetal health measures.
Nutrient intakes are known to be poorer among pregnant women with raised body mass index (BMI) than those with a healthy BMI. While meal patterns have the potential to influence obstetric, metabolic and anthropometric measures for mother and infant, limited data exists regarding meal patterns among pregnant women with raised BMI. ⋯ Women with raised BMI changed eating patterns as pregnancy progressed, moving from main meal-dominant to snack-dominant patterns. Large meal-dominant meal patterns in later pregnancy were associated with higher glycaemic index and greater prevalence of macrosomia.