Irish journal of medical science
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Although atrial fibrillation (AF) causes one-third of strokes in Ireland, studies have shown that public awareness and knowledge of AF are poor. The Irish Heart Foundation conducted a national AF awareness campaign in 2013. ⋯ Our study shows that overall public knowledge of AF in Ireland is generally poor. While this pilot national awareness campaign had no positive impact on awareness levels, there are several possible reasons for this including the limited funding allocation to the campaign. A further AF awareness campaign is planned for next year.
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To measure the vascular density (VD) and foveal avascular zone (FAZ) area in patients with Behçet's disease (BD) obtained by optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA). ⋯ In the patients with BD, OCTA showed decreased VD in both the superficial and deep retinal vascular networks. Besides, the VA was correlated with the VD and FAZ.
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Adults ageing with HIV and on antiretroviral therapy have a greater burden of chronic diseases compared with adults without HIV as reported by Althoff et al. (Curr Opin HIV AIDS 11:527-36, 2016). Therefore, it is important in this clinically stable HIV+ population to monitor and evaluate their risk of chronic kidney disease and intervene when appropriate. The European AIDS Clinical Society (EACS) advise that yearly screening for CKD with eGFR calculation and spot urine protein measurements should be performed (European AIDS Clinical Society Guidelines 2018). The Centre for Excellence for Health, Immunity and Infection (CHIP) have created a validated study calculator to estimate a patient's risk for CKD as reported by Mocroft et al. (PLoS Med 12(3):e1001809, 2015). ⋯ Although this audit was small and with limitations, it highlights the importance of collecting relevant and accurate patient data annually to estimate and mitigate the risk of chronic kidney disease in patients with HIV.
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Patients' satisfaction reporting is important for assessing the quality of care in surgical practice. Post-discharge questionnaire reporting is considered best practice; however, the logistics of this method remains problematic. ⋯ There were no significant differences in reporting between pre- and post-discharge questionnaire responses. As pre-discharge reporting is more efficient, less costly and has a higher response rate, this should be considered the preferred practice in patient satisfaction assessments.
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Increasing numbers of young adults with life-limiting conditions are living into adulthood and consequently making the transition from children's to adult services. A poorly planned transition is associated with adverse outcomes such as non-adherence to treatment and loss to follow-up, together with negative social and emotional outcomes. However, there is little descriptive data on how organisations are currently managing transition. ⋯ The findings demonstrate that caring for young adults with life-limiting conditions presents a considerable challenge to organisations and that transition from children's to adult services is an important part of this challenge.