Irish journal of medical science
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We describe a 90-year-old woman with right upper limb monoparesis secondary to varicella zoster virus infection as a result of extensive inflammatory involvement of the entire brachial plexus at root level. To our knowledge, this is the first report of entire brachial plexus involvement in a living patient of such advanced age. Despite a delay in presentation and thus initiation of treatment, a favourable clinical response was observed.
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Ward-based patient-controlled epidural analgesia (PCEA) for postoperative pain control was introduced at our institution in 2006. We audited the efficacy and safety of ward-based PCEA from January 2006 to December 2008. ⋯ Effective and safe postoperative analgesia can be provided with PCEA in a general surgical ward without recourse to high-dependency supervision.
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To date, there is no information on anaesthetists' practice of chronic pain management in the Republic of Ireland. ⋯ One-third of consultant anaesthetists in the Republic surveyed incorporate chronic pain in their practice and their pattern of practice is widely diversified.
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H1N1 influenza A, was first described in April 2009. A significant cohort of patients from this outbreak developed acute respiratory distress syndrome or pneumonia. H1N1 has since been transmitted across the world. Little has been described on the renal complications of this illness. ⋯ This study highlights the significance and frequency of renal complications associated with this illness.
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The purpose of this study is to determine the association between fetal nasal bone length (NBL) and gestational age (GA), biparietal diameter (BPD) and head circumference (HC) in women undergoing prenatal assessments and Down syndrome screening. ⋯ Using multiple parameters (GA, BPD and HC) to estimate NBL is more accurate than using than using GA or BPD or HC alone, as indicated by the higher predictive value.