The Arabic version of the EORTC QLQ-C15-PAL is valid and reliable.

Survival in patients with malignant ureteric obstruction can range widely from a few days to a few years. The presented prognostic model is an updated model and can be used to identify patients with poor survival after PCN.

BackgroundAdherence to Clinical Practice Guidelines (CPGs) remains suboptimal among internal medicine trainees. Educational games are of growing interest and have the potential to improve adherence to CPGs. The objectives of this study were to develop an educational game to teach CPGs in Internal Medicine residency programs and to evaluate its feasibility and acceptability.MethodsWe developed the Guide-O-Game© in the format of a TV game show with questions based on recommendations of CPGs. The development of the Guide-O-Game© consisted of the creation of a multimedia interactive tool, the development of recommendation-based questions, and the definition of the game's rules. We evaluated its feasibility through pilot testing and its acceptability through a qualitative process.ResultsThe multimedia interactive tool uses a Macromedia Flash web application and consists of a manager interface and a user interface. The user interface allows the choice of two game styles. We created so far 16 sets of questions relating to 9 CPGs. The pilot testing proved that the game was feasible. The qualitative evaluation showed that residents considered the game to be acceptable.ConclusionWe developed an educational game to teach CPGs to Internal Medicine residents that is both feasible and acceptable. Future work should evaluate its impact on educational outcomes.

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Background and Objectives: Percutaneous transhepatic biliary drain is an intervention used to relieve malignant biliary obstruction. This study aims to explore survival after biliary drain insertion, predictive factors of survival and effectiveness to reduce total bilirubin level. Methods:We conducted a retrospective analysis of 72 patients who had malignant biliary obstruction and received biliary drain during the time period between March 2005 and February 2015. Results: Median patients' age was 56 years. 38 (52.7%) were males, 34(47.2%) were females. Median survival post biliary drain insertion was 46 days, 95% C/I (37.92-54.02), range (2-453 days). 1, 3, and 6 month survival rates were 64.7%, 26.5%, and 7.4% respectively. Multivariate analysis by Cox proportional hazards regression model showed the presence of ascites to be significant predictors of survival, other factors analyzed were: total bilirubin, serum creatinine, international normalization ratio, serum albumin, pleural effusion and liver metastasis. Conclusion: Survival after biliary drain insertion can vary from few days to few months. Presence of ascites is an independent predictor of survival after this intervention.