For decades the default treatment for anaemia and bleeding was mostly blood transfusion. However, safety risks from new and re-emerging pathogens in the blood pool, [1-3] significant inter-and intrahospital transfusion variability for matched patients, [4-9] the high cost of transfusion therapy, [10,11] and in particular the large number of risk-adjusted observational studies demonstrating that transfusion This open-access article is distributed under Creative Commons licence CC-BY-NC 4.0.
Many features of the NHS conspire to make workforce planning different and difficult. It is often integrated with other planning processes. There are few available guidelines for workforce configurations of infection control (IC) teams or evidence that assesses the effectiveness of different staffing configurations. A telephone survey of IC practice in four NHS trusts in England was undertaken to assist an NHS foundation trust to evaluate the workforce options for reconfiguring their IC team. The calls were semi-structured, recorded qualitative data and lasted 30-40 minutes. The thematic analysis revealed three IC themes: working practices, workforce profiles and governance issues, and suggested that multi-disciplinary, hospital-based IC teams have a strategic approach to engagement with clinical areas. The background, purpose and findings of the survey are reported and the implications for the future evidence base of IC practice.
The first case of haemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) was described in 1939 by Scott and Robb-Smith. [1] After their patients had initially been diagnosed with 'atypical Hodgkin disease' , they named the condition histiocytic medullary reticulosis. [1,2] It was later classified as a type of malignant histiocytosis. [3] Altook et al. [4] described HLH as 'a rare disease of massive, dysregulated cytokine release and secondary multiorgan failure […] associated with high mortality'. [4] HLH is classified according to aetiology, namely primary (genetic) or secondary (acquired). [5] Patients with primary HLH have an underlying genetic cause or a history of familial predisposition. These underlying causes involve genetic mutations that eradicate proteins crucially required for normal function of cytotoxic T-cells and natural killer (NK) cells. [6] In 70-80% of cases, primary HLH occurs in infants and young children, [7] with symptoms presenting within the first year of life, and 10% of cases diagnosed in the neonatal period. [8-10] However, cases have been described in older children and adults. [11] Secondary HLH occurs in the absence of a known genetic lesion and is triggered by an underlying condition resulting from a malignant, infectious, or autoimmune stimulus. [6] The secondary causes of HLH are summarised in Table 1. However, it is increasingly recognised that
Background. Shortly after the first case of SARS-CoV-2 infection (COVID-19) had been reported in South Africa, a national lockdown was declared. Subsequently, the University of the Free State (UFS) changed from a contact delivery mode to remote multimodal teaching, learning and assessment. Objectives. To determine the effect of the initial months of the COVID-19 lockdown on MMed training activities at the UFS, specifically the demographic and health profile of students, research progress, academic activities and the clinical training environment. Methods. A cross-sectional study using an anonymous self-administered questionnaire was used. All registered MMed students at the UFS were eligible to participate. Results. A response was obtained from 134 (51.9%) of 258 registrars, most of whom were included in the analysis (n=118; 45.7%). Significant associations between the effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on day-to-day clinical work and the ability to work on MMed research (p<0.01) and self-directed learning time (p<0.01) were noted. Changes in domestic circumstances affecting MMed research were reported by 26.9% of respondents. Worsening or new symptoms of stress were reported by 40.0% of respondents. Conclusion. The initial months of the COVID-19 lockdown might have far-reaching implications for registrars’ academic progress. Registrars experienced adverse psychosocial consequences that might impede their academic progress.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.