{"title":"Artificial Intelligence in Medicine.","authors":"Andrew Cupples","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94250,"journal":{"name":"The Ulster medical journal","volume":"92 3","pages":"167-169"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10824127/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139643777","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Should we be promoting 5 Steps to Wellbeing in all clinical environments?","authors":"Robert Atenstaedt","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94250,"journal":{"name":"The Ulster medical journal","volume":"92 3","pages":"170"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10824130/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139643784","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Rachael Coulson, Sarah Small, Robert Spence, Ian McAllister
{"title":"Regional Elective Day Procedure Centre Pilot- the solution to waiting lists and trainee deficit in the reshaping of services following COVID-19?","authors":"Rachael Coulson, Sarah Small, Robert Spence, Ian McAllister","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Consequences from the COVID-19 pandemic have resulted in the secondary impact of cessation of elective surgical services, amplifying the waiting list problem with devastating patient and surgical training repercussions. With the introduction of the first regional inter-trust daycase elective care centre pilot in Northern Ireland, we aim to assess the impact of this pathway on elective inguinal hernia waiting lists, patient outcomes, and influence on surgical training.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data was collected prospectively over a 10-week pilot of consecutive elective day case hernia lists at a newly established regional day surgery centre. Key operative time points for each patient were collated via the Theatre Management System (TMS). Retrospective patient feedback was collected from participating patients via 26-question telephone survey at 6 weeks post-operatively. Trainees allocated to the participating units during this pilot received a retrospective electronic survey.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Fifty-five patients underwent open unilateral elective inguinal hernia repair, 54% of cases were trainee led. Median trainee operating time of 53 minutes compared with 51 minutes for consultant led procedures, with no significant difference consultant vs non-consultant as primary operator (p>0.05). On completion of the pilot, waiting list numbers were reduced by a third, 75% of trainees feedback reported increased confidence with surgical operative exposure, and high levels of patient satisfaction reported.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Inter-trust day surgery at a dedicated green site could successfully contribute to resuming and reforming surgical services, addressing the impact on mounting waiting lists with positive patient impact as well as providing an excellent training opportunity to narrow the observed training deficit.</p>","PeriodicalId":94250,"journal":{"name":"The Ulster medical journal","volume":"92 3","pages":"129-133"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10824138/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139643783","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Curiositas - Head Cases.","authors":"","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94250,"journal":{"name":"The Ulster medical journal","volume":"92 3","pages":"173-174"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10824131/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139643856","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Modern Slavery In Healthcare Settings: Indicators and Recommendations.","authors":"Adam Hewitt, Tim Nelson","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94250,"journal":{"name":"The Ulster medical journal","volume":"93 1","pages":"28-31"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11067307/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140871019","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Tim Patterson, Gerard Reid, Stephen Stewart, Olivia Earley
{"title":"Immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS): A single-site experience of 41 patients during the COVID-19 pandemic.","authors":"Tim Patterson, Gerard Reid, Stephen Stewart, Olivia Earley","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>The practice of immediate sequential bilateral cataract surgery (ISBCS) was more widely adopted in the UK during the COVID-19 pandemic, in response to limited surgical capacity and the risk of nosocomial infection. This study reports on a single site experience of ISBCS in Northern Ireland.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Data was collected prospectively between 17<sup>th</sup> November 2020 and 30<sup>th</sup> November 2021. The ISBCS surgical protocol, recommended by RCOphth and UKISCRS, was followed. Primary outcomes measures were: postoperative visual acuity (VA), refractive prediction accuracy, intraoperative and postoperative complications.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Of 41 patients scheduled, 39 patients completed ISBCS and two patients underwent unilateral surgery (n=80 eyes). Mean age at the time of surgery was 71.6 years (standard deviation (SD) ±11.8 years). Median preoperative VA was 0.8 logMAR (range: PL to 0.2 logMAR). Seventeen (20.9%) eyes were highly myopic and 9 (11.1%) eyes were highly hypermetropic. Median cumulative dissipated phacoemulsification energy was 15.7 sec (range: 1.8 sec to 83.4 sec). Median case time was 10.4 min (range: 4.3 min to 37.1 min).One eye (1.3%) developed iritis secondary to a retained tiny cortical fragment. Four eyes (5.0%, n=3 patients) developed cystoid macular oedema, with full resolution. On wide field imaging, an asymptomatic unilateral peripheral suprachoroidal haemorrhage was noted in two highly myopic patients (axial lengths of 27.01mm and 25.05mm respectively). The posterior pole was spared, and both resolved spontaneously without any visual impairment.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>In our initial experience, ISBCS was found to be a safe approach to cataract surgery. Our patient cohort included eyes with dense cataracts and high ametropia. Further studies are required to assess patient reported outcome measures and the possible economic benefits of ISBCS in our local population.</p>","PeriodicalId":94250,"journal":{"name":"The Ulster medical journal","volume":"93 1","pages":"12-17"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11067315/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140873371","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A GAME-CHANGER IN FREE-TISSUE SURGERY: THE FUTURE'S BRIGHT, THE FUTURE'S FLUORESCENT….","authors":"J D Clements, M J McBride","doi":"","DOIUrl":"","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":94250,"journal":{"name":"The Ulster medical journal","volume":"93 1","pages":"39"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2024-01-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11067306/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140868532","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}