Acute Appendicitis Management in Patients Aged Above 40 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Retrospective Study With Four Years of Follow-Up.

Background The COVID-19 pandemic led many units to increase their utilization of nonoperative management (NOM) of acute appendicitis, with the literature showing its non-inferiority when compared to operative management (OM). Therefore, we compared NOM to OM against standard guidelines in order to ascertain the effectiveness of NOM. Primary outcomes were rates of admission, complications, hospital length of stay (LOS), and the incidence of colonic malignancy following NOM upon subsequent bowel evaluation using colonoscopy and/or computed tomography (CT) scan.

Bullous lung disease in pregnancy: a case report.

Bullous lung disease presenting as a pneumothorax in pregnancy has not been reported in the literature to date. We present the case of a woman in her third pregnancy presenting to routine antenatal clinic with a secondary spontaneous pneumothorax in the third trimester. We describe the multidisciplinary approach to her management with obstetrics, obstetric anaesthesiology, cardiothoracic surgery and midwifery.

Composition of the neutralising antibody response predicts risk of BK virus DNAaemia in recipients of kidney transplants.

Background: BK polyomavirus (BKV) DNAaemia occurs in 10% of recipients of kidney transplants, contributing to premature allograft failure. Evidence suggests disease is donor derived. Hypothetically, recipient infection with a different BKV serotype increases risk due to poorer immunological control.

Massed treatment of posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, and co-occurring conditions: the Home Base intensive outpatient program for military veterans and service members.

The two-week Home Base Intensive Clinical Program (ICP) provides treatment to veterans and active duty service members suffering from primary diagnoses of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury (TBI), anxiety, or depression. First launched in 2015, this paper provides a programmatic update, including new treatment components implemented since inception, and examines outcomes for all participants who entered the program from September 2015 to July 2024 ( = 2561). The Home Base ICP provides a massed care approach through daily individual Prolonged Exposure, Cognitive Processing Therapy, Unified Protocol, or cognitive rehabilitation, along with groups targeting coping skills.

Landmark Positioning on a Map: An Alternative Measure of Spatial Ability for Identifying Students Who May Benefit From Learning Gross Anatomy with Virtual Reality.

Research has shown an inconsistent relationship between spatial abilities and learning outcomes from virtual anatomical tools. Instructors must understand this relationship to select appropriate resources for diverse learners. To identify appropriate tests for measuring spatial ability and evaluate the effectiveness of virtual anatomical resources, this study compared 96 students' visuospatial ability (measured using the Mental Rotation Task [MRT] and Landmark Position on a Map [LPM] tests) with learning outcomes from experimental anatomy sessions and undergraduate anatomical course examinations.