Publications by authors named "C R Birch"
: Achieving evidence-based practice change in surgery has always been challenging, with many aspects of common clinical practice evolving through lower-level studies that are susceptible to bias and confounding rather than high-quality evidence. This challenge is even more pronounced in the setting of low-volume, high-complexity surgical oncology. Additionally, when the costs of interventions or technologies are high, designing and developing such studies within financially constrained national healthcare systems becomes even more complicated, potentially widening perceived healthcare inequalities between private and publicly funded systems.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPurpose: This technical report presents the intraoperative experience of using robotic-assisted navigation (RAN) for sacropelvic instrumentation in pediatric spine deformity surgery.
Methods: A retrospective review of patients who underwent surgery using RAN for sacropelvic instrumentation at a single institution from 2019 to 2022 was conducted. In cases with screw confirmation imaging, screws were evaluated using the Gertzbein and Robbins classification scale.
Background: The international gold standard for avian influenza virus (AIV) diagnosis is virus isolation (VI) in specific pathogen-free embryonated chicken eggs (ECEs). AIV isolation typically involves a 6-day turnaround, during which premises under suspicion for notifiable AIV infection are held under restriction regardless of molecular diagnoses, often with significant welfare implications.
Methods: A reduction in time for negation by VI was investigated following experimental inoculation of AIV from known-positive original clinical material into ECEs.
Article Synopsis
- Extreme weather poses risks for stillbirth, preterm birth, and healthcare access for pregnant women and newborns, making effective weather warning systems crucial in rural East Africa.
- The research focused on Kilifi County, Kenya, where high temperatures and droughts affect local communities, examining how women and caregivers seek and use weather information.
- Findings revealed significant access gaps to timely forecasts, with information shared through various channels like radio and community leaders, while traditional methods of weather forecasting are still in use alongside official sources.
Background: For Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI), faecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) is currently recommended for patients with three or more CDI episodes. A recent randomised controlled trial (RCT) show that FMT may be considered early, defined as intervention during the first or second CDI episode.
Aim: The aim was to investigate hospital costs of FMT as a complementary treatment compared with current standard care in patients with first or second CDI.