Objectives: To identify differences in delay for surgical treatment of breast cancer between ethnic groups and to evaluate the role of health system, sociodemographic and tumour factors in ethnic inequities in breast cancer treatment.
Methods: A retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from the Waikato Breast Cancer Register for cancers diagnosed in the Waikato region in New Zealand (NZ) from 1 January 2005 to 31 December 2010.
Results: Approximately 95% (1449 out of 1514) of women with breast cancer diagnosed in the Waikato over the study period were included.
Objective: To prospectively investigate the diagnostic characteristics of procalcitonin as an aid in the diagnosis of meningococcal disease in febrile young adults presenting to the Waikato Hospital emergency department during a sustained meningococcal epidemic.
Methods: The study population were emergency department patients aged 14-40 years presenting with either a temperature > or = 38.0 degrees C without an obvious focus of infection, or symptoms consistent with meningococcal disease.