A comparison of statistical associations between oedema in the lumbar fat on MRI, BMI and Back Fat Thickness (BFT).

Purpose: To compare the relationship between obesity markers Body Mass Index (BMI) and Back Fat Thickness (BFT) and oedema in the lumbo-sacral subcutaneous adipose tissue.

Patients And Methods: A retrospective study was performed of consecutive Magnetic Resonance Imaging examinations on 149 adults (95 females and 54 males) scanned at 1.5T between October 1 and December 31, 2010.

Reliance on medicinal plant therapy among cancer patients in Jamaica.

Purpose: Patients' perspective of their treatment regime plays a vital role in its success. Recognizing the high prevalence of medicinal plant usage among Jamaicans at large, we investigated the engagement of such remedies by cancer patients, with the aim of uncovering self-medicating habits, perceptions and details of utilized plants.

Methods: A structured, interviewer-based questionnaire was administered to 100 patients attending the oncology and urology clinics at the University Hospital of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

Evolution of blood donation patterns in a hospital-based blood centre over a seven-year period: implications for donor recruitment and retention.

Objective: The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of a public appeal to encourage voluntary blood donation by comparing the pattern of blood donations in 2000 and 2007.

Methods: A retrospective analysis of blood donation records was conducted at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI) Blood Collection Centre from April to December of 2000 and 2007. Data were analysed to identify any significant changes in donation patterns and donor profiles.

Ultrasound detected asymptomatic cholelithiasis: an age-based protocol for management.

Objective: This study was undertaken to examine the correlation between age and gender and the presence of ultrasound findings of acute or chronic cholecystitis in adultpatients with cholelithiasis.

Method: The demographic data of all patients diagnosed with cholelithiasis and cholecystitis on ultrasound between January 1, 2002 and December 31, 2006 were reviewed and statistically analysed.

Results: Five hundred adults, 373 females (74.

Clinicopathological features and outcome of gastrointestinal stromal tumors in an Afro-Caribbean population.

Objective: A retrospective observational study was done to describe the clinical and pathological profile of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GISTs) in Afro-Caribbean patients at a tertiary care referral center over a 5-year period.

Results: Eighteen cases of GIST were identified over the period under review. Male to female ratio was 1.