Going, gonad, gone. Gender inequalities in the management of gonadal torsion: a cohort study.

Gonadal torsion (when the gonad twists on its ligamentous supports) is a surgical emergency in both men and women. Prompt management is essential to preserve gonadal function. Our aim was to compare the timeliness with which men and women who underwent surgery for suspected gonadal torsion are managed.

Keratinocyte cancer with incidental perineural invasion: A registry analysis of management and 5-year outcomes.

Background/objectives: Perineural invasion within keratinocyte cancer is a hallmark of tumour aggression, and a definitive treatment paradigm for this condition remains undetermined. Our aim was to investigate the treatment and outcomes of keratinocyte cancer with incidental perineural invasion within two skin cancer databases to refine treatment protocols.

Methods: We retrospectively assessed the Queensland Perineural Invasion Registry for surgery, histopathology, adjuvant radiotherapy and recurrence of keratinocyte cancer five years post-definitive treatment.

Palliative Radiotherapy: Inpatients, Outpatients, and the Changing Role of Supportive Care in Radiation Oncology.

Palliative radiotherapy is an effective treatment in alleviating many symptoms of advanced cancer. Short courses of radiotherapy provide rapid symptom relief and minimize impact on patients. Patients referred for palliative radiotherapy have many concerns beyond radiotherapy; often, these concerns are not fully addressed in traditional radiotherapy clinics.

Estimating the impact of mandatory folic acid fortification on the folic acid intake of Australian women of childbearing age.

Objective: The primary aim of this study was to estimate the impact of mandatory folic acid (FA) fortification of bread-making flour on the FA intake of Australian women of childbearing age (16-44 years). The secondary objective was to investigate the relationship between estimated FA intake and socio-economic status (SES) and age.

Method: Dietary modelling was used to estimate FA intake under four mandatory fortification scenarios--no supplement use, supplement use unrelated to FA intake, supplement use only among the highest consumers of bread, and increased supplement use.

Assessing readiness to work from a stages of change perspective: implications for return to work.

The Lam Assessment on Stages of Employment Readiness (LASER) was developed to assess welfare recipients' employment readiness. The LASER consists of 14 items corresponding to Prochaska's stages of change model (Prochaska, DiClemente and Norcross, 1992). A sample of 149 welfare recipients from a work training program participated in the study.

Microsurgical hepatic artery reconstruction in paediatric liver transplantation.

Background/aims: Hepatic artery thrombosis is a serious complication of paediatric liver transplantation often leading to retransplantation. It is also associated with decreased patient survival rates. In 1999 microsurgical hepatic artery reconstruction by Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeons was introduced to the Queensland Liver Transplant Service at the Royal Children's Hospital, Brisbane, in an attempt to decrease hepatic artery complications.

Effect of short-term failure versus nonfailure training on lower body muscular endurance.

Purpose: This study compared failure versus nonfailure training with equated intensity and volume on lower body muscular endurance in trained men.

Methods: Each subject performed one lower body workout per week for 6 weeks; the Failure group performed 3 sets of the squat, leg curl, and leg extension exercises to the point of voluntary exhaustion, while the Nonfailure group performed 4 sets for each of these exercises, but with a submaximal number of repetitions that did not allow failure to occur on any set. All subjects performed a pre- and postintervention muscular endurance test that involved 3 sets each for the squat, leg curl, and leg extension exercises.

Spiritual development in faith communities and secular societies.

In this article, the author writes lyrically of the struggle of young people to find meaning and hope in an increasingly secular world, and focuses his discussion on potential roles for adults "who are in serious life-shaping relationships with young people ...

Characterizing the patterned images that precipitate seizures and optimizing guidelines to prevent them.

The use of guidelines to prevent the broadcast of epileptogenic television program content has reduced the incidence of seizures in Britain and Japan. Epileptogenic content includes both flicker and patterns. The guidelines for flicker were developed on the basis of a model that related stimulus parameters to the proportion of patients affected.

Age as a factor in the success of tympanoplasty: a comparison of outcomes in the young and old.

In order to determine if age is a factor in healing after tympanic membrane grafting, the author compared the results of 163 consecutive type I tympanoplasties performed on patients aged 20 to 40 with those of 97 consecutive type I tympanoplasties performed on patients aged 65 and older. The tympanoplasties were performed over a 5-year period. The postoperative followup period ranged from 6 to 10 years.

Reliability of perceived exertion during graded exercise testing in apparently healthy adults.

Purpose: Ratings of perceived exertion (RPE) are widely used for monitoring individuals during graded exercise testing. Studies of the reliability of RPEs across various exercise conditions have produced mixed results. The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability of RPEs during graded exercise testing by comparing the perceptual-physiological relationship between the Bruce and Balke treadmill protocols throughout a broad range of relative exercise intensities.

Plasti-pore implants in middle ear surgery.

Plasti-pore, a high-density polyethylene sponge, was one of the earliest biocompatible materials developed specifically for implantation in the middle ear. It is one of the most nonreactive materials known when tested in simulated biochemical exposure to pseudoextracellular fluid. The two basic prosthetic designs are the total ossicular replacement prosthesis and the partial ossicular replacement prosthesis.

Rating of perceived exertion and heart rate relative to ventilatory threshold in women.

Forty women took part in a study designed to investigate self-selected exercise intensity relative to ventilatory threshold during circuit weight training (CWT) and exercise-to-music (ETM) sessions. Subjects were assigned to one of two groups which were beginners (B) or habitual exercisers (HE) on the basis of their exercise habits. All subjects first underwent a laboratory cycle ergometer test involving a continuous incremental exercise protocol from which ventilatory threshold (VT) was determined using piecewise linear regression analysis.

A review of heart rate and blood pressure responses in the cold in healthy subjects and coronary artery disease patients.

Despite methodological differences in the limited number of studies reviewed, it appears that cardiovascular responses at rest and during exercise in the cold differ between patients with CAD and healthy subjects (Figures 1 and 2). This difference remains, even when attempting to control for investigation time and conditions. Typical exercise time reported for patients with CAD exercising in the cold is 4 to 8 minutes, where HR and SBP are generally the same or higher.

Psychosocial needs of family caregivers of terminally ill patients.

The primary caregivers (mean age = 63 yr.) of 28 terminally ill veterans (mean age = 67 yr.) who were living at home were surveyed for their concrete and psychosocial needs.

Simultaneous idiopathic sudden sensorineural hearing loss in identical twins.

Two sisters, who are identical twins, had a simultaneous idiopathic sudden hearing loss (ISHL) while listening to loud music at a rock concert. The possibility that their hearing losses, along with the sudden hearing losses related to cordless telephone injuries, are attributable to intracochlear membrane ruptures is discussed.

Physical examination and clinical evaluation of the patient with otosclerosis.

A detailed history, otoscopic examination, and testing with tuning forks are essential to the diagnosis of otosclerosis. These steps, including a differential diagnosis to rule out those middle ear conditions that can masquerade as otosclerosis, can help the examining physician make the presumptive diagnosis of otosclerosis.

An inservice on wheels.

In our hospital nurses were unsure about products to order for ostomy patients. To address nurses' concerns, a group of representatives from the Central Supply Department and Nursing Department as well as the clinical nurse specialist and patient care specialist was formed. The group developed an inservice on wheels entitled, "Send Me One of Everything" which was rotated throughout the hospital.

Biocompatible implants in tympanoplasty.

The history of implants in otology is reviewed. Currently available biocompatible ossicular implants are described, and a survey of their use by members of the American Otological Society and the American Neurotology Society is reported.