Use of illness severity scores to predict mortality in interstitial lung disease patients hospitalised with acute respiratory deterioration.

Introduction: Hospitalisations relating to acute respiratory deteriorations (ARD) in Interstitial Lung Disease (ILD) have poor outcomes. Factors predicting adverse outcomes are not fully understood and data addressing the use of illness severity scores in prognostication are limited.

Objective: To investigate the use of CURB-65 and NEWS-2 severity scores in the prediction of mortality following ARD-ILD hospitalisation, using prospective methodology and to validate previously determined cut-offs, derived from a retrospective study cohort.

Rare case of multisystem sarcoidosis.

Sarcoidosis is a multisystem disorder of unknown cause, characterised pathologically by granulomas and primarily affecting the lung and lymphatic system of the body. It has been termed the 'great pretender' due to its ability to mimic other diseases. In this article we describe a case of sarcoidosis with simultaneous rare manifestations of extrathoracic disease (thyroid, osseous and renal).

Factors affecting reliability of interpretations of intra-operative evoked potentials.

Objective. There are two objectives of this study. The first is to understand how practitioners of differing backgrounds approach the process of interpreting intra-operative neurophysiologic monitoring.

Role of appendicectomy in the surgical management of ovarian cancer.

There is a paucity of literature on the role of appendicectomy in the staging and cytoreductive procedures for ovarian cancer. In this series of 129 patients with ovarian carcinoma over a period of 9 years. (June 1985-June 1995) at the Northern Regional Department of Gynaecological Oncology, Gateshead, appendicectomy was performed in 31 patients.