Understanding the patient profile and health-related quality of life in patients presenting for hand surgery.

The aim of this descriptive epidemiological study of patients, referred to and selected for surgery at a UK tertiary hand centre, was to investigate patterns of common hand disorders and their impact on those individuals. A prospective collection of patient-reported outcome scores was carried out in patients before operation using the Patient Outcomes of Surgery Hand/Arm and the Euro-Qol 5 dimension three-level measures. Patient participation was voluntary and data collected over a 4-year period are discussed.

Patient-Reported Outcome Measures in Plastic Surgery: An Introduction and Review of Clinical Applications.

Clinical care is often directed at improving patient's quality of life, the effectiveness of which can be measured by objective or subjective outcomes. Surgical intervention, especially in plastic and reconstructive surgery, can often provide hard objective measures, for example, breast size reduction after bilateral reduction mammaplasty, or improved joint position/movement after Dupuytren's surgery. These measurements do not describe how a particular intervention affects the patient's life, from their point of view.

Multicentre study of patient-reported and clinical outcomes following immediate and delayed Autologous Breast Reconstruction And Radiotherapy (ABRAR study).

Background: Timing of autologous breast reconstruction in patients requiring adjuvant radiotherapy remains contentious. The primary objective of this study was to assess clinical and patient reported outcomes in immediate reconstruction with radiotherapy compared to delayed reconstruction after radiotherapy, the two relevant clinical pathways for patients who need radiotherapy.

Methods: This retrospective UK multi-centre study grouped patients into three categories: immediate reconstruction with post-operative radiotherapy (IBR); delayed reconstruction after radiotherapy (DBR); control group of immediate reconstruction without radiotherapy (noRT).

Directed evolution of an angiopoietin-2 ligand trap by somatic hypermutation and cell surface display.

Tie2 is a receptor tyrosine kinase that is essential for the development and maintenance of blood vessels through binding the soluble ligands angiopoietin 1 (Ang1) and 2 (Ang2). Ang1 is constitutively produced by perivascular cells and is protective of the adult vasculature. Ang2 plays an important role in blood vessel formation and is normally expressed during development.

Opening up pre-registration education for nurses (the OPEN Project): a partnership approach.

Methods: Using a combination of focus groups and questionnaires, data were obtained from 20 health care assistants/pre-registration nursing students taking part in the OPEN Project, their 20 respective clinical mentors, three National Health Service Trust-based facilitators and three University Tutors. The aim was to evaluate development and delivery of the project by: Data were analysed using a combination of Framework Technique and descriptive statistics.

Results: The three main emergent themes were: Personal, Professional and Organisational learning.

Associations between human milk SIgA and maternal immune, infectious, endocrine, and stress variables.

Fifty breastfeeding mothers were studied at 4, 5, or 6 weeks postpartum. Morning hind milk, serum samples, and stress and infection data were collected to examine whether milk secretory immunoglobulin A (SIgA) is related to demographic, stress, immune, and infection factors. The authors investigated relationships between milk SIgA and maternal stress, mood, symptoms of infection, serum proinflammatory and proimmune cytokines, and cortisol.